(Markus Burton made sure Penn did not lose)

 

At the old North Side gym in Elkhart, Penn defeated Warsaw before Concord beat Elkhart in a game that went down to the wire.

 

 

Warsaw took the action at Penn to start. Senior Judah Simfukwe posted Penn star Markus Burton with success early in the game. The Tigers also aggressively drove the ball to the paint for scores or open looks for teammates. That assertiveness led to an early 11-8 lead.

 

Sophomore Trey Miller cleaned the glass for Penn. The lanky wing was the Kingsmen's best offense as he scored on two putback buckets, then stepped out for a three-pointer. He had seven points and five rebounds before people were settled in their seats.

 

Penn extended its defense by the end of the first quarter and made Warsaw uncomfortable. That helped the Kingsmen open an 18-13 lead.

 

One of the game's best plays came as Russell Winchester made a touch pass to Tyler Kuhn for Warsaw's end-of-period three.

 

After a relatively slow start, Burton dominated the second period. He scored the first eight Penn points of the quarter, and it took Warsaw nearly seven minutes to score. Burton tallied ten points in the frame to push Penn to a comfortable 30-18 halftime lead.

 

In the third, Penn increased its lead to 35-20 just a couple of minutes in as Burton continued to roll.

 

Gould finally found an offensive rhythm in the third. He only scored three points in the first half but scored six in the third. Kuhn and Theo Katris also gave the Warsaw offense life.

 

Still, Penn led 45-31 going to the fourth.

 

Gould hit an even better stride in the fourth. The junior guard started knocking down threes and scoring off cuts to the basket.

 

Penn held a ten-point or more lead more of the fourth quarter despite Gould's production thanks to Burton, Josh Gatete, Blake Barker, and Joe Smith. In addition, the Penn supporting cast stepped up in the final quarter.

 

Warsaw made one last run in the final 90 seconds. Trailing by nine with 1:24 left, Warsaw made it a five-point game and had the ball with just under a minute to play. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Gould could not convert on that possession, and Penn sealed the game at the line.

 

Penn won 67-56.

 

Burton led all scorers with 26 points. The junior also tallied seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Smith finished with 11 points, while Barker added nine points and five rebounds. Gatete contributed eight points and six rebounds. Miller finished with the seven points and five rebounds he collected in the first half.

 

Gould led Warsaw with 21 points. Simfukwe notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Katris added eight points and seven rebounds. Kuhn scored six, and Andrew Heckaman contributed six points and four assists.

 

Elkhart vs. Concord

 

Malachi Emmons opened the game with a three-pointer and did not slow down much from there. The athletic senior tallied seven points, three assists, and two rebounds in the opening quarter. Emmons' classmate Zaven Koltookian also had a great start. Koltookian dominated the inside for Concord. He tallied ten points and five rebounds in the first half.

 

Elkhart hung tough in the first half despite going 0-8 from three-point range. That changed as Concord finished the half on an 8-0 run to take a 25-13 lead to the locker room.

 

Kyle Sears went to a big lineup with Tumarye Morris and freshman Mariyon Dye in the second half, and it paid dividends. Morris and Dye crashed the offensive glass hard to give Elkhart extra scoring opportunities. Slowly, Elkhart climbed back into the game.

 

Elkhart senior guard Cam'ron Daniels also played a massive part in the comeback. He did a little of everything for the Blazers, but his scoring and overall playmaking gave Elkhart a significant boost in the third quarter.

Amarion Moore slipped behind the Elkhart a few times to keep Concord with the lead going to the fourth.

 

Elkhart took its first lead since it was 6-5 in the first quarter when Daniels scored in the lane to make it 41-40. However, it was short-lived as Emmons answered with a smooth score going to the paint.

 

Concord had a few chances to extend its lead down the stretch, but free-throw shooting stopped that from happening. The Minutemen were 5-15 before making their final four free throws.

 

Down one, Erick Nocentelli split the entire Concord defense for a driving layup. Once again, Emmons returned the call for Concord. He slashed to the paint to draw a foul. Emmons converted both free throws to give Concord the 45-44 lead.

 

After an empty possession and a couple of free throws, Elkhart found itself down 47-44. Daniels drew a foul and split his free throws. Nocentelli grabbed the offensive rebound on the miss before getting it back to Daniels. The lefty found his way to the paint for yet another score to tie the game.

 

With 11.3 seconds left, Concord called a timeout. Out of the huddle, Derrick DeShone elected Jack D'Arcy to have a one-on-one with a head of steam. D'Arcy slashed to the bucket for a score with 3.0 seconds left.

 

Elkhart had to go the length of the court down two points with three seconds to work with.

 

Concord gave a foul since it had a foul to give with 1.5 seconds remaining.

 

From there, Elkhart inbounded the ball in the backcourt and could not get a shot off.

 

Concord escaped with the 49-47 win.

 

Emmons led Concord with 18 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Koltookian slowed down but still finished with ten points and seven rebounds. Andres Dixon contributed seven points and three assists, while D'Arcy tallied six points and three assists. Moore also had seven points and eight rebounds in the victory.

 

Daniels recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals in the loss. Morris finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while Dye tallied seven points. Nocentelli added six