The Warsaw Tigers struggled to score in the third quarter of Saturday night’s high school boys basketball game against Fort Wayne Snider. They certainly turned things around in the fourth quarter, however, opening the final eight minutes with an 11-0 run that lifted them to a 53-46 win over the visiting Panthers. After leading 26-19 at halftime, Warsaw was just 2 of 8 from the field in the third quarter and got outscored 13-5 in the frame. Snider, after making just 8 of 25 shot attempts before the intermission, opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 29-26 lead on a three-pointer from junior Jordan Gorman. Warsaw knotted the game at 29-29 with a trey by senior Evan Schmidt, and despite their offensive woes in the quarter the Tigers trailed just 32-31 heading into the final frame. Sophomore Ross Johnson gave Warsaw the lead for good when he hit a three-pointer – the only shot he took in Saturday’s game – to start the fourth quarter. Johnson’s trey started an 11-0 run, a spurt that also included three-pointers from junior Kyle Mangas and Schmidt, as well as a pair of free throws by senior Paul Marandet. After Marandet’s charity tosses gave the Tigers a 42-32 advantage, they led by no fewer than five points the rest of the way, improving to 12-0 on the season while Snider fell to 7-4. “Snider shot well, and we just had a bad third quarter, we weren’t clicking in the third quarter,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose squad is the only remaining Class 4A boys team in the state with an unblemished record. “They go ahead and get the lead, and then Evan Schmidt’s three in the corner ties it, and Ross Johnson made a three, Evan Schmidt made another three, and we kind of settled in. Paul made his free throws. I thought our poise was strong tonight when they made that run. “I’m just really happy for our players. Snider didn’t shoot very well in the first half. They shot a lot better in the second half, and we knew they were gonna make a run. We weathered their run and kinda hung in there.” Mangas led the Tigers with a game-high 17 points after struggling through a very uncharacteristic 6-of-15 performance from the field, and added six rebounds to his stat line. Marandet finished the game with 14 points, six boards, four assists and a pair of steals. Senior Riley Rhoades and Schmidt scored six points each in the win, while junior Jeremy David chipped in with four points, and junior Jaceb Burish and Johnson finished with three points each. Mangas wasn’t the only standout in the game that struggled with shooting touch. Snider’s Malik Williams, a 6-foot-11 junior who has been offered a scholarship by a number of Division I programs including Indiana and Purdue, finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, though he needed 14 shot attempts to score those 13 points. “We made Malik earn his points,” said Ogle. “I don’t know what he’s averaging, but we said before the game ‘let’s see if we can keep him under 15 (points).’ And we did that. We tried to keep him under 10 rebounds ... he ended up with 12, but I’m pleased with our effort.” Gorman led Snider in scoring with 14 points, while Keondre Brown scored eight points and Jayden Walker chipped in with six. The Tigers, who are 12-0 for the first time since winning the first 13 games of the 1991-92 season, are in action again Tuesday when they host Mishawaka Marian, followed by a trip to conference foe Concord Friday. “We’re looking forward to that game Tuesday,” said Ogle. “Marian is very good. They’re 11-2. They had a good win over Riley Friday night. This three game homestand, we’ve got two of the three so far, now we’re gonna practice on Monday ... we don’t have school on Monday ... but Marian is good and we’re looking forward to it. They’re a top 10 team in 3A.”
