Tigers Perfect In NLC ... Again
February 11, 2017 at 7:15 a.m.
Tigers Perfect In NLC ... Again
By Mark [email protected]
The Tigers trailed by one heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored the Pilgrims 21-9 over the last eight minutes to secure its place in the books with a 51-40 win Friday night.
The win was the 21st straight in conference play, and clinched Warsaw’s third straight outright NLC title.
To get there, Warsaw needed to handle Plymouth’s outside shooting. The Pilgrims live and die by the trey, and they did both Friday night.
In the first half they hit seven shots from beyond the arc, but got nothing else in taking a 21-20 halftime lead. Warsaw coach Doug Ogle preached patience with his team in practice this week and in the locker room at halftime.
“I told the team before the game that whoever shot the most threes would lose,” he said. “Really, if you hit seven threes in the first half, you should lead by a lot more than one point.
“Plymouth shot great in the first half, making 7 out of 10 three-pointers. But we weren’t patient enough on offense in the first half. We turned it over six times, so I talked to them about being more patient.”
“We did a better job, with only three turnovers in the second half and seven assists. That’s much better. And they cooled down, I think they hit only three of 13 in the second half.”
Plymouth didn’t hit a two-pointer until there was 3:02 left in the third quarter, and even then Pilgrim senior Clay hilliard converted a traditional three-point play to put Warsaw in a 29-23 hole.
From there it was all Tigers, led by Indiana All-Star hopeful Kyle Mangas. He scored 14 of his game-high (along with Plymouth senior Nick Felke) 21 points in the last 10 minutes. He also had three of his four assists and a pair of steals in the final stretch.
The Tigers also crashed the boards, outrebounding Plymouth 9-2 in the fourth quarter alone and 29-12 in the game. Jeremy David led the way with eight boards, and Asher Blum collected six of his seven rebounds in the final period.
Warsaw had nine offensive rebounds to Plymouth’s three, giving the Tigers a 7-0 edge in second-chance points.
“The rebounding was big in this game; Asher Blum came up big, Jeremy David had three offensive rebounds, and Kyle Mangas made some really nice passes for layups, too,” Ogle said.
Warsaw became the first team to three-peat in the NLC since Concord, led by Shawn Kemp, went 20-1 in 1986, 87 and 88.
“I think for this years team to win it and go through (7-0) is pretty good considering we were kind of starting over with our point guard situation. I’m proud of this year’s team first, for them to be able to win it for their season,” said Ogle.
“And then when you start to think about the previous two years, really the common denominator is Kyle Mangas. All it takes (to lose a NLC game) is one bad shooting night. To be that consistent through three years and 10 road games, it’s pretty remarkable. I think it’s a testament to Kyle’s steadiness. He was great in the second half tonight.
“Recognizing how good the Northern Lakes Conference has been, and to do something that’s never been done, that’s something we feel good about.”
After a brief postseason presentation with Warsaw Athletic Director Dave Anson to mark the accomplishment, Mangas took a few moments to reflect.
“It’s pretty amazing, you know? Look at how many good players and good teams have played in this conference for a long, long time,” he said. To know that we have the record with 21 straight wins for three conference titles, that’s pretty crazy.”
With his first made free throw in the fourth quarter, Mangas moved past Steve Reed and into fifth place on the Tiger career scoring chart. Reed, who later played on the Indiana State Final Four team in 1979, picked up the nickname “The Bird Feeder,” for his assists that Larry Bird converted to points.
“It means a lot,”?Mangas said. “I think I put in the time in the offseason to get to this point, so I’d like to thank the coaches for pushing me to get better, and also helping me develop my leadership. I think the leadership of our seniors has been a big part of our winning.”
The time to celebrate is short. Warsaw (14-6) returns to play at 4:30 this afternoon, hosting Merrillville (14-6) at the Tiger Den. The game time was moved up to accommodate Merrillville fans who might want to also attend the Lady Pirates’ regional game at LaPorte.
WARSAW 51, PLYMOUTH 40
W 14 6 10 21 – 51
P 6 15 10 9 – 40
Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 8-17 4-4 21, Nolan Groninger 0-0 3-5 3, Jeremy David 4-6 0-1 8, Sam Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Rhoades 1-0 0-0 3, Jaceb Burish 3-5 1-2 8, Braxtin Minix 1-1 0-0 2, Asher Blum 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 20-36 8-13 51.
Plymouth – Clay Hilliard 3-5 1-1 9, Cam Dennie 2-4 0-0 6, Ryan Carmichael 1-3 0-2 3, Nick Felke 7-17 2-4 21, Nathan Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Travis Owen 0-1 0-0 0, Kadin McCrammer 0-1 0-0 0, Dyllon Pavey 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Filson 0-0 1-2 1, Tyler Games 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett Tharp 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-34 4-9 40.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 3 (Mangas, Rhoades, Burish), Plymouth 10 (Felke 5, Hilliard 2, Dennie 2, Carmichael); Rebounds – Warsaw 29 (David 8), Plymouth 12 (Felke 2, McCrammer 2); Turnovers – Warsaw 9, Plymouth 9; Fouls – Warsaw 17, Plymouth 10; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 14-6 (7-0 NLC), Plymouth 11-8 (2-5 NLC).
