November 24, 2010
WCHS Tiger Den

		F
	Tippecanoe Valley Vikings	57
	#3 Warsaw Tigers (1-0)	69

Wednesday night began the 2010 Warsaw Tiger basketball season. A chance to pick up where they left off last year - a trip to the IHSAA State finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The 3 Tiger seniors from last year (Zack Linky, Andy Conrad, and Justin Clemens) returned from college to unveil the giant orange banner from last year's success. The Tiger Den was buzzing during the pre-game ceremonies in anticipation of getting the first look at Doug Ogle's 2010-2011 version of Tiger Basketball.

The constant from last year's squad is the return of the Big 3. Yes, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics have their version of the big 3 - a trio of players that coaches build their roster, offense, and championship plans around. For the Tigers it starts with 2011 Mr. Basketball candidate Nic Moore.

Moore is the third leading scorer in WCHS history averaging 21 points per game over his career. The other two big time returning players for the Tigers are juniors Jordyn Coon and Lucas Grose. Both players played JV as freshman and developed their varsity experience as sophomores last year

Between the 3 Tiger stars they have 7 varsity seasons under their belt as they open this campaign. You just can't teach experience and Warsaw will have the upper hand against the majority of their opponents over the course of the year.

On the flip side of the coin was Bill Patrick's Tippy Valley team. The Vikings entered the Tiger Den with 2 freshmen and 1 sophomore in the starting lineup. Valley knew they would have their hands full with the Tigers.

To the delight of the massive Tiger crowd that showed up to cheer on their beloved Warsaw team, Nic Moore and the Tigers put a whooping on the young Vikings in the first quarter of play. Moore scored 14 first quarter points on his way to a 31 point breakout performance. Grose and Coon combined for 7 of the other 10 points in the opening frame.

Warsaw took a commanding 24-9 lead after eight minutes of action.

The following three quarters belonged to the young Vikings. Valley outscored the mighty Tigers 48-45 the rest of the way to give the Vikings confidence as they move onto the rest of their schedule. Sophomore Nick Kindig led Valley with 18 points while freshman Tanner Shepherd added 16 points. This young Viking team will be a force to reckon with over the coming seasons as they continue to gain valuable varsity experience against bigger and stronger athletes.

The Tigers did play 8-10 players most of the game as they try to develop the depth of this team. Coach Ogle has the luxury of having 13 players on the varsity roster who have tons of JV and Varsity experience. Ten of those players saw extensive action Wednesday night against the Vikings. However, the Big 3 combined to score eighty percent of the Tiger points. Much like Rajon Rondo for the Celtics, Warsaw is looking for that 4th player to step up and give the Tigers that much needed extra scorer or assist leader. The Miami Heat are in a similar position as they are currently on the search to find that key player that will propel them to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Here is the breakdown by class of last night's scoring:

Here is the complete scoring for the Tigers:

Lucas Grose led the rebounding attack with 12 boards completing a solid double-double performance for the Tiger big man.

Warsaw will now turn its focus to the Columbia City Eagles this Saturday night in the Tiger Den.

The Eagles beat a good Whitko team Wednesday night 59-58. Last season the Tigers struggled through 2 quarters bore finishing off Columbia City 52-40. Nic Moore led the Tiger attack last season with 18 points while Jordyn Coon had his first break out game with 15 points.

Warsaw can expect to get every team's best shot this season with all the media attention the Tiger team has received over the past ten months. Rest assured, the Eagles will try to take the air out of the ball in their best attempt to upset the #3 ranked Tigers.

Make sure you get to the Tiger Den early to reserve your general admission seat above the rail. If the first game was any indication, the WCHS attendance record is in serious danger this season. More than 3,500 fans poured through the turnstiles Wednesday night. Tiger Basketball is back to the high-flying glory days of Ron Brandenburg, Jeff Grose, and Rick Fox.

We are Warsaw!

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball

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