Warsaw’s Rashaan Jackson looks for room versus NorthWood Friday night. Jackson came up big with 15 points in a 47-39 Tiger win.
WARSAW – The majority of the Warsaw student section showed up at the Tiger Den Friday night dressed in banana outfits.
The Tigers made sure to give their loud and proud faithful fans something to really go ape over in the end.
Warsaw used a tremendous defensive effort to turn back NorthWood 47-39 in a key Northern Lakes Conference boys basketball clash.
Sophomore Kyle Mangas tallied 16 points and senior Rashaan Jackson netted 15 as the Tigers improved to 13-3 overall, but more importantly took sole possession of first place in the NLC standings at 4-0.
Sophomore Vincent Miranda scored 13 points and juniors Braxton Linville and Dakiyron Fox each had 12 to pace NorthWood. The Panthers, who saw their program best 12 game winning streak come to an end, fall to 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw put the clamps on a potent NorthWood offense. The Tigers held the Panthers to a season low point total with the previous low being 54 points in a 54-50 win over Triton. NorthWood entered the game Friday night averaging 65 points-per-game on the season. Warsaw was only giving up just under 43 points-per-game.
“We knew they were averaging 65 a game and we asked the players Wednesday at practice what their goal was tonight to hold them to and Tim Swanson said 40,” related Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. Our goal tonight was 50 points. I never would have imagined that we would hold them to 39.
“We are a pretty good defensive team. I was really proud of our defensive effort tonight and how we held it together and were poised at the end after they came back and took the lead on us.”
Sophomore Kyle Mangas led the Tigers with a game-high 16 points Friday night.
NorthWood took its first and only lead of the game on a layup by Fox that made it 33-32 with 5:36 left in the game. The Tigers were up to the challenge as they answered with an 8-0 run keyed by a pair of huge buckets by Jackson to lead 40-33 with 2:06 to play. The Panthers would get no closer than four points after that.
Jackson saved his best for last as the senior scored eight points in the fourth quarter. The Panthers also had six of their 15 turnovers in the final frame.
“Give their defense credit,” said NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe. “They have a proven defense. They have a number of good individual defenders and that’s a great formula for playing good team defense. They are a very good basketball team.”
Warsaw bolted to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter as Kyle Mangas scored nine points. The Tigers enjoyed their largest lead of the night at 20-6. The Panthers answered with an 11-3 run to pull within 23-17 at halftime. NorthWood was just 2-12 from the field in the opening half, but stayed in the game thanks to going 13-15 from the free throw line.
“We just fouled too much in the first half,” said Ogle. “We just told our guys that we had to quit fouling. A big key tonight was rebounding. NorthWood was at plus 12 rebounds per game coming in and we did not let them get a lot of second chance points tonight.”
“All that could go wrong did in that first quarter,” said Wolfe, a former assistant coach at Warsaw. “Credit Warsaw. They played a great first quarter. Our guys battled back in the second quarter. You get down 14 it does take a lot of energy to overcome that. I thought that we played at a high level to take the lead, but to think that you are going to outplay Warsaw for an entire game is maybe unrealistic.”
Braxton Linville netted 12 points for NorthWood.
Ogle saw his team shoot 17-34 from the field, while the Panthers were 11-30. NorthWood was 2-14 from 3-point range and the Tigers 0-4. The Panthers went just 2-4 from the line in the second half, while Warsaw was 10-11.
“It was a team effort tonight, but Rashaan played well and I feel good for him,” said Ogle. “Kyle just continues to get more and more aggressive
“We put a lot into this game and it was an important win in trying to win the NLC. But we have three NLC games left and all three of our opponents (Elkhart Memorial, Northridge and Plymouth) are capable.”
Wolfe, now in his eighth season at NorthWood, is now 0-4 versus Warsaw in the Tiger Den. The Panthers have lost their last seven at Warsaw, dating back to a 54-47 win during the 2000-01 season.
Jake Mangas had eight points for Warsaw. Paul Marandet and Nick Sands each had three and Riley Rhoades two.
NorthWood won the junior varsity game 60-48. Evan Schmidt scored 20 points and Braxton Minix nine for Warsaw. Jared Hoffman had 16 and JaLynn Borkholder 10 for the Panthers.
Warsaw hosts Elkhart Memorial next Friday. NorthWood plays at West Noble Tuesday night.
The Warsaw student section went bananas for their Tigers Friday night.