During his record-breaking season on the football field, Warsaw’s Jake Mangas proved he can pass the ball. In Wednesday’s home opener for the Tigers’ boys basketball team, the 6-foot-3 senior displayed his ability to fight for position and catch. Against the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings, Mangas managed to get in position around the basket time after time, catching lob passes and laying the ball in for easy points. Making 8 of 9 attempts from the field and 3 of 4 at the free throw line, Mangas scored a team-high 19 points, as Warsaw pulled away in the second half for a 61-48 win. “We got hurt on the lob pass,” said Valley coach Bill Patrick, whose team led 27-24 at halftime. “Warsaw is a really good team. We played well in the first half, but in the third quarter we just didn't score.” After going toe to toe with a much more experinced Warsaw team in the first half, the Vikings, who returned a little more than 100 points from all of last season’s offensive output, were outscored 23-7 in the third quarter. The Tigers scored 15 straight points during a second-half run, and Mangas outscored Valley 9-7 by himself in the third quarter. “Jake is an active player,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “He moves and fights for position. He's a fairly skilled inside player, and our guards did a nice job getting him the ball. When you have a guy who has some skill, and is smart and active, then you're talking about Jake Mangas.” Mangas also grabbed five rebounds in the win. Senior Tim Swanson added 11 points and four rebounds for the Tigers, while senior Nick Sands chipped in with seven points and five rebounds, and senior Rashaan Jackson and sophomore Kyle Mangas finished with seven points and a pair of rebounds each. Junior point guard Paul Marandet had a well-rounded game, finishing with five points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. The Tigers led 15-12 after the first quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Swanson, and Valley pulled ahead for a three-point lead at halftime. In the first 16 minutes of the game, there were seven ties and seven lead changes. It was a much different story in the second half, as Warsaw used the 15-0 run to pull away from a Valley team that shot 53 percent in the first half but only made 5 of 22 shots in the third and fourth quarters. “We knew that Tippecanoe Valley would be patient,” said Ogle. “They shot well in the first half. We didn’t do a good job staying in front of (Alex) Thacker and (Jarred) Littlejohn. In the second half, I was proud of our poise and how we hung in there.” While Warsaw had eight players score in the game, Valley only got any scoring output from four players. Senior Alex Thacker led Valley with 23 points. The 6-0 point guard also pulled down six rebounds, dished out four assists and made four steals. Juniors Gavin Bussard and Neil Clampitt scored nine points each, while senior Jarred Littlejohn finished with seven points. “We need someone other than Alex Thacker to score points for us,” said Patrick. “We played well in the first half, and we got good looks in the second half, we just didn’t hit our shots.” Warsaw is in action again Saturday when it hosts Columbia City, a 73-16 winner over Whitko in Wednesday’s season opener. Valley hosts Argos Tuesday. Argos opened the season Wednesday with a 65-50 win over Bremen.
WARSAW 61, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 48 TV 12 15 7 14 – 48 W 15 9 23 14 – 61 Valley – Alex Thacker 6-17 9-11 23, Trevor Neeley 0-0 0-0 0, Jarred Littlejohn 3-8 0-0 7, Chandler O’Connor 0-3 0-1 0, Alec Craig 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Perdieu 0-1 0-0 0, Gavin Bussard 4-9 0-0 9, Neil Clampitt 3-4 0-0 9, Brandon Webster 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 9-12 48. Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 3-6 0-1 7, Paul Marandet 1-2 3-5 5, Jeremy David 0-0 2-2 2, Peyton Long 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 4-6 0-0 11, Nick Sands 3-6 0-0 7, Jake Mangas 8-9 3-4 19, Rashaan Jackson 3-6 0-0 7, Riley Rhoades 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 23-39 9-14 61. Three-pointers – Valley 7 (Clampitt 3, Thacker 2, Littlejohn, Bussard), Warsaw 6 (Swanson 3, K. Mangas, Jackson); Rebounds – Valley 16 (Thacker 6), Warsaw 32 (Rhoades 6); Turnovers – Valley 8, Warsaw 17; Fouls – Valley 13, Warsaw 15; Fouled out – none; Records: Valley 0-1, Warsaw 1-0 JV – Warsaw 53, Valley 24 Valley – Jarod Duzenberry 5, Ivan Santiago 4, Bryce Webster 4, Keith Wright 3, Nick Caudill 3, DeSean Heckaman, Noah Hoffman 2, Drew Hartman 1 Warsaw – Kyle Skeans 12, Braxont Minix 10, Tristan Frye 8, Bishop Harrison 7, Ross Johnson 6, Rane Kilburn 4, Shane Powers 4, Jaceb Burish 2
