Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle gives instructions during practice Wednesday. The No. 5 Tigers face South Bend Riley Saturday in the Class 4-A Michigan City Regional.

WARSAW – A true contrast in styles.

That’s the apt way to describe the Warsaw-South Bend Riley boys basketball matchup in the regional round of the state tournament.

Warsaw has won 23 times in 24 games thanks mainly to its tremendous team defense.

Riley has won 22 times in 27 games thanks mainly to its ability to light up the scoreboard with a plethora of points in spurts on offense.

What will give come Saturday?

The No. 5 Tigers meet the defending regional champion Wildcats in the opener of the Class 4-A Michigan City Regional at  11 a.m. EST. Crown Point (18-8) then faces East Chicago Central (18-5) in the second semifinal. The regional title game is set for 8:30 p.m.

The Tigers, to a man, says that it comes down to playing their game versus the athletic Wildcats. That game features a Warsaw defense that ranks second in the state in points-per-game allowed at 38.38 and has allowed 40 or more only twice in the last 12 games and has only surrendered 50 or more three times all season. Riley averages 72.3 points-per-game and has topped 80 on six occasions with a season-high of 94.

“It is two different styles, but we just need to play our game,” said Warsaw’s Kyle Mangas. “We have to be patient, take care of the ball and value every possession. We also need to win the rebounding battle.”

Senior Paul Marandet, who teams with Mangas and senior Evan Schmidt in Warsaw’s outstanding backcourt, is the leader of a lockdown defense.

“The biggest key for us is to play our game,” said Marandet. “Riley is aggressive with big guards who are good athletes. We just need to limit our turnovers. We need to go in there and embrace being the favorites. The pressure if off of us now that we have won the sectional.”

The Warsaw defense has been eye-popping the last dozen games. The Tigers have held 10 of their opponents in that stretch to at least 15 points below their per game scoring average. Warsaw has been lights out in the third quarter this season by giving up an average of just 6.5 points in that stanza.

Mangas leads the Tigers in scoring (19.1), steals (40) and 3-pointers (37). The junior guard hit the winning 3-point play with 1.6 seconds left to beat Elkhart Central 38-35 in the sectional final. He has led Warsaw in scoring 17 times this season (and tied for the team high two other times) and has been in double figures in 23 games. Mangas needs 42 points to become the 19th Warsaw player in program history to score 500 in a season.

Senior guard Paul Marndet works on his free throw shooting form for the Tigers on Wednesday.

Marandet has had another outstanding all-around season. The senior has more than doubled his scoring average of a year ago to 12.1 ppg. He leads the team with 96 assists and is second in steals and rebounds. Junior Jeremy David averages 4.4 points and a team-high 4.1 rebounds per game and senior Riley Rhoades is at 4.3 and 3.3. Schmidt averages 3.8 ppg. and is second with 24 treys. The trio of junior Braxton Minix (2.8), sophomore Ross Johnson (2.8) and junior Jaceb Burish (2.2) are valuable reserves for the Tigers.

The Wildcats are led by Reontre Lawrence and Damezi Anderson. Lawrence, the team’s lone senior, averages 18.1 ppg. and went for 25 in the 60-54 sectional title game win over Plymouth. He scored 11 straight points in a third-quarter outburst with the game tied at 32-32 to put his team in control. Anderson, a 6-6 sophomore, averages 17.8 points and seven rebounds. He had 30 points in a sectional semifinal win over Mishawaka. Riley also trailed LaPorte 22-11 at halftime of their sectional opener before posting a 53-48 win. Lawrence scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half of that game and Anderson had all 17 of his after intermission.

Riley also features sophomore Shamar Dillard (9.3), junior Nate Marino (8.2) and junior Maurice Scott Jr. (8.8 and 7.8 assists per game). Scott, who is in his third season as the starting point guard, is the younger brother of former Notre Dame star and current WNBA player Skylar Diggins.

“Riley’s length and athleticism are imposing,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle Wednesday during Media Day. “We can’t simulate that in practice. The key is can we guard Lawrence and Anderson. Can we get shots and not turn the ball over.”

“Riley will attack and they will get shots up. The thing is can we slow them up and make them miss shots. Can we stay in front of them defensively and rebound. It really comes down to that.”

Riley and Warsaw did meet last season in the Warsaw Tournament in December. The Wildcats, who were struggling at the time, dropped a 57-47 final to the Tigers. Riley went on to finish 7-14 in the regular season before winning the Penn Sectional and the Michigan City Regional before falling to eventual state champion Homestead by a 90-69 count in the semistate.

The Wildcats have shot an astounding 551 treys this season, hitting on 209 from beyond the arc. Anderson has 75 triples, while junior Nate Marino has 58 and Lawrence 49. Warsaw has shot 82-209 from 3-point range.

“Warsaw is as solid a team as I’ve seen in a long time,” said Riley coach Mark Johnson, now in his 14th season on the South Side and 32nd overall. “They are a unit. Warsaw has had a great program for many years and this team is a continuation of that.

“We score in transition and we are a team of spurts. That’s how we play. We are not going to change that. What concerns me is that Warsaw has not allowed teams to score in spurts. Their defense is good. We know that. Their guards are strong, they defend, they lead and they get to the basket.

“I know that we are going there to win. We know that Warsaw is going there to win. We expect to win and we know that Warsaw expects to win. I feel pretty good about the team we have.”

Riley has lost to South Bend St. Joseph (88-75), Merrillville (79-68), Mishawaka Marian (77-74), South Bend Washington (87-84) and Columbia City (56-46). The Wildcats have wins over NLC teams Northridge (77-55), Concord (75-48), Plymouth (64-63 and 60-54) and Elkhart Memorial (91-72).

“We have not played a full 32 minutes yet this season,” noted Johnson, who mentioned his team losing double-digit leads in losses to Washington, Marian and Merrillville.

The Tigers are 423-806 as a team from the field, while Riley is 725-1,504. Warsaw is 319-437 from the line and the Wildcats are 295-454. The Tigers, who have forced teams all season into playing at their tempo, also boast a pair of other impressive numbers as they average just 7.7 turnovers per game and they are a plus 6.5 in rebound margin per contest.

Ogle, who guided the Tigers to his fifth sectional crown in 14 years, thinks the Tigers should not feel any added pressure despite their role as regional favorites.

“We want to win the regional and we expect to win the regional, but the pressure is off,” said Ogle. “Our season was validated winning the sectional.”

The Michigan City Regional champion will face the Logansport Regional winner in the semistate March 19. That semistate will be played at either Huntington North or Lafayette Jefferson with the IHSAA announcing the assignments for teams on Sunday. The Logansport Regional has No. 15 Homestead (20-5) facing No. 11 Carroll (22-6) and No. 4 McCutcheon (25-3) taking on Carmel (17-8) on Saturday.

Warsaw defeated Homestead (65-50) and Carroll (32-29) during the regular season, with their lone loss coming to Carmel 36-33 on a trey at the final buzzer on Feb. 20.