Tigers Repeat As Sectional ChampionsELKHART – It's hard, said Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle, to win a sectional championship. It's even more difficult to win two in a row. With a 49-32 victory over the Goshen RedHawks Saturday night at historic North Side Gym in Elkhart, the Tigers did just that, winning back-to-back championships for the first time in 20 years. Warsaw won three games in four days, beating Northridge 36-33 Wednesday on a last-second three-pointer by Kyle Mangas, thrashing sectional favorite Elkhart Central 71-36 Friday, and then capping things off by outscoring Goshen 33-16 in the second half to secure the program's 40th sectional title. The Tigers last won back-to-back sectional titles in 1996 and 1997, capturing championships for coach Al Rhodes during the final two years of the single-class tournament. “Our defense in the sectional was good,” said Ogle, whose team improved to 17-9 while Goshen's season ended with a 15-10 record. “It helped us withstand a bad shooting game against Northridge, because we were able to survive it, barely. “Our defense is probably the biggest reason we won the sectional, and then Kyle Mangas. Our defense and Kyle Mangas were huge.” The Tigers and RedHawks were tied 16-16 at halftime Saturday night, and then Goshen led 21-20 early in the third quarter. That's when Warsaw – namely seniors Mangas and Jeremy David – took control of the game, outscoring Goshen by 18 points the rest of the way. Mangas scored a game-high 23 points in the win, while David, who entered the tournament averaging five points per game, scored all 10 of his points in the second half. David was 4 of 4 from the field and 2 of 2 at the free throw line, and his performance came a night after he scored a career-high 17 points against Elkhart Central. “I just didn't want these games to be my last games,” David said when asked about his strong play Friday and Saturday. “Not being a huge scorer during the season, I just wanted to make a difference in the sectional. I really wanted to make an impact and get this trophy.” David certainly made an impact, as did Mangas. Warsaw’s 6-foot-3 Indiana All-Star hopeful had quite the week, scoring 19 points Wednesday, 26 Friday and 23 Saturday. Counting conference games and the postseason, the Tigers are 23-1 against Northern Lakes Conference teams during Mangas’ three years as a starter on the varsity team. With his 68 points during the sectional, Mangas upped his career total to 1,379 and he sits alone in fourth place on Warsaw’s all-time scoring list, trailing only Kevin Ault (2,028), Nic Moore (1,891) and Jeff Grose (1,751). Ault and Grose were named Mr. Basketball during their respective senior seasons, while Moore was second in the voting for the state’s highly-coveted award. “This means everything,” Mangas said when asked what it meant to win the sectional as a senior. “The season keeps going, that’s what matters the most.” Next on Warsaw’s schedule is a matchup with East Chicago Central in Saturday’s Michigan City Regional. The Tigers and Cardinals (15-9) will square off at approximately 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. East Chicago won its own sectional by beating Lake Central 67-62. The first regional semifinal game tips off at 11 a.m. Eastern time and features Merrillville (19-4) and South Bend Adams (21-4). The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to a one-game semistate on March 18 at either Lafayette Jeff or Huntington North. “Winning the sectional back-to-back years, that’s really tough to do,” said Mangas, who has now been a part of 60 varsity wins. “Coach Ogle even said that, he said it’s really rare for a team to do that. That shows that this team is pretty special.” Sophomore Nolan Groninger scored eight points for Warsaw Saturday, while senior Jaceb Burish and junior Asher Blum scored five and three, respectively. Junior Will Line led Goshen with 10 points, while senior CJ Detweiler chipped in with eight points. Warsaw beat the RedHawks 57-31 in Goshen on Jan. 13. Goshen, in its first year with head coach Michael Wohlford, finished the season by winning six of its last eight games. “I was impressed with how Goshen played,” said Ogle. “They made shots, and they got the ball inside on us. I’m happy for (coach) Michael (Wohlford) to have this type of season, and those guys. They’re 15-10, that’s pretty good for his first year, and to take us to, not completely to the edge, but they did a good job of competing. “We’re just real happy. It’s hard to win a sectional, but to win two in a row is pretty good.” Ogle, in his 15th season as Warsaw’s head coach, has led the Tigers to six sectional championships, all of which have come in the last 12 years.
