Nolan Groninger led the Warsaw Tigers with 17 points to beat Tippecanoe Valley 51-44 Wednesday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

AKRON – Warsaw boys basketball head coach Doug Ogle didn’t need to wait long to find the next person to step up and lead the Tigers.

After losing an all-timer in Kyle Mangas and seeing star after star graduate in recent years, junior Nolan Groninger stepped forward Wednesday night and put the Tigers on his back. Nearly dropping a triple double, Groninger helped lead Warsaw to a 51-44 win at Tippecanoe Valley in the season opener for both clubs.

Groninger scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and added nine rebounds and eight assists in an impressive opener. And Warsaw needed every bit of the contribution as Tippecanoe Valley refused to go away.

Tanner Trippiedi hit five threes for Valley.

Warsaw led nearly through all of the first three quarters, taking a 31-29 lead into the fourth and only seeing the game tied once, at 29-29. Warsaw’s seven-point lead at the half quickly dissolved after Valley opened on an 8-2 run, but the Tigers still led 27-26. Opening the fourth, Tanner Trippiedi drilled a three from way out, giving Valley its first lead at 32-31. The Tigers responded immediately when Landen Ferber dropped in a floater, and Jack Grose promptly buried a three on Warsaw’s next possession to give Warsaw a four-point edge.

Groninger went to work from there, hitting a pair of threes and a tough jumper. His final two points gave Warsaw a six-point lead and put a lid on the competitive contest.

“He’s our best player,” stated Ogle of Groninger. “He answered the bell. He put the bit in his mouth and took charge and made a variety of different plays. That is a pretty impressive statline. That’s nearly a triple double. He was one rebound and two assists away from a triple double. In a high school game, that’s hard to do.”

It wasn’t quite a Golden State-like performance, but Tippecanoe Valley head coach Chad Patrick, in his first game taking over for his dad, Bill, gave the green light to anyone and everyone to shoot from anywhere, at any time.

Parkur Dalrymple nailed three triples in the first quarter and had 11 points at the half. Valley hit five three-pointers in the first half to keep the game tight, and stretched out Warsaw’s defense much further than the Tigers looked comfortable defending. Trippiedi was also firing away from deep, hitting 5-9 attempts to finish at 17 points. Cameron Parker hit a three to get Valley within two at 40-38, but Groninger would come out of the timeout and bury a three of his own. After Parker hit a pair of free throws, Groninger drilled another three to keep Warsaw at arm’s length.

Jace Potter pulls down a rebound for Valley.

“We have a new philosophy. If we are open, shoot it,” Patrick said. “I don’t care. I don’t know how good we are going to be inside yet. As the year goes on, Jalen Shepherd will get a lot better. Jace Potter, (Alex) Morrison, he needs to feel a little more confidence and we will get it inside. But Warsaw was tough, they’re good. Their switching D and their big guys. I knew we would struggle to get it inside, but yeah, I wanted to shoot.”

Ferber finished with 11 points for the Tigers while Dalrymple had 13 points and Parker 12 points. Valley would finish 11-26 (42 percent) from three-point range, but Warsaw hit a necessary 7-14 (50 percent) from deep.

“When a team shoots that well from that far out, it’s not easy to defend,” Ogle said. “We shot pretty well ourselves. We got to the free throw line 16 times, they had eight. That was a key, we kept them off the free throw line. We just kinda weathered. That would have been a real easy game for us to lose. It was just there for them. Every time they would get it close, we would make a play offensively. So I liked the poise of our players.”

Bill Patrick, now as assistant for Chad in a role reversal from the past decade, was honored before the game for his Hall of Fame career as head coach. Chad noted the allowed pacing of the sideline didn’t take long to get used to.

“Pretty quick,” said Patrick of his comfort level in his first official night. “I’m just loud and all over the court and I love it. It’s my passion. These kids play so hard all the time that I am going to give them everything I’ve got, too. These guys are just great. We may not be as talented as Warsaw, but we’ll outwork anybody we play this year. We will play hard, I promise you that.”

Warsaw (1-0) will visit Columbia City Saturday night while Valley (0-1) will visit Argos next Tuesday.

The JV contest was all Warsaw in a 60-24 final.

Jaylen Coon poured in 20 points while Blake Marsh had 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Keagan Larsh added 10 points and three assists. For Valley, Braxton Tolson had five points and a steal.

Trevor Rumple hits a three from the wing just before the half to give Warsaw a seven-point lead.