FORT WAYNE – Kyle Mangas and Paul Marandet were super heros once again for Warsaw’s varsity boys basketball team. In a game that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties, the dynamic duo scored 22 points each as they lifted the Class 4A No. 7 Tigers to a hard-fought 61-53 win in overtime at Fort Wayne Northrop Saturday night. Mangas hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime with the score knotted 50-50. The host Bruins, who entered the game with a 6-8 record, then scored the first three points of the four-minute extra session before Warsaw closed the contest on an 11-0 run. Things were in doubt at times for the Tigers, but with the eight-point win they are 15-0 for the first time in program history. “I'm happy for our players,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose squad improved to 4-0 in overtime games this season. “I don't know how to describe it, other than to say nothing came easy. Mangas and Marandet were big for us again tonight. Paul and Kyle are good, and they have a lot of experience. We're just lucky to have those guys on our team.” To go with his 22 points, Mangas pulled down seven rebounds and made a steal, while Marandet made four steals and dished out three assists. Offensively, Marandet did most of his damage at the free throw line, where he was 11 of 14. As a team, the Tigers were 21 of 32 at the charity stripe. Warsaw led 14-13 after one quarter of play and 25-23 at halftime before Northrop clung to a 36-35 advantage heading into the final frame. The Bruins, who made eight three-pointers in the game, led 50-45 with about a minute to go in regulation, but couldn't seal the deal and pull off the upset. “They played well,” Ogle said of the Bruins, who were 16 of 31 from the field overall, compared to Warsaw's 19 of 42. “They didn't play like a 6-8 team. “I told the players we wanted to treat this like a sectional week. Tuesday (against Marian) was the first round, Friday (at Concord) was the semifinal, and tonight was the sectional championship. We were pretending like we were playing Elkhart Central on their home floor. That's the type of pressure you need to be able to play under. It's encouraging that we've been able to win these overtime games and it speaks to our poise, our free throw shooting, our ball handling ... all those things.” Riley Rhoades scored nine points in the win, and added three rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists to his stat line. Jagger Surface led Northrop with 23 points and seven boards, but was also called for a technical foul at a critical time during the game. Richard Johnson scored 13 points in the loss, while Darius Craig chipped in with eight points. The Tigers now have until Friday to prepare for a much-talked about Northern Lakes Conference game at Class 3A No. 3 NorthWood (13-1). “It’s going to be a hum-dinger,” Ogle said of Friday’s key conference clash in Nappanee. “I expect a sell-out crowd. I would think it’ll be a hard ticket to get. It’s a big, big game. It’ll be a fun game to play in. We’re really looking forward to it, and I know they are too. They’re really good, and so are we. So, it should be quite an epic battle.”
