Warsaw’s Rashaan Jackson flies in for a reverse layup against LaPorte Saturday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

WARSAW – Saturday night, it was Nick Sands’ turn.

In what has become a carousel of ‘who wants to lead in scoring’ for the Warsaw Tigers, Sands’ 17 points paced the home team in a 54-29 romp of LaPorte Saturday night at the Tiger Den.

Nick Sands led Warsaw with 17 points.

Sands was red hot right from the get-go and stayed that way. The senior guard hit four three-point shots and was 6-of-8 from the floor overall. Warsaw as a whole was hitting shots all night, shooting 62 percent (21-38) from the floor and really only stepped off the gas pedal late in the fourth quarter.

“Nick shot well tonight and has been pretty good,” Ogle said. “It’s an unusual balance we have. We have six legitimate scorers. That’s got to be difficult to game plan for.”

Rashaan Jackson had 13 points and four boards and the Mangas brothers, Kyle and Jake, combined for 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Warsaw (9-1 overall) as a team outrebounded LaPorte 28-9 and allowed the Slicers just one offensive rebound. The game was tied just once at 6-6, only for the Tigers to go on a 9-3 run the end the first quarter.

LaPorte’s Scott Cooper, Ben Walker and Owen Strieter all finished with six points. The Slicers, which started its season Dec. 12 after making a run to state in football, are now 2-5 on the campaign.

Jake Mangas looks for room to shoot against LaPorte.

Ogle was proud of his club’s defensive output Saturday coupled with Friday night’s showing at Triton, where the Trojans scored just 24 points. With a heavy conference slate coming up, which starts Friday when Northridge visits the Den, Ogle was complimentary of the back-to-back sub-30 defensive efforts.

“Our defense is chipping away at getting more solid,” Ogle said. “We hold two teams in the 20s on back-to-back nights. That’s a little bit impressive.”

Ogle added about Northridge, which the last three contests between the two teams have been decided by 10 points, two wins in favor of the Tigers, “It’s going to be a big game for us, and for them. The combination of Pete Smith, Tommy Morrison and Curtis Hostetler is powerful in three returning players for them. They will be a formidable opponent.”