Warsaw Boys 50, LaPorte 37

Warsaw turned it on in the fourth quarter to escape LaPorte with a win Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers used a 21-8 run to close the game to capture the victory, avenging a tough loss to Concord the night before.

Warsaw (8-7) had 29 combined points and 19 rebounds from Judah Simfukwe and Jaxon Gould, but got nine points from Jackson Dawson to help secure the win.

Grant Ott-Large led the Slicers (3-11) with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Four Tigers were in double digits in the JV game, led by Tayde Kiser’s 15 points in a 62-55 Warsaw win. Tyler Kuhn and Jeremiah Dawson each had 14 points and Kyle Dawson added 10 points.

Wawasee Boys 43, West Noble 40

Make it two in a row for the Warriors, who clipped West Noble Saturday night at home in a make-up contest from December.

Keaton Dukes scored eight of his team-high 16 points to lead the Warriors (5-6), which knocked off Plymouth just 24 hours prior. Collin Roberson continued his strong play of late with 10 points and seven rebounds and Grant Brooks chipped in eight points.

Austin Cripe kept the Chargers (6-6) alive with 13 points and four boards, and Brockton Miller added 11 points and six assists.

West Noble won the JV contest 31-24. Josiah Boyer and Ty Brooks had seven points apiece for the Warriors while Luke Schermerhorn had nine points for the Chargers.

Warsaw Girls 54, Concord 29

Warsaw did its part to at least stay in the hunt for a piece of the Northern Lakes Conference pie with a win at McCuen Gym Saturday evening.

With Goshen’s win over NorthWood, the RedHawks moved to 6-0 and guaranteeing itself at least a piece of the NLC title, a week after beating Warsaw head-to-head at the Tiger Den. Goshen plays Mishawaka Thursday to try to lock up its first-ever outright NLC title.

For Warsaw (15-5, 6-1 NLC), it used 15 points and seven rebounds from Abby Sanner, 12 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and even steals from Bailie Stephens, and 10 points apiece from Kensie Ryman and Audrey Grimm.

Concord (6-13, 1-6 NLC) had Kendal Taylor pot 13 points and seven rebounds.

Goshen Girls 52, NorthWood 41

Goshen locked up at least a share of the NLC crown, its first such celebration since 1987, with a win on its home court Saturday night.

Goshen (17-3, 6-0 NLC) leaned on its big guns again, with Brynn Shoup-Hill scoring 21 and Tyra Marcum adding 12 points in the victory. Goshen began the game on a 20-1 run and never looked back.

NorthWood (1-13, 1-6 NLC) made it respectable in the second half, but fell well short of the upset after its ice cold start. Alea Minnich led the Panthers with 20 points and two steals. Abby Steiner had nine points and Kendal Miller added five points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals.

The Goshen JV also came through with a win, 47-35. Kyra Hill led Goshen to the win with 18 points while Kailey Martin had seven points for the Panthers.

Tippecanoe Valley Girls 58, Southwood 43

Valley led wire to wire to pick up a sixth win in the Three Rivers Conference Saturday night on the road.

The Lady Vikes (12-7, 6-2 TRC) scored 21 points in the first quarter, and led by 14 late in the second quarter.

Sidney Wagner dropped a career-high 37 points, the first time in her career the dynamo eclipsed the 30-point plateau. Kaydence Mellott added 16 points in the win.

Valley’s TRC hopes are slim, but alive, after Manchester upset Rochester, 39-37, to hand the Zebras its first TRC loss. At 7-1, Rochester falls a half game back of Northfield, a landslide winner over Whitko Saturday night, the Norse moving to 7-0. Valley has a game next Thursday against Manchester, while Northfield still has games left with Southwood and Rochester.The JV won as well, 51-23. The scoring leaders for the Valley JV were Chesnee Miller with 20 points and Molly Moriarty with 10 points.

Plymouth Girls 40, Wawasee 32

Wawasee dropped its final NLC contest Saturday night in a roadie at Plymouth.

The Lady Warriors struggled from the floor, hitting just 11-40 shot attempts (28 percent), including an ice cold 1-17 from three-point range. Plymouth countered by going 23-31 from the free throw line in the game, including nine in the fourth quarter.

L Janus led Plymouth (11-8, 4-2 NLC) with 11 points and Taylor Delp had nine points.

Kennedy White led Wawasee (6-10, 3-4 NLC) with nine points, nine rebounds and three steals. Emily Haines added seven points and four rebounds and Danielle Jenkins chipped in five points.

