Warsaw uses 14-0 run in 3Q to pull away for 61-38 win over Squires
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
A pair of high school boys basketball teams seperated by just three points at halftime couldn’t have been farther apart in the third and fourth quarters. Hosting the Manchester Squires in a rare Thursday night game, the Warsaw Tigers clung to a 22-19 lead at the break but opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run and cruised to a 61-38 victory. In all, the Tigers outscored the Squires 23-9 in the third quarter and 39-19 in the second half. The difference in the two halves? Warsaw shored up its ball-handling and turned up its defensive pressure. Manchester simply had no answer for a Warsaw team that also shot 61 percent from the field overall and made 7 of 12 three-point attempts. “I told the players at halftime I was disappointed, mainly in our ball-handling,” said Ogle, whose team improved to 4-1 on the season. “We had 10 turnovers in the first half. I told the players at halftime, ‘you guys should be mad at yourselves.’ “We got off to a good start in the third quarter,” added Ogle. “I think our pressure affected them.” Warsaw’s defensive pressure certainly appeared to affect the Squires in the second half, as they turned the ball over on five straight possessions to start the third quarter. “We got a little lax,” said Manchester coach Eric Thompson, whose team suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 3-1. “Give Warsaw credit, they were ready to go. They knew what they needed to do, and they came out in the second half and did it. Coach Ogle had them ready to go.” Senior Rashaan Jackson scored nine points for Warsaw in the pivotal third quarter – the same number of points Manchester scored in the eight-minute frame as a team. Jackson finished the game with 15 points, as did classmate Tim Swanson. Sophomore Kyle Mangas chipped in with 12 points for the Tigers, with eight of them coming in the second quarter, while senior Nick Sands finished with nine points. “I thought we could have a balanced team this year, and that’s really been one of our strengths,” said Ogle. “I think we’ve had four different leading scorers already this year. Our depth is really helping us.” Senior Chainey Zolman, playing his fourth game for the Squires after playing three seasons of varsity ball for the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings, led Manchester with 13 points Thursday, while sophomore David McAtee scored 10 points. For the second straight game, the Squires were playing without leading scorer Chase Fierstos because of a foot injury. Fierstos, who scored 30 points in Manchester’s season opener and was averaging 22 points per game, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, said Thompson. With Fierstos in the lineup, the Squires scored 58 points in a win at Mississinewa and 65 points in a win at Oak Hill. Without the 6-foot-3 junior, the Squires scored 44 points in a narrow win over Wawasee and then just 38 against the Tigers. “There’s a lot of focus going to be put on Chainey,” Thompson said when asked how different his team was without Fierstos. “We’ve got to get some of our younger players ready to go. Before Chase left, we were averaging about 60 points. Since then, we’ve only scored 44 and 38. We’re a different team without him.” Though the Tigers were already in control of the game, it didn’t help the Squires any that Zolman fouled out with 5:28 remaining in the game. “I’m not disappointed,” said Thompson. “We got beat by a great program tonight. Coach Ogle has been doing this a long time and had his team ready to go.” Thursday’s game marked the first time the Squires played in the Tiger Den since beating Plymouth in the 1994 regional final. Warsaw now leads the overall series with Manchester by a 46-16 count. The series started in 1925 but stopped in 1976 when the Squires left the Northern Lakes Conference. The teams played again for the first time last season, when the Tigers beat the Squires 42-35 in North Manchester. Manchester is in action again Saturday when it hosts Huntington North, while Warsaw opens conference play at Wawasee on Dec. 19.
WARSAW 61, MANCHESTER 38 Man 6 13 9 10 – 38 War 12 10 23 16 – 61 Manchester – Braydon Sewell 1-2 0-1 2, Branden Scott 0-3 0-0 0, David McAtee 3-6 2-3 10, Koehl Fluke 2-6 0-0 5, Chainey Zolman 3-9 7-10 13, Cameron Brandenburg 1-1 2-3 4, Bailey Ness 0-0 0-0 0, Keelan Norwood 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 12-29 11-17 38. Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 5-7 0-0 12, Paul Marandet 1-1 0-0 2, Jeremy David 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Long 1-1 0-0 2, Tim Swanson 5-8 1-3 15, Nick Sands 2-3 4-4 9, Jake Mangas 1-2 3-3 5, Rashaan Jackson 4-5 7-9 15, Riley Rhoades 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 19-31 16-21 61. Three-pointers – Manchester 3 (McAtee 2, Fluke), Warsaw 7 (Swanson 4, K. Mangas 2, Sands); Rebounds – Manchester 14 (Norwood 5), Warsaw 23 (K. Mangas 4, Marandet 4); Turnovers – Manchester 17, Warsaw 17; Fouls – Manchester 18, Warsaw 20; Fouled out – Zolman; Records: Manchester 3-1, Warsaw 4-1 JV – Warsaw 60, Manchester 26 Warsaw – Jeremy David 19, Braxton Minix 16, Ross Johnson 8, Jaceb Burish 6, Tristan Frye 4, Sam Miller 3, Rane Kilburn 2, Jordan Steffensmeier 2 Manchester – Jake Schannep 7, Kane Gable 7, Levi Hicks 5, Bailey Ness 4, Heath Diercks 2, Norwood 1
