Fresh off an emotional victory over Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers last Friday night, the Warsaw Tigers hosted the Elkhart Central Blue Blazers. The Blazers entered tonight's contest with an 11-10 record after having won five out of their last seven games. The Tigers meanwhile had collected nine straight wins entering Wednesday night's game.

Elkhart Central is next week's host for the sectional #4 tournament to be played at North Side Gymnasium. Central will face off with cross town rival Memorial in the second game.

Warsaw Coach Doug Ogle had the dubious task of not only winning this game but also trying to preserve his players' energy for Friday night's showdown at the Fort Wayne Coliseum versus Fort Wayne Carroll. Ogle used 11 players during the course of the night as he frequently substituted to keep the Tigers fresh.

Elkhart Central junior forward Mason Braden scored the first two baskets of this game to give his team the early 4-0 advantage.

Nic Moore scored Warsaw's first basket as he posted up Blazer guard Chris Holt on the block. Holt and Moore had been jawing at each other from the opening tip. Holt fouled Moore on the play and Nic made the free throw. 4-3 Blazers.

Holt answered at the other end on a ten foot jump shot.

Warsaw senior Andy Conrad then posted up a Blazer defender for 2 points. Elkhart Central led 6-5 with 6:04 on the clock.

After an Elkhart Central basket, Nic Moore connected on his first 3-pointer of the night to tie the score at 8 apiece. Moore would go on to make five long-range bombs before the night was over. Scouts from Butler University and the University of Evansville were on hand to witness Moore's performance.

He was just getting warmed up.

Elkhart Central scored the next six points to finish the quarter.

Tiger fans grew impatient as they witnessed their team go without scoring over the final three minutes and 44 seconds of the first frame. The Tigers were playing some ugly basketball.

End of Quarter 1: Elkhart Central 14 - Warsaw 8

Blazer guard Chris Holt scored the first basket of the 2nd quarter to give his team their largest lead of the night. The Blazers led 16-8.

Tiger sophomore Lucas Grose scored his first basket less than a minute later to cut the blazer lead to just six. Nic Moore used a pump fake to draw his defender in the air before rising to nail a jump shot on the next possession. Blazers 16-Tigers 12.

The four quick points sparked some much needed energy into the home crowd.

Led by the Warsaw Cheer Block (who were sporting their plain white tees as their theme for this game), the Tiger crowd cheered on their team. After a sluggish 11 minutes of basketball, the local fans wanted to see vintage Warsaw Basketball action.

We Are (clap, clap) Warsaw. We Are (clap, clap) Warsaw.

Nic Moore (The Entertainer) would answer the Tiger fans call. The 5 foot 9 in all-state guard scored an amazing 12 points over the next five minutes. Moore hit two 3-point shots and converted a perfect 6 for 6 from the foul line on his way to 20 first half points.

The crowd having been completely entertained was back. Loud as ever!

Elkhart Central would manage just 6 points in the 2nd quarter to tie Nic's 20 points. The Tigers outscored the Blazers 18-6 in the period.

End of First Half: Warsaw 26 - Elkhart Central 20

Warsaw senior forward Justin Clemens began the second half by scoring two buckets. The first on a goaltending call as he skied for a lay-up. The second on a fade away jump shot in the lane. Warsaw led 30-23 with 6:51 to play in the 3rd quarter.

After a Lucas Grose free throw, Nic Moore sank his fourth triple from the right wing to extend the Tiger lead to nine (34-25). Moore was in the groove.

Clemens added another basket on an offensive rebound on the next possession. Clemens always seems to find the ball when the Tigers need a clutch rebound.

Warsaw would score the next six points utilizing their transition offense.

Blazer senior Josh Riikonen finally scored with 39 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter to stop the Warsaw run.

Again Nic Moore and Elkhart Central had compiled the same amount of points through 3 quarters of play. As a coach and player for the Blazers, you had to be frustrated knowing 1 Tiger player had equaled your entire output for the game. AND you had played a great first quarter to grab a six point lead.

