There are days when you wake up and you feel like time is standing still. Other days are the exact opposite - as if you were catapulted through time from one Thursday to the next without remembering the days in between.

As I sat down to watch the 2011-12 version of Tiger Basketball, the feeling was more of the latter. It seemed like just yesterday I was watching Nic Moore walk out for the final time at the Tiger Den thinking he had a legitimate chance to win the coveted Indiana Mr. Basketball award. As I sat there at Valley High School ready to embark on this new season, I recalled Lucas Grose's first Varsity game and a young Jordyn Coon knocking down perhaps the biggest shot in Warsaw basketball history during the 2009-10 Semi-State at Huntington North. Then drifted back to Kevin Ault, Jeff Grose, and Rick Fox...

Okay wake up. I needed to focus on the task at hand. That task was cheering like a mad man for Doug Ogle's Tiger team that was about to face the arch-rival Tippecanoe Valley Vikings in Mentone. NOT an easy task no matter what either team's talent level holds. This is war baby! Every year!

The mighty Tigers took the court wearing all black warm-ups, all black shorts, all black socks, and all black Adidas basketball shoes. Even I was intimidated and I was rooting for Warsaw. The look on the young Viking players and fans was priceless. They were definitely shaken by the Tigers appearance and that carried over to the basketball game as well.

From the outset there was one basketball player on the floor that was heads and shoulders above the rest. For Warsaw fans, that player has been easily recognizable the last four seasons. We have been spoiled watching Nic Moore carry the team to heights that were not achieved since the early 90's. But this year fans were wondering how Coach Ogle's team would look without that familiar star.

Well I have some news for you, whether you are a Tiger fan or not.

There is a new sheriff in town. A new superstar, a face and a jersey that opposing teams are going to spend countless hours viewing game film trying to devise a strategy to stop. While not a new name to Warsaw Tiger Basketball, this new leader is new in the fact that he's not Nic Moore. But equally as dangerous!

He is 6'6" Senior Forward Lucas Grose. You can easily identify Warsaw's star by looking for the #22 on his black and orange jersey. Or you could simply look for the strongest player on the court running smoothly up and down the court while grabbing nearly every rebound of errant shot attempts. This kid is a BEAST!

Grose scored 15 first half points Wednesday night. Not only did he score, but he rebounded above the rim and was a calming force the less experienced Tigers on the court. Four Tiger players were making their first entrance into a Varsity game on this night (senior Kevin West, juniors Taylor Cone & John Swanson, and sophomore Jordan Stookey).

Warsaw started four seniors (Lucas Grose, Jordyn Coon, Rhett Kesler, Jay Hollady) and one junior (Jared Bloom). This starting five raced out to a first quarter advantage of 14-7 after eight minutes of action.

The Tigers were putting big time defensive pressure on the ball handlers of the Valley Vikings. Coach Ogle was calling out a defensive strategy that had the appearance of a 1-3-1 half-court trap. The Tiger front four were hounding the ball leading to 9 team steals on the night. The fast and furious action forced the Tiger coach to use his entire bench. A total of 9 Tigers played substantial minutes on this night.

The Vikings of Tippecanoe Valley held their own through the first half thanks to the inside play of sophomore Tanner Andrews. Andrews led the Vikings with 17 points and 5 rebounds for the game. Without Andrews, the Vikings would have been run off the court from the beginning. With the Viking big man Valley managed to keep it close at the half.

HALF TIME SCORE: Warsaw 26 - Valley 23

Warsaw opened the 3rd quarter with a 12-2 run to break open the game for good. It was Lucas Grose who led the charge, scoring 5 key points during the run. Junior sharpshooter Jared Bloom knocked down one of his two three point baskets, Kevin West nailed a few free throws and Warsaw's young phenom Jordan Stookey converted a layup to finish the Tiger spurt.

Stookey, who played all of last season for Jeff Grose's freshman team, had a huge summer. The 6'2' point guard has been compared to Nic Moore in his ability to pass the basketball. It's almost as if he can see the play develop before it happens which allows Jordan to distribute the orange ball to teammates in the basket area. Stookey finished the game with 2 assists to go along with 2 points and 2 rebounds.

Bloom, who is arguably the best outside shooter on the Warsaw squad, finished 2 for 3 from downtown on the night for a total of 6 points. As teams begin to double-down on Lucas Grose (and they will) Jared Bloom will find himself open for more and more outside shots. The duo of Bloom and senior Jay "Doc" Holladay, who also made 2 deep three balls, will be counted on heavily to stroke the long-range bombs with consistency. If these boys can hit these shots Warsaw will have a great chance to make a deep post-season run once again this year.

On the evening Warsaw shot 5 of 13 from 3-point land - good for 39%. Senior guard Jordyn "J-Smooth" Coon made the other three-pointer for the Tigers. J-Smooth was limited on his minutes in this game due to flu-like symptoms and having just recovered from a back injury. The super athletic 6'3" guard will be near 100% for Saturday night's game.

The Vikings never recovered from the early 3rd quarter punishment the Tigers administered. Warsaw outscored Valley 19 to 6 in the period to take a commanding 45-29 lead heading into the final quarter.

Tiger senior point guard, Rhett Kesler, put the nails in the Viking coffin -- 12 nails to be precise. Kesler stepped to the free throw line 6 different times during the final eight minutes and each time he was a perfect 2 for 2 in conversions. Rhett finished the game as the only other Warsaw player to score in double digits. Here is a senior leader who understands the importance of practicing foul shots each day.

Warsaw won the game 64-47. It was the Tigers tenth victory over Valley in the last 12 meetings between the two Kosciusko County teams.

FINAL SCORING FOR WARSAW:

Lucas Grose 26 points, 11 rebounds
Rhett Kesler 12
Jordyn Coon 7
Jared Bloom 6
Jay Holladay 6
Taylor Cone 3
Kevin West 2
Jordan Stookey 2

The Tigers will now head East on US 30 to take on the Columbia City Eagles. TSN caught up with Coach Doug Ogle after the Valley game to get his thoughts on Saturday night's contest against a very good Eagle squad.

"First off, Coach Benedict is a great basketball coach" said Ogle. "They return something like 6 out of their best 7 players from a team that made a Semi-State run last season so they are very good. They also had a player move in from Huntington North who was arguably their best player from a year ago. We will have our hands full"

Tiger Nation is urged to make the 25 minute trip to Columbia City to support their beloved Tiger Basketball team. The JV contest is scheduled for 6:15 Saturday 11/26 @ Columbia City High School.

The gymnasium will be rocking as the Eagles look to end a 5 game losing streak against the Tigers. The Eagles are 1-0 after destroying Whitko 61-41 Wednesday night.

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball