It would be hard to argue the fact that the Warsaw Tigers are the favorite in Class 4A Sectional 4 at Elkhart’s North Side Gym. Of the six teams in the field, the Tigers, simply put, are the best team on paper, and they’ve proven it on the court. With an impressive regular season in the books, one that saw the Tigers go 18-4 overall and 7-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, Warsaw is ready to make some noise in the 105th annual state tournament. Sectional play gets underway Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the Tigers square off against Concord. Warsaw beat the Minutemen 39-37 on Jan. 23 in the Tiger Den. Coach Doug Ogle remembers the game well, and he believes his team is capable of playing much better than they did in that game. “The last time we played Concord, I don’t think we played very well,” said Ogle, whose team is looking for its second sectional title in three years and the program’s 39th overall. “Our offense was not good, and we didn’t defend (Concord’s) Filip Serwatka very well. “Concord’s way of thinking is probably that they only lost by two points, and they think they can beat us,” continued Ogle. “Our thinking is we didn’t play that well last time, and we still won the game. We’re looking forward to the opportunity, and we’d like to prove that we can play better than we did last time.” Goshen and Elkhart Central square off at 7:30 p.m. in Tuesday’s second game. In Friday’s first semifinal game at 6 p.m, Elkhart Memorial will square off against either Warsaw or Concord. Northridge and Tuesday’s other winner will meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The championship game is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Michigan City Regional to play the winner of the Penn Regional. While there is pressure that comes with being the sectional favorite, Ogle relishes that for one big reason in particular. “Yes, there’s pressure that comes with being the sectional favorite, and we would be disappointed if we didn’t win,” said Ogle. “What I’ve always said about being the sectional favorite is, if you’re telling me my team is the sectional favorite, then you’re telling me I have the best team. I’ll take that.” Ogle said a big key in the Tigers making a run in the tournament is rebounding, as well as free throw shooting. In the first 21 games of the season, Warsaw averaged 24 rebounds per game, while its opponents grabbed an average of 20 boards per game. In those 21 games, the Tigers were 239 of 315 at the free throw line, making 76 percent of their attempts as a team. Warsaw’s opponents were 161 of 227 at the charity stripe. In those 21 games, the Tigers made 12 more free throws than their opponents attempts. “Free throw attempts is an important thing to us,” said Ogle. “It’s something we really look at. What that number reflects is that we’re getting the ball in the basket area. That’s a good thing.” Some of the other things that have led to Warsaw’s success this season have been its balance and depth, as well as staying healthy. “A big key for us right now is that we’re healthy,” said Ogle. “We’ve had good teams and lost in the sectional because we weren’t healthy. We’re thankful that this group is healthy.” Sophomore Kyle Mangas leads the Tigers in scoring at 12 points per game, while senior Rashaan Jackson averages nine, and seniors Jake Mangas, Nick Sands and Tim Swanson are all around seven points per game. Junior point guard Paul Marandet averages five points and a team-high five rebounds per game.
