Mangas Adds Another Title To His Collection
MARION – Kyle Mangas has yet another hoops championship to add to his already impressive collection.
Mangas continued his phenomenal freshman season by leading No.5 Indiana Wesleyan past No. 8 Saint Francis 95-83 in the title tilt of the Crossroads League Tournament Tuesday night.
The host Wildcats, the top seed in the tourney, dominated the game early in rolling past the No. 2 seed in Luckey Arena on the IWU campus.
Former Warsaw star Mangas poured in 25 points as the Wildcats won the league tourney title for the third time in program history, joining the 2010 and 2015 champions.
Mangas hit 10-18 field goals in his normal efficient manner in the victory. He was 3-5 from distance and had four rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
The Wildcats raced to a 20-6 lad to open the game. IWU led by as many as 24 points in the opening half before Saint Fraincis cut the lead to 45-32 at halftime. The Cougars got within 51-39 early in the final half before the Wildcats used a 27-11 run to blow the game open.
Jacob Johnson had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats. IWU drained 11-17 treys in the win.
IWU has defeated Saint Francis seven straight times, including all three meetings this season.
Guard Mangas, the leading scorer for IWU at over 21 points-per-game, has averaged 30 points-per-contest in the three wins over Saint Francis.
IWU improves to 26-7, while Saint Francis falls to 25-8.
The Wildcats will compete in the NAIA Division II National Championships March 7-13 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The tournament bracket will be unveiled on Wednesday at 6 p.m.