Warsaw's Season Wasn't Ruined With Saturday's Loss
Posted
Mark Howe-mhowe@timesuniononline.com
When the 2015-16 boys basketball season began, there was zero talk about Warsaw going for an undefeated season. It wasn’t like a bunch of us writers sat down and picked out who was going to beat whom, but the Tigers’ 20-0 start to the season just sort of happened out of the blue. I doubt anyone associated with the program saw it coming. As every sports fan knows, you build long winning streaks one game at a time. That’s exactly what the Tigers did; win one at a time. A double overtime win at Columbia City. An overtime win at Lake Central. A five-point come-from-behind win at LaPorte. Another OT game at home against Mishawaka Marian, and a fourth overtime game at Fort Wayne Northrop. High-pressure games with NorthWood and Plymouth to win the Northern Lakes Conference. Blowing out teams with lesser talent all along the way. All that to say no, the season wasn’t ruined by Carmel’s Sterling Brown and his buzzer-beating shot Saturday night that handed the Tigers their first loss. These last few games to close out the regular season are a great low-stakes way to evaluate where the team is in terms of the competition around the rest of the state, and prepare for what will really matter – the postseason. Every basketball coach I’ve talked to since starting this job has talked about preparing for the sectional, and the conversations are remarkably consistent. It’s the part of the season that matters most and, whether or not it’s right, will be the dominant long-term memory of a winning team. Thus, this season isn’t ruined; it’s just more capable of coming to a sudden, soul-crushing end. Thanks to the draw for the sectional, Warsaw is most likely to get Penn, led by former Tiger coach Al Rhodes. That’s always an intriguing storyline, and if that sentence gets in the bulletin board in the Northridge locker room, so be it. After being upended by Concord in the sectional opener last year, the team surely feels like there’s unfinished business in Elkhart’s North Side Gym. Warsaw’s stellar record would appear to make them a big favorite in a seven-team sectional where Elkhart Central has six losses and everyone else has at least 10. Whether the Tigers go in 21-1 or 20-2, they’ll go to Elkhart as a battle-tested squad and the team to beat. I’ve heard the Chicago Cubs have a slogan amongst the players; “Embrace The Target.” Sounds like good advice to me. Other thoughts regarding the sectionals and the draw: The 2A Manchester Sectional should be especially exciting once it reaches the semifinals. The Squires have a first-round bye and are likely to see the Southwood Knights, who went undefeated in Three Rivers Conference play, in the semifinals March 4. On the opposite side of the bracket are three teams with winning records, the best one belonging to a 17-3 Oak Hill squad. Tippecanoe Valley has a legitimate shot at getting to the 3A NorthWood Sectional final, with a two-win Wawasee team and Fairfield in its path. The Viking defense seems to be peaking at just the right time, and Valley will need that and more to take the title from the Panthers. The hosts will have little resistance from West Noble and Lakeland. The Chargers and Lakers have won just 11 games between them. Lastly, Triton has an opportunity to make some postseason noise in its 1A sectional in the Trojan Trench. As of this morning, the Trojans have the most wins of any team in the sectional. But of the six teams in the field, four have winning records. The Trojans can win their sectional, but it’s not a gimme by any means.
