Joey Corder (4) gets faked out by Warsaw’s Jake Mangas. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

BOURBON – There are plenty of times where games give fans, reporters and coaches plenty to talk about after the final buzzer. Then there are times when only coaches can best describe how to sum up a game.

The latter was the case Friday night as Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle summed up how the game between his Tigers and the Triton Trojans went.

“It was just kind of an ugly game,” Ogle said bluntly. “It had all the flow of a dammed up stream.”

Ogle could not have said it better, and it was his team that won the game.

Warsaw and Triton met for the 35th time Friday night for a game that many hoped would be memorable but soon turned into one that most fans would like to forget. Warsaw took advantage of a Triton team that just looked lost most of the night to claim a 43-24 victory.

“I was disappointed in our lack of leadership, lack of communication, lack of everything,” began Triton head coach Jason Groves. “It’s not that we weren’t hitting on some cylinders, we weren’t hitting on any cylinders.”

Nick Sands takes a shot for Warsaw.

Groves summed it up pretty well himself. Triton and Warsaw exchanged threes twice to start the game but the trifecta really disappeared after that for both teams, though the Tigers really never needed the deep shot.

Warsaw led 11-8 after the first quarter but even the tight, three-point game did not have either team really fired up. The Tigers took advantage of Triton’s lack of focus in the second quarter, outscoring the Trojans 17-6 to lead 28-14 at the break. That second quarter collapse at both ends of the court really would be the difference for Triton.

Warsaw outscored Triton in the third quarter 8-5 and again in the fourth 7-5. To put it simply, Friday’s game was really about as boring as high school basketball can get.

“We got control of the game in the second quarter and it was just not very exciting from there on out,” remarked Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. “We pulled away in the second quarter by scoring more in transition and forcing some turnovers. Triton had a rough night shooting the ball and we were fortunate for some of the shots they missed.”

Skyler Reichert scores two for the Trojans

Triton was without Masen Yeo who had an appendectomy over break. That certainly played a part in Friday’s offensive struggles for the Trojans. Between the two teams, there were just two players that scored double-digits. Jake Mangas of Warsaw and Skyler Reichert of Triton tied with 10 points each to lead all scorers. Nick Sands and Kyle Mangas both added an additional eight points each for the Tigers while Joey Corder scored another seven for the Trojans.

Warsaw shot a forgettable 39-percent from the field, but it was still more notable than Triton’s 28-percent performance in the Trojans first game since December 19.

“Don’t get me wrong, Warsaw is a good team,” said Groves. “But there was something not right with our team tonight. Maybe it was a culmination of not have Masen (Yeo), playing Warsaw, getting back from break. I don’t know. I don’t know what it was but I was definitely not pleased with what I saw.”

Triton (4-4) will host Elkhart Central Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Warsaw (8-1) will play in the nightcap of a boy/girl double header Saturday night at home against LaPorte. The boys will tip at approximately 7:45 p.m. following the girls contest.

Paul Marandet rolls over Jordan Anderson for a loose ball.