ROCHESTER - With their five "practice games" behind them, the Warsaw Tigers are now focused on Friday's game with Kosciusko County and Northern Lakes Conference rival Wawasee. "Those first five games, they weren't practice games, but we looked at them as practice games," said Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle, whose team improved to 4-1 with a dominating 52-28 win over the host Rochester Zebras Saturday afternoon. "We're focused on Friday night and the Wawasee Warriors coming to the Tiger Den," added Ogle. "They average 80 points per game, and they only give up 50. They're winning their games by a margin of 30 points per game. We want to win the Northern Lakes Conference, and the first step is beating Wawasee Friday night." The Warriors, who beat Whitko 72-66 Saturday night, will bring a 5-0 record into Friday night's conference opener. Warsaw's game Saturday was scheduled to be played at Butler University's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. A new NCAA rule, however, prohibits high school teams from playing on college campuses, and less than 24 hours before it was to tipoff the game was moved to Rochester. "I would say our guys did a pretty good job of handling a disappointing situation," Ogle said of not getting the opportunity to play at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Tigers also did a pretty good job of handling the Zebras, who fell to 0-4 on the season. Warsaw led 13-4 after one quarter of play, 27-10 at halftime and 42-17 at the end of the third quarter. There were no ties or lead changes after the Tigers scored the first game's first points. "I think something that is noteworthy is that we scored 27 points in the first half, and we had nine guys who scored in the first half," said Ogle. "I think that's been kind of a harbinger or strength of our's. We have a lot of balance. We have a lot of guys who can make a shot." In all, 10 Tigers found their way into the scoring column during the 24-point win. Senior Jordyn Coon led Warsaw with 10 points, while junior Jared Bloom scored eight points, seniors Lucas Grose and Brock Anson added seven points and sophomore Jordan Stookey chipped in with six points. "We're trying to build experience," said Ogle. "We have a nine-man rotation that is pretty good, but with the margin, it makes it easier to get more kids in the game. We like to have fresh players on the court at all times. It's a luxury to have nine guys you can really count on." The Tigers finished the game 20 of 40 from the field overall, 5 of 12 from three-point range, and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Rochester was 12 of 29 overall, 4 of 12 from the arc, and didn't attempt a free throw. Junior Jonathon O'Dell led the Zebras with a game-high 13 points, including all seven of his team's points in the third quarter, while senior Andrew Riddle chipped in with eight points.
WARSAW 52, ROCHESTER 28 W 13 14 15 10 – 52 R 4 6 7 11 – 28 Warsaw – Brock Anson 3-5 0-0 7, Jared Bloom 2-5 0-0 8, John Swanson 1-1 1-1 3, Jordyn Coon 4-8 2-2 10, Rhett Kesler 1-2 0-0 2, Jason Ferguson 0-1 0-0 0, Lucas Grose 3-7 0-0 7, Kevin West 1-3 0-0 2, Jay Holladay 1-1 2-2 4, Taylor Cone 1-2 1-1 3, Jordan Stookey 2-5 1-2 6, Rashaan Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-40 7-8 52. Rochester – Aaron Stuart 1-1 0-0 3, Carter Screeton 0-2 0-0 0, Jonathon O'Dell 6-12 0-0 13, Luke Cannedy 1-2 0-0 2, Zac Schoen 1-2 0-0 2, Andrew Riddle 3-6 0-0 8, Seth Corn 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 12-29 0-0 28. Three-point goals – Warsaw 5 (Bloom 2, Anson, Grose, Stookey), Rochester 4 (Riddle 2, Stuart, O'Dell); Rebounds – Warsaw 25 (Coon 5), Rochester 13 (Corn 3); Turnovers – Warsaw 13, Rochester 19; Fouls – Warsaw 6, Rochester 12; Fouled out – Cannedy; Records: Warsaw 4-1, Rochester 0-4 JV – Warsaw 47, Rochester 22 Warsaw – Rashaan Jackson 12, Jason Ferguson 11, Michael Miller 8, John Swanson 6, Nate Pearl 6, Trae Furnivall 4
