VINCENT - If Warren looks a little steamed when it takes the floor against the visiting Logan Chieftains in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League boys' basketball makeup matchup at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, don't be surprised.
No more Mr. Nice Guys, especially after the Warriors were defeated by Upper Arlington, 69-47 in an Ohio River Classic tilt at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena last Saturday.
"I told them to just come back angry (vs. Logan)," said 14th-year Warren boss Blane Maddox after the Warriors' first loss of the winter campaign. "We have a nice group of kids here, but hopefully Upper Arlington made them hungry and a little bit angry."
Article Photos
Photo courtesy of Robin Pannell
Warren’s Dylan Leffingwell (00) attacks the basket as Upper Arlington’s Logan Richter (34) tries to defend during Ohio River Classic boys’ basketball action at Marietta College’s Ban Johnson Arena Saturday. The Warriors lost 69-47, and are hoping to bounce back against visiting Logan in a SEOAL game Wednesday.
Warren, 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the SEOAL, never led the UA Golden Bears (5-4), and strugged with its shooting (17 of 47 from the floor) and ball handling (17 turnovers) throughout the contest.
"We played a quality team that was coming off a tough loss (to St. Clairsville) Friday night," Maddox said. "We didn't come out and play the way we have to play against a team that you would play in a regional.
"We've got to get 24 points better by March, and we've got two months to do it. Hopefully in March, looking back we can talk about how this game prepared us to play great in March."
A Warren win against Logan would give Maddox 200 career coaching victories. The Warriors originally were scheduled to host the John Helber-coached Chieftains on Dec. 21, but the contest was postponed due to the inclement weather.
Maddox, incidentally, is a Logan alumnus and a former Chieftain boys' basketball assistant before coming to Warren.
Logan (2-4 overall) has been struggling of late, dropping three straight games, including last Saturday night's 73-55 loss to undefeated Bloom-Carroll (7-0).
The Chiefs were paced by Josh Mutzner and Gaven Jourdan, who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tristan Myers and Josh Vermillion added eight markers apiece, and Patrick Klinger had seven.
Warren is expected to start Evan French, Reece Patton, Michael Hall, Evan Yabs and Danny Pannell. Look for Dylan Leffingwell, who was productive with six points against UA, to be one of the first Warriors off the pine.
Against the Golden Bears, French tallied a game-high 22 points, including four treys, and Patton chipped in with 10 markers.
"We've got nice, skilled players, but we need to find a way to draw more fouls," Maddox said.
In the Upper Arlington loss, Warren seemed content more with perimeter shooting (four of 20 from 3-point range), and only attempted nine free-throws (made eight) in the contest.
Maddox is hoping his Warriors will attack the basket more, first against Logan - and then against visiting Chillicothe in another SEOAL game at 7:30 p.m. Friday and at Belpre at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
"We don't have many guys who can draw fouls," Maddox said, "and we need to find an inside-outside presence."
