Local Hoops Trio To Play In McDonald’s All-Star Game
MISHAWAKA – It was a stellar season on the hardwood for the area trio of Kyle Mangas, Paul Marandet and Anne Secrest.
The three prep basketball stars will get another chance to showcase their skills for area fans come Tuesday night.
The trio are all scheduled to play in the McDonald’s Michiana All-Star Games at Bethel College. The girls game will tip-off at 5 p.m. with the boys contest set for 7:15 in the Wiekamp Center.
The Warsaw duo of Mangas and Marandet led their team to a 25-2 mark this season. The pair of guards helped the Tigers won Northern Lakes Conference, sectional and regional championships. Warsaw ended its season with a loss to McCutcheon in the Class 4-A Lafayette Jefferson Semistate.
Mangas, a 6-3 junior, led the Tigers in scoring at 19.4 points-per-game. He also led Warsaw in 3-pointers and steals and was named as a North Group Junior All-Star last week. Mangas was also the IFN Area Player of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
Marandet, a 6-0 senior, averaged 12 points-per-game and ranked first in assists and free throw percentage for Warsaw. Marandet, who has not chosen a college yet, also led a defense that ranked second in the state in points-allowed-per-game.
Secrest had another banner year for the Vikings. The 6-0 junior led her team to a 25-2 mark, which included its second straight Three Rivers Conference and Class 3-A sectional championships. Secrest averaged 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for Valley, which lost to eventual state champion Heritage Christian in the regional finals.
Secrest, who has committed to Youngstown State University, also averaged two assists, 2.3 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Secrest, who was the IFN Player of the Year this season for the second straight year, was named to the North Group for the Junior All-Star team.
Tickets for the All-Star games are $5 for adults and $2 for students. Children ages 12 and younger will be admitted for free.
The list of players invited to take part in the girls game includes Secrest, along with Mykayla Baylor (South Bend Clay), Micaela Box (Bremen), Tahya Bruce (Goshen), Camryn Buhr (Penn), Claire Carlton (Penn), Lindsey Chrise (Penn), Brooke Ditto (Mattawan, Mich.), Kysre Gondrezick (Benton Harbor), Lauren Grewe (Mishawaka), Nicole Konieczny (South Bend St. Joe), Kyleigh Kubik (Oregon Davis), Olivia Love (Goshen), Kaitlyn Marenyi (Penn), Hannah Mauch (South Bend St. Joe), Brooke McKinley (Northridge), Lexi Minix (Oregon Davis), Becca Schermerhorn (West Noble), Daly Sullivan (South Bend St. Joe) and Elyse Zimmerman (Niles).
Area boys players scheduled to take part include Mangas and Marandet, along with Josh Anders (Plymouth), Damezi Anderson (South Bend Riley), Brady Bechtel (Goshen), Braden Burke (Lakeshore (Mich.), Derek Dotlich (Winamac), Nick Felke (Plymouth), Dakiyron Fox (Northwood), Bryant Givens (South Bend Washington), ShanQuan Hemphill (Michigan City), Reontre Lawrence (South Bend Riley), Braxton Linville (Northwood), Mark Madden (South Bend St. Joe), Vinny Miranda (Northwood), Dante Razzano (Edwardsburg), Peyton Staples (Mishawaka) and Matt Trewhella (Penn). Bechtel and Staples are not expected to play due to injuries.
Coaches for the boys game are slated to be Alex Daniel and Ryne Lightfoot, both members of the Bethel College men’s basketball coaching staff. The coaches tabbed for the girls game are Aimee Niespodziany, the Holy Cross head women’s basketball coach, and Aubrey Minix, a member of the Bethel College women’s basketball coaching staff.
The duo of Bob Nagle and Chuck Freeby from WHME-TV (Channel 46) are honorary coaches for the games.