A day filled with anticipation turned into disappointment despite a victory.

For weeks Doug Ogle's Warsaw Tiger basketball team was eagerly anticipating a trip to Indianapolis to play at historic Hinkle Field House. The field house sits on the campus of Butler University and has been the home to the two-time National NCAA runner up Bulldogs.

Warsaw was scheduled to play Rochester at 12:45pm in the Big Rivals classic. As late as Thursday night's practice all preparations were geared toward this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Friday December 9, 2011.

At approximately 2:00pm Friday afternoon the organizer of the Big Rivals event called the WCHS Athletic Office to inform the Tigers of a cancellation. What was the cancellation? The ENTIRE day at Hinkle! Say What?

According to a new NCAA rule that took place in mid April 2011, high school basketball teams cannot play on a college campus unless it is deemed a scholastic event. Obviously, the only thing "scholastic" about playing a basketball game is the name of the schools on the uniforms.

Needless to say the Tigers were disappointed. Coach Doug Ogle elaborated on the crazy turn of events, "I told the kids that if this is the worst thing that ever happens to us, we'll be pretty fortunate. It's out of our control so there is nothing we could do about it."

The game was moved to Rochester High School. Warsaw made the 35-minute trip instead of a 2-hour trip to Indy. The change did not affect Warsaw's play.

From the moment Tiger guard Jared Bloom hit the first shot of the game (a 3-pointer) Warsaw simply overpowered the Zebras. Warsaw led 13 to 4 at the end of the first period and took a whopping 27-10 lead into halftime.

Rochester simply had no answer to Warsaw's pressure. "Our nine man rotation is pretty good." Said Ogle. " We like to keep fresh players on the floor."

Warsaw's largest lead of the game was 42-17 after 3 quarters of action. The Tigers won the game by twenty-four points.

FINAL SCORE: Warsaw 52 - Rochester 28

Complete Scoring for the Tigers:

READY FOR WAWASEE?

The Tigers turn their attention to the Northern Lakes Conference. This Friday night 12/16 Warsaw will host arch rival Wawaseee at the Tiger Den. The Warriors are off to an incredible 5-0 start to the 2011-12 season.

Not only is Wawasee winning, they are doing it impressive fashion. The Warriors winning margin of victory is more than 20 points. They are simply blowing other teams out of the water.

Friday night will be a good barometer of where this Tiger team stands. Lucas Grose, Jordyn Coon & company will need to bring their A-game as the conference season begins. Tiger fans are asked to come out in big numbers to support the home team.

I can assure you this fast-paced style of basketball will result in a TON of points being scored by both teams. You will definitely get your money's worth out of that $5 ticket price.

The atmosphere will be ELECTRIC! Warsaw Tigers (4-1) will battle the Wawasee Warriors (5-0) at the Tiger Den. The JV contest will begin at 6:00pm.

See you there!

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball