Kyle Mangas watches his shot from in close Saturday night. Mangas scored 26 points to lead Warsaw to a 52-51 double-overtime win at Columbia City.

COLUMBIA CITY – Big basketball games are won with great guard play.

The Warsaw boys basketball team proved that Saturday night.

The undersized Tigers cut Columbia City down to size on pure physical toughness and heart in downing the Eagles 52-51 in double overtime in a thriller.

Warsaw’s guard tandem of Kyle Mangas and Paul Marandet, arguably the toughest backcourt in the area pound for pound, simply refused to let their team lose on this night. The pair combined for 35 points and made big play after big play at both ends of the court in the marathon contest.

The matchup, which featured City’s heavily hyped Twin Towers of brothers Bracken (a 6-8 senior) and Parker (a 6-7 junior) Hazen and resembled a Hoosier Hysteria tournament game in March, was a true heavyweight bout.

In the end, it was the Tigers who delivered the final knockout blow to the Eagles thanks to the huge play of its backcourt and the grit and guts of its entire squad.

Warsaw notched the win as Marandet coolly drained two free throws with 28.1 seconds to play for the final points of the donnybrook.

The Tigers then clinched the victory as Jaceb Burish, the unsung hero on the night for Warsaw, intercepted a City pass in the lane with five seconds to play. The Tigers ran out the clock before the Eagles could foul.

Mangas poured in a game-high 26 points, including a thunderous dunk late in the third quarter over Hazen. Marandet had nine points and hit 7-10 from the line and led his team with five assists and four steals.

“I’m just really proud of all of our guys tonight,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, his team now 2-0. “They hung in there and just kept battling. I was really proud of the toughness that they showed when we got down 10 in the third quarter. That just says a lot about all our guys. This is a good rivalry and a really good win.

“Kyle and Paul are both just playmakers and leaders for us. Kyle showed that he’s really great in transition tonight. I can’t say enough about Jaceb Burish and his effort tonight. He was just unbelievable off the bench for us.”

Jaceb Burish battles for position for the Tigers. The junior played a big role in Warsaw’s win Saturday night.

The Tigers forced City into two huge turnovers in the final minute with their pressure defense and traps. The second one came with 46.5 seconds to play after Mangas had missed two free throws with 56 seconds left and his team down 51-50.

“I thought that our pressure defense was key on them at the end,” remarked Ogle, whose team beat City 38-35 last season in the Tiger Den. “We were able to speed them up, get some turnovers and then win at the end. That’s kind of been the last three games against them.”

Warsaw won despite going 12-25 from the free throw line, while the Eagles were 16-17 from the stripe. The Tigers only had six turnovers though in the 40-minute contest, while City had 15.

Mangas, the top scorer for Warsaw a year ago at 11 points-per-game, was a smooth assassin. The baby-faced, slim 6-3 junior was 11-18 from the field as he attacked the bigger City frontline at will off the dribble all night long.

“Coach Ogle has a lot of confidence in me to attack the basket and that’s one of my strong suits,” said Mangas, who scored 21 points in a 60-35 win at Tippecanoe Valley in the season opener on Wednesday night. “I just have a knack for finishing in there. They had the big presence in there with their height advantage, but we kept playing physical and fighting.

“I had a lot of adrenalin going on that dunk. I know that I have to be a major scorer and a leader for us this season and I put in a ton of time in the offseason working on my game. This win says that we are ready for anything and that everyone is stepping up for us.”

The Eagles, who drop to 1-1, led 13-11 after the first period and 20-19 at halftime as Warsaw shot just 8-21 from the field. City stretched its lead to 29-19 with a 9-0 run in the third period. The Tigers answered with an 11-2 run, sparked by a huge trey  from Evan Schmidt, and capped by the sweet slam and a layup by Mangas to pull within 31-30.

Evan Schmidt prepares to pass the ball.

The fourth quarter was nip-and-tuck as the Eagles took a 37-32 lead. The Tigers answered with a 9-2 run to lead 41-39 on a Mangas free throw with 1:21 to play. The Eagles tied it at 41-41 as Brachen Hazen put back his own miss with 55 ticks on the clock. Warsaw then ran the clock before a tough jumper by Mangas was well off the mark at the final horn.

The first overtime period saw City grab a 47-45 lead on a pair of free throws by Andrew McFarland with 32.8 seconds to play. The Tigers tied it though as Mangas hit a pair of free throws with 8.0 to play, which forced a second extra session after City missed a jumper at the horn.

“I just said knock them down,” responded Marandet of what he was thinking on the game winning free throws. “I was confident I would make them. Our gameplan was to wear them out physically. I thought we grinded it out and got a huge win tonight.”

Brachen Hazen, one of 11 seniors for the Eagles, was tough with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Parker Hazen finished with 10 points for the Eagles, who finished 19-8 last year and lost in a regional semifinal game to NorthWood. The Hazen brothers had combined for 47 points Wednesday night in a 69-51 win over Whitko in the season opener.

Burish, a 6-2 junior, was huge for the Tigers with seven points off the bench. Junior Jeremy David also netted seven points and Schmidt three.

The junior varsity contest set the tone for the night. The Eagles won 51-49 in two overtimes on a driving basket by Noah Wigent with 1.1 seconds to play. Asher Blum led the Tigers with 16 points. Jack Rhoades scored nine points and Zach Riley eight for Warsaw. Wigent tallied 21 points and Ethan Christen 12 to lead the Eagles.

Warsaw (2-0) hosts Homestead Friday night and Huntington North Saturday night. The Eagles (1-1) play at Fort Wayne Northrop on Thursday night.

Kyle Mangas runs the show for Warsaw.