November 26, 2011; A Coming Out Party For Underclassmen Jared Bloom & Jordan Stookey.

Tiger Basketball Coach Doug Ogle knew his team was in for a war Saturday night. As soon as the final horn sounded in a lopsided 17 point victory over Tippecanoe Valley, the Warsaw General already had concern on his face. That concern took the form of a few questions in Ogle's mind.

How would his Tiger team defend the lethal Columbia City duo of Drew Benedict and Derek Hinen and just how good was this Eagle team that had drilled the Whitko Wildcats by 20 points? Obviously, Columbia City Coach Chris Benedict had a good thing going as his team had made it to the Semi-State last year and had already proven that they had improved over the summer as well.

The gymnasium at Columbia City officially seats 3,000 fans. Let me be the first to tell you that the gym was near capacity for this game. "The atmosphere was amazing tonight," said Doug Ogle, "Two very good basketball teams played in front of a full house and it made for an electric game."

Warsaw stormed out of the gates. The Tigers grabbed an early 8-2 advantage behind 5 early points from junior shooting guard, Jared Bloom.

Columbia City didn't panic. Instead, they went on one of the most amazing run of 3- point bombs that I have personally witnessed. Junior sharpshooter Drew Benedict, the coach's son, hit consecutive shots from four feet behind the three point arc. Following behind Benedict was senior left hander Drew Burnsworth. Burnsworth nailed a set of his own 23 foot jumpers that capped an 18-2 run for the Eagles. Holy smokes! This display was incredible to witness first hand.

Unless you are Warsaw's coach, "I was just saying to myself, are you kidding me?" smiled Ogle, "Benedict was shooting the ball from so far out and Burnsworth doesn't even start for them. It seemed like we were in for a long night during that run. I just kept telling the kids that we needed to be patient and hang around."

Tiger senior Jordyn "J Smooth" Coon answered the call. J Smooth calmly hit a long range jumper to stem the rushing tide of Eagle points that seemed to last forever if you were a Tiger fan. The shot impressed his coach; "Jordyn played a great game tonight. He felt better physically and it really showed," continued Ogle, "That shot he hit was one of the biggest plays of the night for us - clutch!"

Coon's jumper cut the Eagle lead to 17-10 to end the first quarter. Eagle fans were loud and they absolutely could smell blood.

The Eagles would not let up. Burnsworth continued his hot hand as the senior added two more long distance shots - his third and fourth of the first half to give Columbia City their largest lead of this game at 28-17. The clock read 4:45 in the second period. Warsaw called timeout to regroup; the Eagles were kicking the Tigers butts.

Enter sophomore guard Jordan Stookey. This night was a coming out party for the youngster. Stookey quickly assisted J Smooth under the basket for 2 points. Then the younger Jordan drained two BIG TIME shots from the land of milk-n-honey. Stookey's pair of 3-point bombs cut the Columbia City lead to 30-27 with just over a minute left in the half. "What can I say," proclaimed the Warsaw coach, "Jordan Stookey played a great basketball game tonight. He was very big and Jordan has a very bright future ahead of him as a Warsaw Tiger."

Warsaw rebounded an errant Eagle shot and held the ball for the final shot of the quarter. Tiger Superstar, Lucas Grose, who had been held to just one basket to this point -- took the Rhett Kesler pass. Grose hit a spinning jumper off the backboard as the clock expired. The Tigers had clawed their way back!

HALFTIME SCORE: Columbia City 30 - Warsaw 29

The third quarter was a battle. Neither team could pull away from the other.

Warsaw had a renewed focus. That focus was centered solely on #22. The Tigers turned to their superstar senior, Lucas Grose. They repeatedly fed the post as they began their offensive sets. Time and time again, Grose would assess the Eagle defense before deciding where to go with the basketball. The 6'6" inch power forward converted all four of his field goal attempts in the quarter en route to an eight-point outburst to pace the Tigers.

Derek Hinen answered for Columbia City. The 6'3" junior maneuvered his way through traffic on several occasions to get to the rim. Hinen scored 6 points in the quarter as he did his best to match Lucas Grose each time down the court.

The Eagles outscored the Tigers 13 to 12 in the 3rd period to extend their lead. At the end of three full quarters Warsaw trailed 43-41. Onto crunch time. Where would the Tigers turn in their first close game without Nic Moore? After all it had been four full seasons of knowing where the security blanket was.

Jared Bloom was the first Tiger to step up in this pressure-cooker environment. The junior guard skied in the air to steal a cross-court pass intended for Derek Hinen. Bloom proceeded to dribble the length of the floor as he converted a lay up. Bloom was also fouled on the play. He made the free throw to give Warsaw it's first lead in what seemed like forever. "Jared Bloom showed Warsaw fans what he is capable of tonight," said Doug Ogle. "Jared is a great shooter and he played a great game for us. His steal was crucial. The timing of the steal was crucial and the way he converted on the three-point play was huge for us."

