Senior Riley Rhoades has been a key cog to the Warsaw boys basketball machine this season. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

WARSAW – It’s been a season to remember for the Warsaw boys basketball team.

How the regular-season success translates into postseason play still remains to be seen for the Tigers.

The one certainty, though, is that coach Doug Ogle’s squad goes into the Class 4-A Elkhart Sectional field as the overwhelming favorites.

The Tigers, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 4-A and finished the regular season at 21-1, also got a favorable draw for the first stop in the state tournament series.

Warsaw drew the bye in the seven-team field at North Side Gym. The Tigers will face either Penn (10-12) or Northridge (8-13) in a semifinal game on Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m.

“I’m really happy to get the bye,” said Ogle following the sectional draw on Feb. 21. “We know that we will have to play well twice to win the sectional. But it’s easier to win two games than it is three.

“I really like that we may just have to make two trips to Elkhart and not three. I think with the travel that it would have been much tougher if we would have had to play say on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.”

The Tigers navigated the first 20 games of their 2015-16 schedule without a loss until losing 36-33 at home to Carmel on Feb. 20 on a 3-pointer at the final buzzer. Warsaw then rallied late in the game for a 32-29 win at Class 4-A No. 9 Carroll on Friday night.

Warsaw, which was the last undefeated team left in the state before losing to the Greyhounds, has relied all season long on its outstanding team defense. The Tigers have one of the top points-per-game allowed averages in the state at just a measly 39 points-per-game. Warsaw held 14 of its opponents to less than 40 points during the regular season.

The Tigers have also been led by arguably the top backcourt in the area and one of the best anywhere in outstanding guards Kyle Mangas and Paul Marandet.  Mangas, a 6-3 junior, is averaging 19.5 points-per-game with a team-high 34 treys. Marandet, a 6-0 senior, is at 12.2 ppg., while leading his team in assists.

Warsaw has also gotten strong play from the duo of forwards Riley Rhoades and Jeremy David on the inside. Rhoades, a 6-4 senior, has returned from a knee injury suffered in football season to average 4.3 ppg. David, a 6-4 junior, is averaging 4.5 points and a team-high 4.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Evan Schmidt is averaging 3.7 ppg. and is second on the team with 23 triples. The duo of juniors – Jaceb Burish and Braxton Minix – and sophomore Ross Johnson have given Warsaw valuable contributions off its bench.

The Tigers, who went 7-0 for the second straight year to win the Northern Lakes Conference championship, are 5-0 versus the sectional field. Warsaw posted regular-season wins over Elkhart Memorial (46-39), Elkhart Central (49-35), Concord (54-39), Northridge (61-40) and Goshen (55-41). The Tigers have not faced Penn this season, who were added to the Elkhart Sectional field this year.

“I think that Central is the second-best team in the sectional field and that Penn has gotten better,” noted Ogle. “I don’t think that there is a huge gap between those two (Penn beat Central 51-45 in overtime on Feb. 12). Central has athleticism and quickness and two scorers in Parker (Clinton Parker) and Conner (Cornell Conner). I think that coach DeShone (Central coach Randy DeShone) has done a nice job with that team. Penn is big and Trewhella (Matt Trewhella) can really score the ball for them.”

“And on top of those two, Elkhart Memorial played us the toughest during the season of anyone in our sectional.”

Warsaw has also used the recipe of free-throw shooting, rebounding and turnovers to fashion its outstanding season. The Tigers are an astounding 290-396 from the line to a 160-233 mark for its opponents. Warsaw is also averaging just 7.5 turnovers per game and had a plus-six rebounding margin per contest in the regular season.

Warsaw’s veteran team also knows that there are no guarantees in the sectional, especially at Elkhart where the tourney favorites have struggled in recent years. The Tigers were upset by Concord 32-28 in last year’s opening round of the sectional. Warsaw went into that game at 18-4, while the Minutemen were just 6-16.

The Warsaw boys basketball program has piled up 38 sectional championships in its history. The Tigers last sectional title came in 2013.