Tigers improve to 8-0 with 65-32 drubbing of Triton
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
The Warsaw Tigers have a number of players that can put the ball in the basket. They can play pretty good defense too, and it was on full display Tuesday night in a 65-32 drubbing of the visiting Triton Trojans. The Tigers, who improved to 8-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season, gave up just 16 points in each half of the 33-point win. Warsaw has held six of their opponents this season to 38 points or less, including the Trojans who were just 9 of 29 from the field overall. “Our defense has been solid,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “Of our eight games, there’s been two teams that have scored more than 40 points on us. “Our defensive pressure was pretty good throughout, and then Paul (Marandet) continues to play well ... 12 points, six assists, one turnover. His assist-to-turnover ratio for the season is ridiculous, 37 assists to eight turnovers in eight games. That’s pretty good.” Marandet, in his third season as the Tigers’ starting point guard, certainly knows how to direct Warsaw’s offense. Having a backcourt mate like junior Kyle Mangas doesn’t hurt either. Mangas, who scored a game-high 22 points Tuesday, got the Tigers going early. The 6-foot-3 standout scored 11 of Warsaw’s 16 first-quarter points, and outscored Triton 17-16 in the first half by himself. “Kyle got off to a good start, a fast start,” said Ogle. “I was pleased with our start, and he was a big part of that.” Mangas, who scored his first two points with a two-handed dunk, completed an impressive all-around game with five rebounds, five steals and a pair of assists. Senior Evan Schmidt scored nine points in the win, while juniors Jaceb Burish and Braxton Minix chipped in with five and four points, respectively. Senior Jordan Anderson and junior Grant Johnson scored 11 points each for Triton, while senior Masen Yeo chipped in with seven, junior Nathan Flenar scored two points and junior Zachery Pitney rounded out the Trojans’ offensive output with a free throw. “Don’t get me wrong, Warsaw is a really good basketball team ... they’re physical, they’re fundamental, they do a lot, but our kids, I was a little disappointed with their fight, or lack there of, at times,” said Triton coach Jason Groves. “I understand they’re strong, but we can slide over and take charges, and I didn’t see that once tonight. Things like that that our kids can control ... I can handle getting beat by a good team, but when we kind of roll over, that’s not a good thing.” The Trojans turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 25 Warsaw points, and were outrebounded 31-20 by the Tigers. Warsaw grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and used that effort on the boards to score 14 second-chance points. With the loss, Triton fell to 5-4 on the season. The Trojans are 0-3 against Northern Lakes Conference teams, having also lost 40-36 to Plymouth and 64-43 to Plymouth. “We just need to keep getting better,” said Groves. “The good thing about playing teams like Warsaw, NorthWood and Plymouth is they’re going to expose your weaknesses and you’re gonna get to work on them. “The approach we gotta take is to look at this and find where we need to get better to win our conference, to win the Bi-County Tournament, to win our sectional. All our goals are still intact for the year, we just gotta keep getting better and take this and try and spin this into a positive as best we can.” Triton is in action again Jan. 7 at Elkhart Christian, followed by a game two days later at Hoosier North Athletic Conference foe West Central. The Tigers head into the holiday break with plenty to smile about. Warsaw will hit the court again Jan. 2 in another boys/girls doubleheader at LaPorte, followed by a Northern Lakes Conference game at Northridge on Jan. 8. “We’re gonna give our players a five-day break,” said Ogle. “We’re not practicing tomorrow all the way through Sunday. So we won’t see them until Monday the 28th. I just want them to enjoy time off, and recharge their batteries, and then we have next week to get ready for a trip to LaPorte. We don’t come back to the Tiger Den till Jan. 15, because we play at LaPorte on Jan. 2 and at Northridge on Jan. 8. Northridge is dangerous. “We’re looking forward to some time off. The guys have been working hard, and I think they’ll appreciate having a break.”