Warsaw outscored Elkhart Central 16-7 in the quarter.

Nic Moore 27 - Elkhart Central 27.

End of Quarter 3: Warsaw 42 - Elkhart Central 27

Again it was Nic Moore scoring the first basket of the final frame. Moore was just too strong for the Blazer guards as he continually posted them up in the basket area before imposing his strength on the way to the rim.

Blazer junior Jalen Culbreath hit back-to-back 3 pointers to give his team a chance. Culbreath's threes cut the lead to 44-33 with seven minutes remaining in the game. Central fans stood to cheer their team in hopes of a miracle.

Andy Conrad and Lucas Grose scored consecutive baskets for Warsaw to end that hope. Conrad's points came on a baseline jumper while Grose slammed home a dunk for his 2 points. Though the ball did not go down cleanly for Lucas, he proved to the entire gymnasium that he will be dunking at will in the very short future. Tiger fans cannot wait!

Nic Moore proved he could do more than just score. Moore found Justin Clemens on their patent transition connection before dishing a left-handing shovel pass to Lucas Grose the next trip down the court. Warsaw 52 - Central 35.

After a pair of free throws by Blazer forward Josh Riikonen, Moore swished a three-pointer from the top of the key to break his personal career high of 29 points in a game. Moore's 5th and final 3-point shot gave the junior star a whopping 32 points for the night. Up the career scoring list he moves as he positions himself to take a run at 1984 Mr. Basketball, Jeff Grose's #2 position next season.

Warsaw Coach Doug Ogle called time out to put a fresh 5 guys on the floor for the Tigers for the remaining 3:46 of action. Moore and company left the game to a standing ovation from the Tiger faithful.

Warsaw sophomore Jordyn Coon connected on four free throws while Tiger reserve Christopher O'Hara made 2 charity stripe tosses for the Tigers as well.

Complete Scoring for Warsaw:

Nic Moore - 32, Lucas Grose - 11, Justin Clemens - 8, Andy Conrad - 4, Jordyn Coon - 4, Christopher O'Hara - 2

Justin Clemens led the Tiger rebounding effort with 5 while Lucas Grose pulled down 4. Nic Moore led Warsaw with 4 assists.

The Tigers shot an astounding 51.2% from the field in this game on 21 of 41 shooting. Warsaw was 14 of 20 (70%) from the free throw line.

Josh Riikonen led Elkhart Central with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Ironically for Riikonen, his numbers matched those of FW Luers star DeShaun Thomas in the 60-50 Warsaw victory last Friday night at the Tiger Den.

Elkhart Central out-scored Warsaw 22-19 over the final 8 minutes of the game.

Final Score: Warsaw 61 - Elkhart Central 49

The victory was the 10th straight for Warsaw. They will enter Friday's contest ranked #8 in 4A with a record of 17-2. Carroll will bring its identical 17-2 record into the FW Coliseum ranked #11 4A. The clash of the state powerhouses will be each teams last game before sectional championships begin the following week. This game will have an electric atmosphere and will prepare both teams for the IHSAA tournament rounds in terms of both competition and crowd size.

The game is part of the Sportscenter Classic and also features Bishop Luers against Fort Wayne North Side. The Tigers will play at 7:00 pm with the Luers and North Side clash to follow. Tickets will be available at the door for $6 per person. Fans are also reminded that there is a parking charge of $4 per car at the Coliseum.

Sectional Tickets

Tickets are on sale in the Warsaw Tiger athletic office. The office will be open from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. Season tickets purchased in advance will cost $9.00. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase advance season tickets through Friday, February 26.

After this date season tickets will only be available at the North Side Gym ticket window on Tuesday night and Friday night. Tickets purchased on Tuesday and Friday at North Side will only be for upstairs seating in the Gym.

Follow all of the Tiger Basketball action here at www.TigerSportsNation.com

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball

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