Warsaw cashes in at charity stripe in wins over Riley, Merrillville
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Cashing in at the charity stripe Saturday, Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team added to the program’s bank of championships. Hosting a four-team holiday tournament, the Tigers used a 46-of-56 performance at the free throw line to post wins over South Bend Riley and No. 10 Merrillville. Warsaw, which is now 7-1 on the season and on a five-game win streak, beat Riley 57-47 in the day’s first semifinal game, and then came back and beat Merrillville 63-60 in a thrilling double-overtime championship game. Merrillville beat Kokomo 67-55 in the second semifinal game. Kokomo, with former Columbia City and Grace College standout Matt Moore in his first season coaching the Wildkats, beat Riley 73-69 in the consolation contest. “This is a good win for us,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, speaking after the win over the 10th-ranked Pirates, who fell to 6-1 on the season. “Merrillville has a bouncy, talented team. For us to battle the way we did, I’m proud of the players for their perseverance.” The Tigers, who won the program’s 24th holiday tournament title (26th when counting the short-lived conference tourney), made 23 of 27 free throws in the semfinal win and 23 of 29 in the finals. Riley and Merrillville were a combined 17 of 26 at the free throw line against Warsaw Saturday. “We won both games at the free throw line,” said Ogle, whose team won the Hamilton Heights Holiday Tournament last year. “The first couple games (of the season) our free throw shooting was shaky.” In the semifinal win over Riley, there were no lead changes or ties. The title tilt against Merrillville, however, was a different story. The championship contest featured seven ties and six lead changes, and the Tigers trailed by 10 at one point. Warsaw led Merrillville 11-10 after one quarter of play, but trailed 27-20 at halftime and 37-35 at the end of the third quarter. The teams were knotted at 50-50 at the end of regulation and 56-56 after the first four-minute overtime. With the Tigers trailing 60-58 in the second overtime, a bucket and free throw from junior Paul Marandet gave Warsaw a 1-point advantage with 1:59 remaining. Neither team scored again until sophomore Kyle Mangas converted two free throws for the Tigers with 10 seconds left, accounting for the final score. Warsaw senior Jake Mangas had a chance to extend the lead with one second remaining, but a pair of missed charity tosses gave the Pirates a chance – slim as it was. Merrillville rebounded the ball on the second miss, but a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. Prior to Saturday night, the Pirates were averaging 72 points per 32-minute game. Warsaw held them to 60 points in 40 minutes of action. “I thought our defense was solid late in the game and in the overtimes,” said Ogle. “We just didn’t play well in the first half. The combination of our 10 turnovers and their three-point shooting (6 of 9), was the story in the first half. I said at halftime that we can’t turn the ball over like that, and they’re not going to keep shooting like that.” The Tigers turned the ball over just five times in the second half and overtimes, and the Pirates were 4 of 12 from the arc after the break. Kyle Mangas led the Tigers in the championship game with 18 points and six rebounds and was named the tournament’s MVP. Senior Rashaan Jackson scored 11 points for Warsaw and was also named to the all-tournament team, while classmate Nick Sands scored 11 points himself. Marandet finished the title tilt with nine points and six boards, while Jake Mangas chipped in with six points and six boards. “Kyle Mangas is emerging as a really good player for us,” said Ogle. “He showed a lot of poise.” The rest of the all-tourney team included Merrillville’s Cameron Wilbon and Jarius Stevens, as well as Kokomo’s Jordan Matthews and Riley’s Reontre Lawrence. Wilbon led Merrillville in the finals with 14 points, while D.J. Wilkins was the only other Pirate in double figures with 13 points. In the semifinal win over Riley, Warsaw led 8-4 after one quarter of play, 23-17 at halftime and 38-24 at the end of the third quarter. Jackson led the Tigers in the semifinal with 14 points, while Kyle Mangas and Jake Mangas added 12 and 10, respectively. Lawrence led Riley in the morning loss with 19 points and eight boards, while Junior Scott scored 10 points. The Tigers are in action twice this weekend, playing at Triton Friday and hosting LaPorte Saturday. Both games are a part of boys/girls doubleheaders with the Lady Tigers.
