Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Former Warsaw Community High School basketball standout Chris Wiggins is finishing his first season on the college hardwood in a positive fashion.
Wiggins, a three-year starter for coach Al Rhodes' Tigers, has come on strong the past several weeks for the Gardner-Webb (N.C.) University Bulldogs. Gardner-Webb, playing Division I basketball for the first time this year, has just finished its regular season with a record of 17-10.
The Bulldogs will play Emmanuel College tonight in the first round of National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) South Regionals in Franklin Springs, Ga. The NCCAA finals are scheduled this year on the Gardner-Webb home court in North Carolina later in March.
Wiggins averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game last year for Warsaw. He hit 40 percent of his three-point attempts and earned an invitation to the Hoosier Basketball Top 100 workout, where he shined and was named one of the top 40 players in the state.
Wiggins has gained valuable experience off the bench through the season, and in the last three games, he has averaged 13.7 points per game while playing an average of more than 14 minutes. Marc Rabb, director of media relations for athletics at Gardner-Webb, says of Wiggins, "he is playing a more than important role with the team off the bench - as arguably the team's top reserve scorer."
The highlight of the season for Wiggins was an 18-point effort against Voorees (S.C.) College on Feb. 13. He hit 7 of 8 two-point goals and nailed a perfect 4 of 4 from the three-point line. He followed that up with a 13-point effort against Savannah (Ga.) State and closed the regular season with 10 points against Lipscomb (Tenn.) University on Feb. 20.