Emma Lowery and Abbi Burelison combined for 19 points and 15 rebounds, but the Wawasee JV couldn’t catch Plymouth in a 39-29 loss.

Mt. Vernon Men 84, Grace 78

A hot start for Grace’s men’s basketball team did not last against Mt. Vernon Nazarene. The Lancers’ shooting touch was off on Saturday, resulting in an 84-78 defeat.

The Lancers (12-6, 5-4 Crossroads League) shot a woeful 19 percent on 3-pointers in the game (5 of 27), which included a 1-of-14 performance (7 percent) after halftime.

The Cougars (4-7, 4-4 CL) made 49 percent of their shots from the floor and 48 percent from beyond the arc.

Grace began the game with confidence, coming off a 20-point rout of MVNU three days ago. The Lancers scored the first 11 points of the game.

The Cougars did not register a point for the first 4:24 of regulation when they already faced an 11-0 deficit.

But MVNU rallied back largely on the back of its 3-point shooting. The Cougars made seven 3-pointers over the next eight minutes, managing to claim a 25-23 lead.

The teams exchanged small leads for the final minutes of the half with the Cougars owning a slight 38-37 edge at halftime.

Grace (48 percent) actually outshot MVNU (43 percent) from the floor in the half, but the Cougars sank 58 percent of their 3-pointers. The Lancers, on the other hand, shot 31 percent on triples (4 of 13).

Cade Gibbs scored 11 points to lead Grace at the half, and Frankie Davidson added eight points on 3 of 4 shooting.

Jake Wadding started the second half with a bucket to put Grace ahead, but MVNU countered with six unanswered to grab a five-point edge.

The Cougars continued to gain confidence. MVNU slowly added to its lead, grabbing a 67-52 lead with nine minutes to play.

With 2:40 remaining in the game, Grace still trailed by 11. But the Lancers had one more charge up their sleeves.

Grace implemented a fullcourt press, creating a pair of quick turnovers and baskets.

With just over a minute left, Matt Jennings scored a layup and was fouled which cut MVNU’s lead down to three.

Grace forced a missed shot by the Cougars to gain possession of the ball, but the Lancers misfired on a potential game-tying triple. MVNU was sent to the foul line down the stretch and hit enough free throws to ice the win.

Wadding was a stat stuffer, amassing 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks and 2 assists, and Gibbs finished with 17 points and seven boards before fouling out.

Jennings tallied 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Davidson had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Haden Deaton had 4 points, 5 assists and 4 boards, and Elijah Malone added 6 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Next up, Grace faces its most challenging stretch of games for the season. The Lancers will play five straight NAIA ranked opponents, beginning at No. 8 Marian on Wednesday. Grace’s next home game is Jan. 30 against rival No. 19 Bethel.

Mt. Vernon Women 67, Grace 52

Grace’s women’s basketball team was able to get the best of Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Saturday in a 67-52 loss.

Grace scored just eight points in the first quarter and never fully recovered. The Cougars (8-8, 5-4 Crossroads League) led from start to finish and survived a few comeback bids by Grace.

MVNU made 3-pointers on its first two possessions of the game and never trailed again. Grace’s offense was hard to find in the first quarter. The Lady Lancers had a four-minute drought and a three-minute drought in the period.

Grace fell behind 24-8 after the first quarter after shooting 3 of 14 (21 percent) from the field and 0 of 4 from the 3-point line. The Lady Lancers (10-11, 1-10 CL) also turned the ball over seven times in the period.

The second quarter saw Grace’s only strong offensive period. The Lady Lancers scored 20 points and made their first significant comeback attempt.

Grace went on a 14-5 run to chop MVNU’s lead down to six. Kaylee Patton and Kyannah Stull each had five points during the run.

At halftime, Grace still trailed 38-28 after MVNU scored in the final seconds of the half.

The Cougars managed to hold the double-digit lead in the third quarter, and Grace faced a 13-point deficit entering the final stanza.

Grace did its best to rally one more time in the fourth quarter. Stull and Kamryn Hostetler each hit 3-pointers, and Kiersten Poor scored four quick points to slice the gap down to seven with 4:58 to go.

But Grace’s offense dried up, going scoreless for the remainder of regulation.

The Lady Lancers shot 37 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the 3-point line. The Cougars made 49 percent of their shots and outrebounded Grace 37-26.

Stull scored a team-high 17 points to go along with five steals and three assists, and Patton had 8 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

Poor scored seven points off the bench, and Kaylie Warble and Hostetler each scored six.

The Lady Lancers are back home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt with No. 6 Marian.