Have you ever felt misled or misguided about a product after you made the purchase? You know, you just didn't get the value you anticipated when you handed over your hard-earned cash to make the item yours. The first game of the Bowman Tiger Holiday Tournament was not one of these regrettable ticket purchases. In fact, the $5.00 admission price was much like a 50% off sale at your local Mercedes Benz dealership. This game was an instant classic.

6'8" Blackhawk Christian senior Russell Byrd and 5'10" Warsaw junior Nic Moore were hyped in the pre-game chat as a must see matchup. Byrd, who has committed to Michigan State, needed just 5 points to break the 1,000 plateau in his illustrious career. Moore, who broke the freshman scoring record at Warsaw, already has 865 career points with more than 30 games still to play in his high school career.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as Justin Clemens, Andy Conrad, and Lucas Grose connected on inside baskets. Byrd led the Braves with an early 3-point field goal to bring Blackhawk within one (6-5) with 4:41 to go in the 1st. Nic Moore promptly responded with a long range bomb to answer Byrd's tri-fecta as Warsaw led 9-6.

Blackhawk would be dealt a major blow as Byrd was whistled for his second foul with 3:38 still to play in the opening frame. The Braves would need to find scoring from another source with their Division 1 star on the bench.

Fellow senior forward Seth Kisler answered the call. Kisler, also 6'8'' tall, scored a pair of field goals to keep Blackhawk within striking range of the hometown Tigers. Warsaw led 12-11 with 3:16 on the clock.

Nic Moore proceeded to knock down a triple and a lay-up off of a Jordyn Coon steal to score the next 5 points for Warsaw. The Tigers took a five point advantage after one quarter.

End of Quarter 1: Warsaw 18 - Blackhawk 13

The second quarter began with an intensified defensive effort for Coach Ogle's team. Sophomore, Lucas Grose, drew the assignment of defending Byrd from the onset. Grose's gritty effort on the defensive side of the ball began to frustrate the Brave's star as he was held scoreless over the next 6 minutes of action.

Behind Grose's effort, the Tigers mounted a run of 11 consecutive points to open up a 29-13 lead with 2:01 left in the half.

Jordyn Coon stole the ball in the backcourt for an easy 2 points and senior Zack Linky connected on a left-handed lay-up as Moore fed him the ball crossing the lane. Linky was fouled on the play and converted the charity stripe toss for an old-fashioned 3 point play.

The remaining 2nd quarter points came from Warsaw's star guard Nic Moore. Moore connected on 10 of 11 (91%) first half shots en route to 17 points. Moore scored so effortlessly while also leading the Tigers in assists over the first sixteen minutes.

Moore loves the challenge of the underdog role. While Indiana basketball fans continually here about players like DeShaun Thomas, Russell Byrd, and Raphael Davis, the state's best player might just be Nic Moore.

Warsaw held the Braves to just 1 second quarter field goal as they outscored Blackhawk 14-2. The one field goal was scored by Byrd giving him 1,002 career points as a Blackhawk Christian Brave.

End of 1st Half: Warsaw 32 - Blackhawk 15

The Tigers continued to move the basketball to begin the 3rd. Jordyn Coon collected 2 early assists on a feeds to Justin Clemens and Nic Moore. Lucas Grose grabbed an offensive rebound and scored as he drew a foul with 5:36 on the clock. Grose connected the free throw attempt to finish a 3 point play for the Tigers. Andy Conrad swished a 10 foot jumper to give Warsaw its biggest lead of the game 44-19 with 3:46 to play in the 3rd.

With the Tiger lead now at 25 points, Russell Byrd & Seth Kisler began their attempt to pull Blackhawk back into this contest. Byrd stole a pass before half court and threw down a one-handed slam dunk to give the Braves reason to cheer.

Kisler then grabbed an ally oop out of mid-air to slam home 2 more points for Blackhawk. Fans on both sides were entertained by the high flying acrobatics. Entertainment was easy to find in this game full of D1 talent.

While Byrd and Kisler were flying through the air, Nic Moore continued his hot shooting for Warsaw. Moore scored 13 third quarter points to lead the Tiger offensive parade. Warsaw junior sharpshooter Joey Sparkman connected on a 3-point field goal to give Warsaw a 53-33 lead with less than 2 minutes left on the clock.

The Tigers received a scare when sophomore guard Jordyn Coon hit the floor hard on a rebound attempt. Coon remained on the floor for a few minutes as Coach Ogle and the team trainer attended to him. Jordyn walked off the floor under his own power, but would not return to this game. Jordyn confirmed he will be able to play in the evening game against Lafayette Jefferson.

Warsaw outscored Blackhawk 26-24 in a 3rd quarter offensive show.

End of Quarter 3: Warsaw 58 - Blackhawk 39

The Tigers maintained their lead to start the fourth. Seniors Andy Conrad and Justin Clemens both scored on mid range jump shots for Warsaw. With the Warsaw lead at twenty points with just 4+ minutes remaining, Tiger Coach Doug Ogle turned to his bench to maintain the lead.

Joey Sparkman delivered his second made field goal attempt from 13 feet away as Warsaw led 66-49 with just 2:59 left in the game.

Russell Byrd once again entertained the crowd with a two-handed power slam as he drove down the lane.

Blackhawk continued to push as their dynamic duo of Byrd and Kisler racked up 4th quarter points. Byrd ended up scoring a team high 28 points on 14-32 (43%) shooting from the floor. Seth Kisler finished the game with 21 points on 8-17 (47%) shooting for the Braves. No other Blackhawk player was able to score more than 4 points as the Warsaw defensive strategy paid dividends for the Tigers.

The game however belonged to Mr. Moore. Nic totaled a game high 31 points to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He simply could not be stopped on this day as he scored virtually any time he wanted.

Tiger reserves Christopher O'Hara and Cody Bragg netted 1 free throw each late for the Tiger offense. Lucas Grose totaled a team high 7 rebounds to lead Warsaw.

Warsaw was outscored in the frame 19-13.

Final Score: Warsaw 71 - Blackhawk 58

Warsaw improved to 6-1 on the season. The Tigers will face Lafayette Jefferson (5-3) tonight at 8:00 in the finale of the Holiday Tournament. Lafayette Jefferson is led by Jesse Berry's 24.0 points per game and Roddy Richardson's 16.3 points per game. Tonight's contest will be another chance for the Tigers to gauge just how strong they are as a team. Warsaw's last real test ended up as their only loss of the season as Fort Wayne South Side beat the Tigers in Fort Wayne back on the 4th of December.

Break out $5 folks and come support your Tigers as they face a talented Lafayette Jefferson squad. The price of admission is sure to be a bargain once again. Go Tigers!

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Basketball

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