After all the pre-game build up for Friday's showdown between the Warsaw Tigers (15-2) and FW Bishop Luers Knights (11-8), the time had finally come for the festivities to begin. Fans from both schools began to flood the entry doors to the Tiger Den to witness game three of what has become an intense rivalry between these two schools.

Two years ago, DeShaun Thomas brought his state-championship-to-be Luers Knights into the Tiger Den to face the then Tiger freshman sensation everybody was talking about -- Nic Moore. Thomas dropped in 3-point bombs from places on the Tiger Den floor that had not been explored since the glory days of Kevin Ault. Thomas also threw down a few slam dunks that made the hair stand up on the back of the massive crowd that February evening. There was little the young Tiger team consisting of freshman Nic Moore and sophomores Justin Clemens, Andy Conrad, and Zack Linky could do to stop the dominant Luers star. Luers won the game 70-61 over Warsaw in the inaugural series battle.

Last year the Tigers scored revenge. Thomas again brought his team to the Tiger Den and again the Knights would go on to win the class 2A state championship for the second consecutive year. However one of their 3 losses in the 24-3 Knight record was at the hands of Coach Doug Ogle's Warsaw team. Nic Moore and company electrified the home Tiger crowd with timely shooting and superior hustle. Warsaw defeated FW Luers 59-54 to win round two.

Who would take the gold medal in this contest?

If the junior varsity contest was a preview of things to come, fans were in for a treat. The Tiger JV squad clung to a 34-33 lead with 2 seconds left on the clock when FW Luers scored a basket just before the buzzer. The Luers players jumped in a huddle to celebrate their victory. What they did not know was the baseline official had waived off the basket for an offensive foul on the play. Tigers win by one.

Once the JV game was over, Warsaw's four seniors were honored at half court. Justin Clemens, Andy Conrad, Zack Linky, and statistician Bryce Scott escorted their parents onto the floor as Warsaw fans stood to give them a warm round of applause in appreciation for their hard work.

During the introduction of the Tiger starters, all three seniors (Clemens, Conrad, & Linky) raced toward the student cheer block. The seniors all leaped into the air high above the cheer block as the students held the boys above their heads with their hands. This was definitely a cool way to go out as a senior in front of your home crowd.

Game Time!

Deshaun Thomas versus Nic Moore for the final time as Indiana high school basketball players, 4500 screaming fans, the game tied at 46-46 with five minutes to go in the 4th quarter-need I say more?

MOORE!

While the first basket was scored by Luers junior Evan Blackmon on a three point field goal, it was Warsaw's all-world junior that led all scorers in every quarter of this game.

It was Tiger senior Andy Conrad who scored the first basket for Warsaw. Conrad grabbed an offensive rebound under the hoop before reversing the ball off the glass for two points. Knights 3 - Tigers 2.

DeShaun Thomas missed on his first attempt of the contest. The Tigers capitalized off the miss when senior Zack Linky found fellow senior Justin Clemens in the basket area for a 4-3 Warsaw lead.

Conrad, Linky, and Clemens were strong early on senior night.

Nic Moore then ignited the massive crowd with his first two points of the night was he pulled up to hit a jump shot in the transition game.

Luers guard Eric Sorg connected on a 3-ball to tie the game (6-6) with 3:35 to go in the first quarter. Teammate Kenny Mullen scored a lay-up on the break to give Luers the two point advantage.

After a Nic Moore free throw Sorg scored again for Luers to stretch their lead to 10-7 with 2:04 on the clock. Timeout Warsaw. The amazing thing about the Knights first ten points is that DeShaun Thomas accounted for none of them. Thomas only had two shot attempts to this point in the game although he was controlling the rebounding on the defensive end for his team. Thomas ended up with a Tiger Den season high 16 rebounds on the night.

As Coach Doug Ogle's timeout expired the Tigers setup to throw the ball in bounds. Nic Moore (a.k.a. The Entertainer) proceeded to entertain the north of four thousand hoop-crazy fans. Moore drove the ball to the front of the rim before hanging in the air to score on a double-clutch basket over the Luers big men. Both WSBT22 & FOX28 played the highlight of Moore's acrobatics in their late news sessions.

DeShaun Thomas finally put his name in the scoring column as the period came to an end. The Mr. Basketball candidate nailed a three-point jumper from the left corner as time expired. Thomas's heroics brought the Luers faithful to their feet as their team surged ahead by four.

End of Quarter #1: FW Luers 13 - Warsaw 9 (Moore 5 - Thomas 3)

Luers' Eric Sorg continued his hot hand to begin the second frame. Sorg's basket extended the Knight advantage to 15-6.

Nic Moore responded for the Tigers with the next two baskets spanning just 35 seconds. The first bucket was scored as Moore used one dribble right to create space. He swished a twelve-footer. The second score came with 6:02 left in the first half when the 5'9" guard drove three dribbles right before finding space in the Luers zone. Knights 15 - Tigers 13.

FW Luers then put together a 6-0 run to open up their largest lead of the half at 21-13 with 4:18 on the clock. Evan Blackmon scored twice during the run and Kenny Mullen used his quickness to get the other basket in transition.

The Tiger Den was eerily quiet as the visiting team was pulling away from the Tigers even though Lucas Grose and the Warsaw defense had held DeShaun Thomas to just three points. Grose, a 6'5" sophomore was trailing Thomas wherever he went on the court. Lucas's defensive effort was extraordinary on this night.

Part of the Warsaw fans frustrations was the fact that their Tigers were a putrid 0-7 shooting from 3-point range to start the game. No wonder Luers had a sizeable lead at this juncture.

Duh-ta-duh...have no fear. The Entertainer is here.

Nic Moore once again made the enormous Tiger Den crowd experience their chin dropping in amazement. Moore stole a pass before driving the basketball right at 6"8" Luers senior star, Thomas. Nic pulled up just shy of DeShaun's defensive stance to float the ball over the outstretched hands of Thomas. The ball kissed of the glass before falling through the orange cylinder. The basket closed the Luers lead to six (21-15) with just over three minutes remaining.

Moore struck again on the next possession as he leaned left to get off a shot. The ten foot leaner swished through the net. Nic was actually looking to draw a foul on the play, to no avail.

Nic Moore did it one more time before the second eight minutes came to a close. This time driving the ball with his left hand, Moore eluded two Knight defenders on his way to draining a 17 foot jump shot for his fourteenth and fifteenth points of the first half. Only two other Tigers (Conrad & Clemens) were able to score a basket.

Luers found the bottom of the net two more times before heading back to the locker room. Although DeShaun Thomas had just 3 points at the break, he led all rebounders with a whopping 9 thru two quarters.

FW Bishop Luers outscored Warsaw 13-10 in the quarter.

Halftime Score: FW Luers 26 - Warsaw 19 (Moore 15 - Thomas 3)

Whatever it was that Coach Doug Ogle said to his team at halftime, certainly paid dividends in the 3rd period. Ogle's Tigers scored an incredible 24 points in the frame to send Luers a message-we can play with anybody.

Senior Justin Clemens stormed out of the locker room to score the first four points of the quarter. Luers 26-Warsaw 23.

Thomas began to distribute the basketball for the Knights as he assisted both Evan Blackmon and Eric Sorg on the next two possessions. Luers had answered the Justin Clemens 4-0 run to push their lead back to seven.

Senior three point specialist Zack Linky then nailed the first Warsaw bomb of the night. Linky's tri-fecta from the right corner was the start to 16-2 Warsaw Tiger run over the next four minutes. Coach Ogle's club has that "spurt ability" to score in bunches when they get a few defensive stops.

Nic Moore connected on the very next play as now the Tigers have scored back-to-back three point shots after being shut out through the first two periods. Luers 30-Warsaw 29.

Sophomore Jordyn Coon then completed the hat trick when he delivered the third consecutive long range jumper to tie the score at 32 each. Tiger fans jumped to their feet in response to Coon's shot which had tied the score.

Justin Clemens swished two free throws to give the Tigers their first lead (34-32) since they led 6-3 in the opening part of the game.

Nic Moore stretched the Warsaw lead to five when he connected on his 2nd three point basket of the night with 3:06 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Moore tried to make it two consecutive possessions with a 3-ball when his shot bounced off the front iron. Senior star Justin "Biggish" Clemens cleaned up Moore's miss with an offensive rebound and put back for two. Warsaw 39-Luers 32.

Deshaun Thomas finally halted the Tiger run when he skied above all defenders to convert a fifteen foot jump shot.

Sophomore Lucas Grose, who averages 10 points per contest, scored his first basket. Grose used his patented power lay-up from the left side to score over the Luers defenders.

Luers guard Evan Blackmon answered Grose's points with a strong drive to the front of the rim for two.

The quarter ended with a Tiger basket at the buzzer. I bet you cannot guess by whom... you got it-Justin Clemens. Clemens has developed into Mr. Clutch for Coach Ogle when it comes to closing quarters. Justin now has five different made baskets to finish eight minute sessions this season. Of course, only four of them actually counted as his full-court miracle shot to the end the half against the Marion Giants was ruled no good. Man that was a great shot.

This time Clemens found an open spot at the left elbow against the Knight's 2-3 zone defense. Nic Moore disguised a nifty shovel pass to his big man with 3 ticks left on the clock. Justin turned to face the basket before jumping in the air to pull the trigger. 3-2-1 Justin lets it go....BUZZER!! Swish!! He does it again.

Justin scored a team high 10 points in the frame to lead the Tigers.

Warsaw outscored FW Luers 24-10 in the quarter.

End of Quarter #3: Warsaw 43 - FW Luers 36 (Moore 21 - Thomas 5)

The final quarter would not disappoint the ticket-holding fan on this night.

Evan Blackmon converted the opening possession of the last eight minutes for his team. Blackmon drove left along the baseline before finishing with power above the rim. Blackmon threw the ball down the basket to spark the Knights. Evan wasn't done. The junior made two free throws the next trip down the floor to cut the Tiger lead to three (43-40). Luers was not about to fold up and go home.

Fellow back court mate, Kenny Mullen followed Blackmon's lead when he stole an errant Warsaw pass. Mullen used his blazing quickness to finish a lay-up with 6:22 to play. Warsaw 43-Luers 42.

Moore!

Nic Moore again hit from downtown "Milk-n-Honeyville" for the Tigers. Moore's 3-pointer came from the right wing this time as he expanded the Tiger lead back to four.

Mr. Basketball?

DeShaun Thomas had seen enough. Thomas took the ball down the left hand side of the court before launching a deep 22 foot shot. DeShaun's attempt landed perfectly through the cylinder as he answered Moore's triple with one of his own. Warsaw 46-Luers 45.

Kenny Mullen made 1 of 2 free throws to knot the score at 46-46 with 5:23 left in the game. Luers was in the midst of a 10-3 run of their own here.

This is why I wear #1...

DeShaun Thomas stole the ball from Warsaw and again connected from 10 feet to put his team back in front 48-46. Tiger fans were very anxious as Luers looked like a team who was beginning to rally behind their Ohio State-bound leader. 4,000+ sets of fingernails were being put to use.

After Andy Conrad made 1 of 2 free throw attempts, DeShaun used his power. Thomas missed a short shot from the left baseline, but followed his shot to rip away an offensive rebound. He scored on the put back and drew a foul. He missed the free throw. Luers led 50-47 with 3:25 remaining.

As Jordyn Coon squared up a three point shot to tie the game, he was fouled on the shot by a Knight guard. Jordyn missed the first of three charity stripe tosses, but made the next two to bring Warsaw within one point.

Nic Moore skied to grab a rebound off a Luers miss. Moore then pushed the ball up the center of the court to find an opening. Moore spotted Zack Linky down in the right corner where Linky had buried an earlier 3-ball for the Tigers. Nic dished the ball off to Linky. Zack again nailed the triple to regain the Warsaw lead 52-50 with just 2:04 left in this epic battle. Coach Ogle praised Zack on FOX28 cameras after the game saying "Zack Linky's 3-pointer turned this game around for us late in the 4th quarter."

Deshaun Thomas was fouled on the next play down the court. Warsaw was in the penalty for too many fouls. Thomas would have a chance to tie the game with the 1 and 1 foul shot opportunity. Like his previous attempt, DeShaun was unable to make the free throw. Lucas Grose rebounded the ball for Warsaw.

Justin Clemens was fouled by Thomas as he went strong to the basket for the Tigers. Clemens was able to make both charity strip tosses to give Warsaw a 54-50 advantage with 1:15 to go.

Luers could not get a shot to fall as their desperation heaves bounced off the rim into Tiger hands each time. Tiger fans and players were beginning to smell victory for the second consecutive year.

Jordyn Coon buried 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds while Moore made 1 of 2 for the Tigers. Zack Linky scored a lay-in as Warsaw broke the Knight full court press for an easy basket.

Nic Moore held the ball as the clock ticked down to zero. Moore raised his hand in the air to signal victory as he smiled at the Tiger fans that all stood to cheer on their victorious team.

Warsaw outscored Luers 17-14 in the final frame.

Complete Scoring for Warsaw:

Nic Moore - 25, Justin Clemens - 14, Zack Linky - 8, Jordyn Coon - 8, Andy Conrad - 3, Lucas Grose -2

Lucas Grose led the Tigers with 9 rebounds on the night. Lucas did a great job defending DeShaun Thomas as well. Thomas ended up with just 12 points though he did collect 16 rebounds in the losing effort.

Final Score: Warsaw 60 - FW Luers 50

Tiger fans rushed the court to get autographs from their star players and coaches. Coach Ogle was gracious enough to allow the fans to get as many autographs as they wanted before taking his team to the locker room. Tiger Basketball is in full force in a big way.

The ten point victory was the 9th straight win for Coach Doug Ogle's Tigers. Warsaw is now 16-2 on the season with two regular season games remaining. Warsaw plays their final home game of the season next Wednesday night (2/24) against the Elkhart Central Blue Blazers. Elkhart Central is 11-10 on the year and has won 4 out of their last 5 games.

Warsaw then travels to play #9 Fort Wayne Carroll at the FW Coliseum next Friday night. By the time that game rolls around both Warsaw and Carroll will be ranked in the top 10 teams in class 4A. The game starts at 7:00pm at the Coliseum and will be a preview of IHSAA state tournament action as well as atmosphere. Begin to make your plans to attend the final two regular season games before the Tigers begin sectional play the following week.

Great victory on Senior Night over a very good FW Luers team. Way to go Tigers!!

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball

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