After trading baskets, the Tiger duo of Bloom and Stookey struck again. The underclassmen were fearless in the face of intensity. First it was Jordan Stookey who knocked down another three point shot (his 3rd for the game). The sophomore sensation did not stop there. On the next Warsaw possession, JStook penetrated baseline left before pulling up and draining a 12 foot jumper - BOTTOMS! Tiger fans go crazy!

Anything you can do I can do better. That was the look on Jared Bloom's face as he took an outlet pass on the fast break before rising up on the right wing. SPLASH ~ WET!! Bloomy had just nailed his second triple of the night to give Warsaw it's largest lead since the 5:35 mark of the first quarter. Ironically enough, it was his first 3-point shot way back then that established that lead as well. Oh yeah Tiger fans, we have found ourselves another Kevin Ault/Jeff Grose in terms of pure shooters. This Bloom kid has a sweet-sweet stroke!

TIMEOUT Columbia City. Warsaw leads 54-49 with 2:02 to play.

Derek Hinen scored out of the timeout for the home team. The Eagles were now forced to foul. Somebody should have told them not to foul Rhett Kesler, because this senior point guard is $$MONEY$$ from the charity stripe. Columbia City fouled Kesler three consecutive trips down the court - the outcome all the same. Rhett calmly and collectedly swished a perfect 6 for 6 to extend the Tiger lead to seven 58-51. Kelser is a perfect 100% on the young season from the free throw line. He certainly is making an impression on his coach. "There is no secret where we want the ball at the end of the game," exclaimed Ogle. "When we get the lead late, we give the ball to Rhett and he comes through for us. He is a great foul shooter and he is showing that."

After another Drew Benedict 3 point shot from nearly half court, the Tigers were caught in a few scary exchanges that brought the game back into question. Warsaw's floor leader and best player, Lucas Grose, picked up his 5th foul. Grose was forced to take a seat on the bench and become a spectator for the final 16 seconds of action. No big deal you would assume? WRONG!

Grose fouled junior forward Daniel Woll. Woll made both free throws to cut the Warsaw lead to four at 60-56 with 16 seconds left. Columbia City immediately applied full court pressure against the Tigers. That pressure forced a killer 5-second call. Eagle ball. Again it was Daniel Woll who took the in-bounds pass under his own basket and scored. He was also fouled on the play...EAGLE FANS WENT BIZZERK!

Woll's free throw was good. The Tiger lead had been cut to a single point. Nervous times for nearly 3,000 fans, no matter who you were cheering for. Jordyn Coon quickly inbounded the ball to Jared Bloom. Bloom beat the Eagle pressure down the floor before being hacked with just over 10 seconds left on the clock. Bloomy made both free throws in clutch fashion to extend the Warsaw lead back to three (62-59). Columbia City setup a three point shot for Drew Burnsworth from the left wing. Burnsworth's shot sailed long into the hands of Tiger junior Taylor Cone. Cone's big rebound secured the victory for Warsaw.

WOW! What a game. The best $5 ticket any of the large crowd had spent in a long time. Including the new Twilight movie!

FINAL SCORE: Warsaw 63 - Columbia City 59

Complete Scoring for the Warsaw Tigers:

Jared Bloom 15
Lucas Grose 14
Jordan Stookey 13
Jordyn Coon 10
Rhett Kesler 8
Jay Holladay 2
Taylor Cone 1

Final thoughts on the game from the Warsaw head coach. "We really improved tonight. Our guys felt like we did not play very well against Valley and they wanted to play better here tonight. Columbia City is a very good basketball team. They will not lose too many games this season, especially in this gymnasium, so I am proud of our guys." Ogle summarized, "Bloom and Stookey were huge in this game. I thought Jordyn Coon played exceptional tonight. Lucas Grose did not have a huge night, but still scored 14 points on 70% filed goal shooting. That's a great night for most players. We will enjoy this one and get ready for our first two home games next Friday and Saturday. I encourage all Tiger fans to come out and take a good look at this year's team. We have an exciting team and our faithful fans will really enjoy this group."

The 2-0 Tigers will open up their home schedule this Friday night against Fort Wayne Homestead. Homestead is a perfect 2-0 after beating both Huntington North and Merrillville in consecutive games.

Warsaw will then turn around and play Saturday night in the Tiger Den as well versus Huntington North (1-1).

Tiger fans are encouraged to show up in big numbers for these games. Fans need to witness this new era in Tiger Basketball. These boys play at a different pace and play together. Nic Moore was great, but the Tiger Basketball program is greater.

Doors open at 5:45 for the JV games. The JV tipoff is set for 6:15 both nights with the Varsity following immediately after. See you there!

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