Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
HUNTINGTON - It's been said a number of times before in the world of sports, a win is a win.
Saturday's boys basketball game at Huntington North was anything but pretty for the Warsaw Tigers, but it was a win.
Despite shooting just 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, including 2 of 15 from the three-point line, and committing 19 turnovers, the Tigers still managed to beat the Vikings 55-49.
"I'm really proud of the guys," said fifth-year Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team bounced back from Friday's 24-point loss at DeKalb to improve to 3-2 on the season. "We missed a lot of good shots and had way too many ballhandling miscues. I know we have to execute better, but I'm proud of the guys."
The loss dropped Huntington North to 1-2. The Vikings shot better from the field, 17 of 40 (42.5 percent) but turned the ball over 17 times, were whistled for 22 fouls and were outrebounded 42-18.
The game was the fifth in 10 days for Warsaw - the first in a week for Huntington North - and the difference in the contest was 6-foot-3 senior Steve Lemasters.
The Tiger senior sharpshooter hit 9 of 16 shots from the field and 10 of 12 free throws en route to a career-high 29 points. He also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.
"Steve Lemasters was the difference in the game," said Ogle.
In the fourth quarter, Lemasters put the Tigers on his back, scoring 14 of the team's 18 points in the final stanza, including a pair of charity tosses that pushed Warsaw's lead to four (53-49) with 16 seconds left.
Classmate and starting point guard Ben Truman iced the game with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left.
Senior frontliner Tommy Reinholt was the only other Tiger to score in the fourth quarter, as his two-point basket knotted the game at 41 with 5:49 to play.
"I would say we ground it out," said Ogle. "We've got to be more consistent from quarter to quarter, but I'm proud of the guys' effort."
The Tigers led 21-15 after the first quarter of play but then were outscored 12-6 in the second stanza in what Ogle called "a bad quarter."
Warsaw held a 21-12 advantage late in the first quarter, but the Vikings rallied to tie the game at 21-all early in the second and 27-all at halftime.
Huntington North held a 40-37 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Lemasters gave the Tigers the lead for good with 5:00 to play.
The Vikings trailed by seven, 51-44, in the final 3:00 of the game before rattling off five straight points.
Huntington North got 21 points from its bench while all 55 of Warsaw's points were scored by the five starters.
Truman scored nine points for Warsaw, while freshman center Justin Clemens scored eight points, Reinholt chipped in with six points and senior Eric Blanton added three points in the win.
Clemens was 3 of 4 from the field, 2 of 2 from the free throw line, and pulled down five rebounds before leaving after being hit in the face.
"Justin Clemens played well until he got hurt," said Ogle. "He had a tough weekend. He hurt his finger against DeKalb and tonight he may have broke his nose."
Reinholt pulled down seven rebounds for the Tigers, as did senior reserve Scott Harman.
Tyler Henn led the Vikings with 15 points, while Rob Sands scored 10 points and Ben Schnepp eight points.
The Tigers host Rochester Friday and entertain Penn Saturday.
"This next stretch before Christmas is tough," said Ogle. "We have two games to get ready four our conference opener. We have a lot of things to work. We've played five games in 10 days. I'm looking forward to having a full week of practice."
The Tigers open the Northern Lakes Conference portion of their schedule Dec. 15 at Class 3A No. 7 Wawasee (3-0).
WARSAW 55, HUNT. NORTH 49
Warsaw 21 6 10 18 - 55
H. North 15 12 13 9 - 49
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Clemens 3-4 2-2 5 1 8
* Truman 3-10 2-3 3 2 9
* Reinholt 3-7 0-0 7 4 6
* Blanton 1-9 1-2 4 1 3
* Lemasters 9-16 10-12 10 1 29
Robinson 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Waikel 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
Harman 0-1 0-1 7 0 0
Totals 19-48 15-20 42 10 55
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
* Santa 0-2 0-0 2 4 0
* McVoy 1-4 0-0 1 0 3
* Henn 4-13 7-12 4 0 15
* Herring 1-4 0-0 1 0 2
* Schnepp 4-4 0-1 2 0 8
Sands 3-5 2-3 1 1 10
Randol 1-2 1-2 0 1 4
Henry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Watkins 3-6 1-2 4 0 7
Totals 17-40 11-20 18 7 49
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-15 (Lemasters 1-6, Truman 1-4, Blanton 0-5), H. North 4-12 (Sands 2-4, McVoy 1-3, Randol 1-2, Santa 0-2, Henn 0-1). Turnovers - Warsaw 19, H. North 17. Fouls - Warsaw 16, H. North 22. Fouled out - Harman.
JV - Warsaw 41, Hunt. North 35
Warsaw (5-0) - Andy Conrad 14, Ryne Robinson 8, Jesse Sharp 7, Taylor Long 5, Chase Byerly 5, Kyle Tucker 2
