It was a conference game in the middle of December. Warren Central had their biggest home game of the year against the defending state champions. When they beat Ben Davis 65-60 in that game, the Warriors proved that they can compete with the best in the state. Since that game, the Warriors have had difficult matches against teams such as Hamilton Southeastern, Lawrence North, and Franklin Central. In all of these games, Warren got off to a strong start, but in the Lawrence North game at home, and in the Franklin Central game in the county tournament semifinals, they could not hold onto their lead.
Having games against these more difficult teams prepares and trains players to go against the best of the best and play the best they can at all times.
As the team moves forward in the season, they are reflecting on some places they have seen growth this season. Some of those aspects include their defense and their ability to play hard during the entirety of the game.
To put the growth that the Warriors’ defense has had in perspective, they started their season giving up 92 points to Cathedral and then only allowing No. 1-ranked Lawrence North to score 62 points, the second least amount of points they have scored this entire season.
“I think our defense has gotten better,” head coach Criss Beyers said. “Most facets of the game have gotten better.”
As Warren looks forward to the rest of their season, they have a couple of big games against rival Carmel and conference opponent Pike. After closing out the regular season in about two and a half weeks, the Warriors will look forward to their postseason and their state championship hopes.
The Warriors are in one of the hardest sectionals in the state, being grouped with top-ranked teams such as Cathedral, Crispus Attucks and Lawrence North. The winner of this sectional has been very successful in the rest of the tournament, so if Warren can play to the best of their ability during the sectional, they have a chance to go all the way.
“We go one game at a time,” Beyers said. “Our goal is to play the best basketball at the end of the season.”
Warren’s outlook on things come postseason time is simple. They want to be at the point where they can compete with any team. If they have the ability to beat any team, it gives them the chance to actually do it.
“There’s no one that we cannot beat if we do what we’re capable of doing,” Beyers said.