JV – Plymouth 42, Warsaw 40
Warsaw – Jaylen Reese 12, Landen Ferber 9, Trevor Rumple 8, Trenton Sands 7, Brian Elliott 4
The Tigers trailed by one heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored the Pilgrims 21-9 over the last eight minutes to secure its place in the books with a 51-40 win Friday night.
The win was the 21st straight in conference play, and clinched Warsaw’s third straight outright NLC title.
To get there, Warsaw needed to handle Plymouth’s outside shooting. The Pilgrims live and die by the trey, and they did both Friday night.
In the first half they hit seven shots from beyond the arc, but got nothing else in taking a 21-20 halftime lead. Warsaw coach Doug Ogle preached patience with his team in practice this week and in the locker room at halftime.
“I told the team before the game that whoever shot the most threes would lose,” he said. “Really, if you hit seven threes in the first half, you should lead by a lot more than one point.
“Plymouth shot great in the first half, making 7 out of 10 three-pointers. But we weren’t patient enough on offense in the first half. We turned it over six times, so I talked to them about being more patient.”
“We did a better job, with only three turnovers in the second half and seven assists. That’s much better. And they cooled down, I think they hit only three of 13 in the second half.”
Plymouth didn’t hit a two-pointer until there was 3:02 left in the third quarter, and even then Pilgrim senior Clay hilliard converted a traditional three-point play to put Warsaw in a 29-23 hole.
From there it was all Tigers, led by Indiana All-Star hopeful Kyle Mangas. He scored 14 of his game-high (along with Plymouth senior Nick Felke) 21 points in the last 10 minutes. He also had three of his four assists and a pair of steals in the final stretch.
The Tigers also crashed the boards, outrebounding Plymouth 9-2 in the fourth quarter alone and 29-12 in the game. Jeremy David led the way with eight boards, and Asher Blum collected six of his seven rebounds in the final period.
Warsaw had nine offensive rebounds to Plymouth’s three, giving the Tigers a 7-0 edge in second-chance points.
“The rebounding was big in this game; Asher Blum came up big, Jeremy David had three offensive rebounds, and Kyle Mangas made some really nice passes for layups, too,” Ogle said.
Warsaw became the first team to three-peat in the NLC since Concord, led by Shawn Kemp, went 20-1 in 1986, 87 and 88.
“I think for this years team to win it and go through (7-0) is pretty good considering we were kind of starting over with our point guard situation. I’m proud of this year’s team first, for them to be able to win it for their season,” said Ogle.
“And then when you start to think about the previous two years, really the common denominator is Kyle Mangas. All it takes (to lose a NLC game) is one bad shooting night. To be that consistent through three years and 10 road games, it’s pretty remarkable. I think it’s a testament to Kyle’s steadiness. He was great in the second half tonight.
“Recognizing how good the Northern Lakes Conference has been, and to do something that’s never been done, that’s something we feel good about.”
After a brief postseason presentation with Warsaw Athletic Director Dave Anson to mark the accomplishment, Mangas took a few moments to reflect.
“It’s pretty amazing, you know? Look at how many good players and good teams have played in this conference for a long, long time,” he said. To know that we have the record with 21 straight wins for three conference titles, that’s pretty crazy.”
With his first made free throw in the fourth quarter, Mangas moved past Steve Reed and into fifth place on the Tiger career scoring chart. Reed, who later played on the Indiana State Final Four team in 1979, picked up the nickname “The Bird Feeder,” for his assists that Larry Bird converted to points.
“It means a lot,”?Mangas said. “I think I put in the time in the offseason to get to this point, so I’d like to thank the coaches for pushing me to get better, and also helping me develop my leadership. I think the leadership of our seniors has been a big part of our winning.”
The time to celebrate is short. Warsaw (14-6) returns to play at 4:30 this afternoon, hosting Merrillville (14-6) at the Tiger Den. The game time was moved up to accommodate Merrillville fans who might want to also attend the Lady Pirates’ regional game at LaPorte.
WARSAW 51, PLYMOUTH 40
W 14 6 10 21 – 51
P 6 15 10 9 – 40
Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 8-17 4-4 21, Nolan Groninger 0-0 3-5 3, Jeremy David 4-6 0-1 8, Sam Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Rhoades 1-0 0-0 3, Jaceb Burish 3-5 1-2 8, Braxtin Minix 1-1 0-0 2, Asher Blum 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 20-36 8-13 51.
Plymouth – Clay Hilliard 3-5 1-1 9, Cam Dennie 2-4 0-0 6, Ryan Carmichael 1-3 0-2 3, Nick Felke 7-17 2-4 21, Nathan Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Travis Owen 0-1 0-0 0, Kadin McCrammer 0-1 0-0 0, Dyllon Pavey 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Filson 0-0 1-2 1, Tyler Games 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett Tharp 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-34 4-9 40.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 3 (Mangas, Rhoades, Burish), Plymouth 10 (Felke 5, Hilliard 2, Dennie 2, Carmichael); Rebounds – Warsaw 29 (David 8), Plymouth 12 (Felke 2, McCrammer 2); Turnovers – Warsaw 9, Plymouth 9; Fouls – Warsaw 17, Plymouth 10; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 14-6 (7-0 NLC), Plymouth 11-8 (2-5 NLC).
JV – Plymouth 42, Warsaw 40
Warsaw – Jaylen Reese 12, Landen Ferber 9, Trevor Rumple 8, Trenton Sands 7, Brian Elliott 4
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