Tigers hold Columbia City scoreless in 2Q of 38-35 victory
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Struggling offensively, the Warsaw Tigers turned to their defense Saturday evening in a 38-35 win over the Columbia City Eagles. Playing their U.S. 30 rivals for the 110th time in high school boys basketball action, the Tigers made just 36 percent of their field goal attempts, but held the Eagles scoreless in the second quarter and gave up just eight points in the first half. From an offensive standpoint, it was far from pretty, as the Tigers made just 14 of 39 attempts from the field overall and 5 of 15 from the arc. The defensive effort, however, gave coach Doug Ogle something to smile about. “I was proud of the way we played defense,” said Ogle, whose team improved 2-0 on the season. “That’s what won the game for us. We shot poorly. We got good shots, we just missed them. “Columbia City's inside presence was part of the reason for that, but we just didn't shoot well, especially in the second half,” added Ogle. “I think we outplayed them in the first half, probably more than the score indicated.” Warsaw, which has won nine of its last 10 meetings against Columbia City and now leads the overall series 70-40, trailed 8-4 after one quarter of play before outscoring the Eagles 7-0 in the second stanza. Through the first 16 minutes of action, Columbia City had more turnovers (9) than points. “We’re up 8-4 and then we go scoreless for an entire quarter,” said Columbia City coach Chris Benedict. “We had more turnovers in the first half than points. That put us in a bind. With that being said, we didn’t score a point in the second quarter and we still had a chance to win the game.” Trailing 27-19 early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles used a 10-2 run to tie the game at 29-29. The Tigers responded with a three-pointer from Nick Sands to regain the lead. “That was a really big shot for them,” Benedict said of Sands’ trey. “We were trying to make some substitutions, and we had some guys just getting on the court. We lost track of the time and the shooter.” The Eagles scored the game’s next four points from the free throw line, as Brachen Hazen hit a pair of charity tosses with 2:43 remaining to cut Warsaw’s advantage to 32-31, and then made two more with 1:52 left to give Columbia City a 33-32 advantage. Warsaw countered with a pair of free throws, taking the lead for good when Sands converted both shots with 41 seconds remaining, giving the Tigers the lead for good at 34-33. A steal and lay-in by Kyle Mangas gave the Tigers a 36-33 advantage with 29 seconds left, and then after an Eagle basket, Mangas scored the game’s final two points on an inbound assist from brother Jake Mangas. “We didn’t have a designed play there,” Ogle said of the inbound pass from Mangas to Mangas. “That was a desperation throw from Jake over the top to his brother. We had to inbound the ball, and we were getting close to a five-second call. That was just a great play from brother to brother.” In Wednesday’s season-opening win over Tippecanoe Valley, Jake Mangas, a senior, scored a team-high 19 points. In Saturday’s win, Kyle Mangas, a sophomore, scored 11 points and shared team honors with Sands. Senior Rashaan Jackson scored seven points for Warsaw, while classmate Tim Swanson added six, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 24-19 lead going into the fourth quarter. Sophomore point guard Paul Marandet scored Warsaw’s other three points and led the Tigers with game-highs of eight rebounds and four assists. Brachen Hazen, a 6-foot-7 junior, led Columbia City with 12 points and eight rebounds, while 6-5 senior Mason Coverstone scored eight points. Parker Hazen, a 6-6 sophomore, chipped in with six points and six rebounds, while juniors Cooper Parish and Justin Bachelder scored six and three points, respectively. “I’m proud of my guys,” said Benedict. “Warsaw is a good team. We got shutout in the second quarter, and we still had a chance to win the game. I’m proud of the way the guys fought.” Ogle said he was proud of the way his team was focused and worked hard against a taller Columbia City team, especially since shots weren’t falling. Warsaw’s veteran coach admitted his players took an inexperienced Valley team lightly in Wednesday’s opener, but was proud of the way they focused Saturday against a Columbia City team that many expect to have a great season. “Afer the Valley game, we needed a dose of humility,” said Ogle. “But after tonight, I think we can take a dose of confidence from this win.” The Tigers hit the road for the first time Friday, travelling to Fort Wayne to play Class 4A No. 2 Homestead. Homestead is 2-1 on the season, with the loss being a 49-36 setback to Chicago Currie Friday in a tournament of national powers. On Saturday, Homestead beat White Station (Tenn.) 83-67. In that win, 6-foot-10 Homestead senior Caleb Swannigan, viewed by many scouting services as the best big man in the country, tallied a triple-double of 39 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists. “There isn’t a team in Indiana that has more talent than Homestead,” said Ogle. “Caleb Swannigan is a future NBA player, and they have plenty of talent around him.”
WARSAW 38, COLUMBIA CITY 35 CC 8 0 11 16 – 35 W 4 7 13 14 – 38 Col. City – Cooper Parish 2-2 0-1 6, Spencer Kilmek 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Benedict 0-0 0-0 0, Brachen Hazen 3-7 6-7 12, Mason Coverstone 2-6 2-2 8, Justin Bachelder 1-4 1-2 3, Ryan Mosher 0-0 0-0 0, Robert Warrick 0-0 0-0 0, Parker Hazen 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 11-26 9-12 35. Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 5-9 0-1 11, Paul Marandet 1-4 1-1 3, Jeremy David 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Long 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 2-5 0-0 6, Nick Sands 3-7 3-4 11, Jake Mangas 0-3 0-1 0, Rashaan Jackson 3-7 1-2 7, Riley Rhoades 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 5-9 38. Three-pointers – Col. City 4 (Parish 2, Coverstone 2), Warsaw 5 (Swanson 2, Sands 2, K. Mangas); Rebounds – Col. City 24 (B. Hazen 8), Warsaw 23 (Marandet 8); Turnovers – Col. City 14, Warsaw 8; Fouls – Col. City 16, Warsaw 15; Fouled out – B. Hazen; Records: Col. City 1-1, Warsaw 2-0 JV – Warsaw 50, Columbia City 39 Warsaw (2-0) – Bishop Harrison 12, Ross Johnson 9, Jaceb Burish 8, Rane Kilburn 6, Braxton Minix 6, Jeremy David 4, Jordan Steffensmeir 3, Shane Powers 2
