Published: January 12, 2008 12:04 am         

Tigers protect their den in defeat over Goshen

A few moments when the Goshen Redskins lacked execution on defense were all the Warsaw Tigers needed.

Warsaw stretched a three-point halftime lead into a 10-point bulge entering the fourth quarter on the way to a 61-52 Northern Lakes Conference high school boys basketball win Friday night at the “Tiger Den” in Warsaw.

“They were not doing anything we didn’t expect,” Goshen coach Brian Bechtel said. “We just didn’t do a very good job on ball screens. Warsaw got (5-8 freshman Nic) Moore open more often than we could allow and win the game.

“There were a lot of times in the game we didn’t do the fundamentals things. Warsaw does a good job teaching players to get on the weakside position for rebounds.”

Moore tossed in a game-high 26 points to lead the Tigers.

“I really have a lot of respect for Coach Bechtel and what he is doing in the Goshen program,” Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. “What he is doing with that team is the reason we could not separate from them during the game. The fact that we could not did not surprise me at all.”

Marshall Crawford, 6-2 junior, scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half.

“In the second we wanted to do a better job defensively on Crawford,” Ogle said. “We also wanted to rebound better. The other thing that helped us is that we got on track offensively.”

Goshen (8-3 overall, 1-2 NLC) hosts NorthWood next Friday. Warsaw (9-3, 3-0) visits South Bend Clay tonight.

Goshen started the game by opening a 6-2 lead with 3:28 left in the first quarter. Six-six senior Nathan Stegelmann, Crawford and 6-0 senior Ryan Bartley had baskets for the Redskins. Warsaw got a basket from 6-1 sophomore Andy Conrad at 1:48 and the period ended with Goshen leading 7-6.

Every time Goshen tried to open a lead in the second period, the Tigers stayed right with the Redskins.

Goshen led 17-16 with 3:06 left in the first half after a basket by Crawford only to have 6-3 junior Ryne Robinson regain the lead for the Tigers with a bucket at 2:42. Crawford’s basket at 1:55 gave Goshen a 19-18 lead, but a 3-pointer from Moore put the Tigers up 21-19. Cam Snyder, 6-1 Redskin senior, tied the score 21-21 with a pair of free throws at 1:21.

Warsaw got its three-point lead (24-21) at halftime with a basket from Moore and a freebie from Conrad.

Goshen got to within one point at 26-25 at 6:28 of the third on a layin by Snyder. But then Warsaw scored nine unanswered points for a 35-25 lead with 4:21 remaining in the third. Seven of the points during that key stretch were scored by Moore.

“Moore showed that he puts in more time in the gym than any other player in the state,” Bechtel said. “You don’t come in and hit the big shots like he does as a freshman without putting in the time.”

Moore was key for the Tigers down the stretch, hitting all six of his free throw attempts in the fourth.

“Warsaw did a good job getting him (Moore) open,” Bechtel said. “He was not the guy we wanted to foul, but we had no choice when he had the ball in his hands.”

The Redskins got to within seven (43-36) with 5:13 left to play on a 3-point play by Crawford.

“Crawford is a real good all-around player,” Bechtel said. “He can score from either inside or outside. He plays with lots of emotion. Our team appreciates that.

“You could tell from the game that Warsaw wanted to shut down our leading scorer (6-2 junior Ethan Hussey 11.1 ppg). We only have one guy averaging in double figures, but we have had six different guys score in double figures. We need to get Hussey cleaner looks in our offense.

“One of the things we need to learn from this experience is that when one player gets shut down someone else has to step up and score.”

They are a hard team to play from behind, because they are such a fundamental club. Warsaw turned the ball over just eight times in the entire contest.

“Coach Ogle is doing such a great job with this program,” Bechtel said. “Their fundamentals are very solid. They have really good players and they are young ones as well.”

JV Wins

Goshen’s JV improved to 11-0 under coach Hal Farmwald with a 37-32 come-from-behind victory.

Goshen trailed by seven points going into the fourth quarter. The Redskins took the lead for good at 33-32 with 1:25 to go on a trey by sophomore Jon Good. Junior Alex Aguilar converted twice from the free-throw line at :22 and sophomore TJ Wright twice at :03 to account for the final margin.

Good scored nine points, junior Brock Bender and Wright both eight, junior Scott Landis five, Aguilar four and junior Andrew Bowers three for Goshen. Sophomore Zack Linky had 10 points, sophomore Josh Anglin and Zach Owens eight apiece for Warsaw.