It wasn't that Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team played that bad Saturday night, Fort Wayne Northrop was just better, especially in the second half. Playing without starting point guard Paul Marandet, who was home with the flu, the Tigers still made 49 percent of their attempts from the field overall, including a 5-of-11 performance from the arc, and only committed 10 turnovers. They suffered their first home loss of the season, a 56-49 setback, because the visiting Bruins made 62 percent of their shots overall, including an 11-of-15 effort in the third and fourth quarters. “Northrop was better than us tonight,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team fell to 12-3 on the season. “They shot really well. They defended really well. Northrop just played really well tonight.” With the win, Northrop improved to 9-7 on the season, dropping the Tigers to 0-3 against teams from the Summit City. Warsaw's other two losses came at Homestead (60-59 on Dec. 5) and at Snider (48-40 on Jan. 17). The common denominator in the Tigers’ three losses, other than the trio of teams being from Allen County, is Warsaw struggled against the combination of size and athleticism. “It wasn’t just the size (against those three teams), it was the quality of the size,” said Ogle. “Size was a factor tonight, but Northrop also played really well. (Jagger) Surface played great for them. (Aaron) Thomas was 5 of 5 from the field. Northrop was better than us tonight.” The 6-foot-5 Surface scored a game-high 18 points for the Bruins, while the 6-7 Thomas added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Richard Robertson, a 5-8 guard for the Bruins, scored 11 points in the win. For the Tigers, who were outrebounded 22-16, sophomore Kyle Mangas scored 13 points, while seniors Rashaan Jackson and Jake Mangas chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Seniors Nick Sands and Tim Swanson rounded out Warsaw’s offensive output with eight and five points, respectively. A team that has prided itself this season with its depth and balance, Warsaw had just five players break into the scoring column Saturday. “We didn’t have enough offense tonight,” said Ogle. “We got a lot of shots in the basket area, we just didn’t make them.” The Tigers finished the game 19 of 39 from the field overall, while Northrop was 23 of 37. The Bruins led 22-13 after one quarter of play, 29-22 at halftime and 44-39 at the end of the third quarter. “Playing without our point guard, and how well Northrop played, I was proud that we got it down to five points going into the fourth quarter,” said Ogle. “We just couldn’t seem to get over the hump.” The Tigers will look to regroup this week, as they host NorthWood in a key Northern Lakes Conference matchup Friday. Warsaw is 3-0 in the NLC, while NorthWood is 13-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
NORTHROP 56, WARSAW 49 Nor 22 7 15 12 – 56 War 13 9 17 10 – 49 Northrop – Darius Craig 1-2 0-0 3, Richard Robertson 4-8 2-2 11, Ray Walker 2-3 1-2 5, Anthony Moody 1-1 0-0 2, Aaron Thomas 5-5 0-0 10, Anton Berry 3-5 1-4 7, Jagger Surface 7-12 1-2 18, Nigel Kilby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-37 5-10 56. Warsaw – Kyle Mangas 4-6 3-4 13, Peyton Long 0-0 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 2-6 0-0 5, Sands 4-8 0-0 8, Jake Mangas 4-5 3-3 11, Rashaan Jackson 5-14 0-0 12, Riley Rhoades 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-39 6-7 49. Three-pointers – Northrop 5 (Surface 3, Craig, Robertson), Warsaw 5 (K. Mangas 2, Jackson 2, Swanson); Rebounds – Northrop 22 (Thomas 11), Warsaw 16 (Jackson 4, Rhoades 4); Turnovers – Northrop 10, Warsaw 10; Fouls – Northrop 10, Warsaw 9; Records: Northrop 9-7, Warsaw 12-3 JV – Warsaw 57, Northrop 43 Warsaw – Ross Johnson 12, Evan Schmidt 11, Jeremy David 8, Braxton Minix 8, Rane Kilburn 6, Bishop Harrison 5, Tristan Frye 3, Aaron Sandoval 2, Jordan Steffensmeir 2
