WARSAW – The Warsaw boys basketball team battled back Saturday night.

The Tigers, in the end though, could not overcome a slow start.

Visiting Crown Point rode a red-hot shooting effort from distance to top the Tigers 55-50 in a non-conference contest in the Tiger Den.

The Bulldogs bolted to a 19-6 lead after the first period en route to improving to 2-3 on the season. Warsaw, which falls to 2-5 with its fifth straight loss, trailed 28-19 at halftime. Crown Point drained 7-9 shots from 3-point range in the opening half.

Nolan Groninger led the way for Warsaw with 14 points. The junior guard was 8-8 from the free throw line and also had four assists and four rebounds.

Tyler Metzinger netted 10 points and Jack Grose added nine for the Tigers. Brian Elliott scored seven points, while Zach Riley had six and Jaylen Reese four.

Warsaw hit the 50-point mark for just the third time this season. The Tigers were coming off a 28-20 Northern Lakes Conference loss at home to rival Wawasee Friday night. That game marked the lowest scoring output for Warsaw since a 29-20 loss to Milford during the 1948-49 season.

The Tigers shot 17-40 overall from the field, but continued to struggle from beyond the arc Saturday night with a 3-12 effort. The hosts, who did not even attempt a single free throw Friday night were 13-14 from the line.

Sam Snodgrass tossed in a game-high 20 points to pace Crown Point. He was 4-6 on treys.

Kenny Mills scored 13 points and hit all three of his 3-point tries for the Bulldogs. Elias Gerodermos added 12 points for the winners.

Crown Point, which beat Warsaw 50-46 in overtime last season, shot 17-30 overall from the field and hit 10-13 from deep. They were 11-17 from the line.

Warsaw won the junior varsity game 46-36. Jaylen Coon had 14 points and Blake Marsh 12 to lead the winners.

Warsaw hosts Whitko (4-3) Wednesday night and then plays at Class 2-A No. 3 Westview (6-0) on Saturday night.

Crown Point hosts Kankakee Valley Tuesday night.