ELKHART – Warsaw senior Kyle Mangas was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday night. In the end, however, a balanced Elkhart Central team pulled out a 50-45 win at historic North Side Gym. Trailing 48-45 late in the contest, which was a rematch of last year's Class 4A Sectional 4 final, Warsaw missed a trio of three-pointers on one possession. With 7.7 seconds remaining, Central senior Michael Boone converted two free throw attempts to seal the deal and give the Blue Blazers their first win over the Tigers since 2004. Central snapped a 15-game losing streak to Warsaw and improved to 12-2 this season. The Tigers, who had no trouble beating Class 3A No. 1 NorthWood 54-37 Friday night, fell to 12-6. Warsaw had won six of its last seven games. “First of all, they shot well,” Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of the Blue Blazers, who were 18 of 34 from the field overall, 6 of 12 from three-point range, and 8 of 12 at the free throw line. “The new guy who's been brought up, (Brycen) Sherwood, was a real pain. He hit big shots. “At one point we had an 18-13 lead, and I thought we had settled in, but their defense is good, and their pressure is good. The balance we've been having, we did not have tonight. I mean, Mangas was the only guy who did anything. He was great, he was really good, but we just didn't finish enough plays in the basket area. We had eight turnovers, but it feels like more. They're not the biggest team we've played, but they're as quick a team as we've played and they're hard to guard.” Cornell Conner and Deveon Jackson led Central with 12 points each, while Sherwood and Adonis Brown scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Boone, who made every shot he took – one three-pointer and the two decisive free throws – finished with five points. The Blue Blazers' balance overshadowed an impressive performance by Mangas, who scored 18 of Warsaw's 21 points in the second half en route to a game-high 30. The Indiana All-Star hopeful was 10 of 17 from the field, including a 5-of-8 effort from the arc, and made all five of his free throw attempts. With his 30 points, Mangas upped is career total to 1,211 and he's now just 19 points behind 1966 Indiana All-Star Mike Niles for sixth on the Tigers' all-time scoring list. Braxton Minix and Asher Blum scored four points each in the loss, while Jack Rhoades made a three-pointer and Zach Riley and Jaceb Burish finished with two points each. “This experience of playing against Elkhart Central, it'll help us,” said Ogle. “There's a good chance we'll get to play them in the sectional, and maybe we can do better.” Warsaw led 18-13 after on quarter of play but was outscored 17-6 in the second quarter. Central led 39-35 at the end of the third quarter and held the ball for four minutes to start the final frame. Conner scored a basket with 3:38 remaining. It was the first shot taken by either team in the fourth quarter. Asked about Central holding the ball for so long, a move that would have made Bobby Plump and his 1954 Milan teammates proud, Ogle said he was OK with it. “We were tired,” said Ogle. “Kyle was tired. I was more than happy to cut it to a four-minute game. That was fine with me. They scored on that possession, but we still had opportunities to take the lead and just couldn't make a shot.” The Tigers are in action again Thursday when they host Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial. Warsaw has won 19 consecutive NLC games. Central hosts Northern Indiana Conference opponent Jimtown Thursday.
ELKHART CENTRAL 50, WARSAW 45 War 18 6 11 10 – 45 EC 13 17 9 11 – 50 Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 10-17 5-5 30, Jeremy David 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Rhoades 1-1 0-0 3, Zach Riley 1-3 0-0 2, Jaceb Burish 1-3 0-0 2, Braxton Minix 2-3 0-1 4, Asher Blum 1-5 1-2 4, Nolan Groninger 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-34 6-8 45. Central – Trenton Culbreath 0-0 0-0 0, Desmond Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Cornell Conner 5-8 1-2 12, Adonis Brown 3-8 4-4 10, JT Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Boone 1-1 2-2 5, Deveon Jackson 5-10 1-4 12, Brycen Sherwood 4-5 0-0 11, Andrew Salmon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-34 8-12 50. Three-pointers – Warsaw 7 (Mangas 5, Rhoades, Blum), Central 6 (Sherwood 3, Conner, Boone, Jackson); Rebounds – Warsaw 18 (Blum 5), Central 20 (Conner 5); Turnovers – Warsaw 8, Central 8; Fouls – Warsaw 14, Central 13; Fouled out – none; Records: Warsaw 12-6, Central 12-2 JV – Warsaw 52, Central 22 Warsaw – Landen Ferber 16, Jaylen Reese 9, Trevor Rumple 7, Deondre Adkins 5, Dane Stookey 5, Tyler Metzinger 5, Brian Elliott 3, Logan Johnson 1, Nick Marsh 1
