MIDDLEBURY – In coach Doug Ogle’s words, the Warsaw Tigers got their mojo going in the third quarter. As a result, they’re still undefeated and off to their best start since the 1993-94 season. In a Northern Lakes Conference high school boys basketball game at Northridge, Ogle’s Tigers turned a 25-20 advantage at halftime into a 61-40 win over the Raiders. Warsaw, led by a career-high 29 points from junior Kyle Mangas, was 13 of 21 from the field in the second half and outscored the home team 36-20 after the intermission. The Tigers, who were 22 of 38 from the field overall and 13 of 18 at the free throw line, improved to 10-0 on the season and 2-0 in the NLC, while Northridge fell to 2-6 and 0-2. “We just got rolling there,” said Ogle. “We made several shots in a row at the start of the third quarter, and then we just kind of got control of it. We just got our mojo going a little bit in the third quarter.” After trailing 20-19, Warsaw closed the first half on a 6-0 run, and then opened the third quarter with an 11-1 spurt. In all, the Tigers used a 17-1 run to take a 36-21 lead midway through the third quarter. The Raiders, who made just 6 of 21 attempts from the floor in the second half and only 14 of 42 in all, never recovered. “I’m really happy with the second half,” said Ogle. “When Mangas and (Paul) Marandet get 40 (points), that’s two games in a row they’ve scored 40, it bodes well for us.” Mangas scored his career-high 29 points on a 10-of-13 effort from the field, including a 4-of-6 effort from the three-point arc, and was 5 of 5 at the free throw line. Mangas also dished out four assists and made three steals. Senior point guard Paul Marandet scored 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots from the field and 3 of 4 charity tosses, to go along with four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Junior Braxton Minix chipped in with six points, while senior Riley Rhoades and junior Jeremy David scored four points each. “This is a good win for us, and now we’re looking forward to playing Goshen,” said Ogle. Goshen is 3-5 overall, but is 2-0 in the NLC after an 18-point win over Concord Friday night. Ogle is taking the one-game-at-a-time approach, as he knows his team has to take care of business. Much is already being made, however, of the Tigers’ trip to Nappanee on Jan. 29 to play Class 3A No. 4 NorthWood. Following a 71-43 win at Wawasee Friday, NorthWood is 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the NLC. “We’ve talked about that quite a bit ... that we need to take care of things to set that up,” Ogle said of the looming matchup with NorthWood. “We’ve got Goshen up next, and that’s what we’re gonna concentrate on now.” Senior Kurtis Hochstetler led Northridge with 18 points Friday, but did so on a 6-of-18 performance from the field. He was 4 of 8 from the arc and 2 of 2 at the free throw line. Junior Luke Morrison chipped in with nine points, while sophomore Connor Utley finished with six points. Warsaw hosts Goshen Friday, entertains Fort Wayne Snider the following night, and then hosts Mishawaka Marian on Jan. 19.
