Kyle Mangas heads down the lane. The Warsaw star poured in 26 points as the Tigers beat Columbia City 62-41 Saturday night.

WARSAW – With the exception of Doug Ogle, his current coach, Greg Tonagel had to be the biggest Kyle Mangas fan in the Tiger Den Saturday night.

Mangas made sure not to disappoint either one of them too.

The Warsaw senior put on a show for the home crowd, which included his future coach in Tonagel, to pace the Class 4-A No. 5 Tigers past Columbia City 62-41.

The ultra-efficient Mangas hit his first 10 shots on the night en route to netting a game-high 26 points. The 6-3 guard finished 11-13 overall from the field and also had four rebounds and six assists.

Senior Ross Johnson also had a big night for the home team as he popped in 14 points as the Tigers moved to 2-0.

Parker Hazen, a 6-7 senior, led the Eagles with 10 points. The Valparaiso University recruit was just 3-11 from the field, including 1-6 from distance, and was scoreless in the final half. Jordan Bechtold had seven points for City, which falls to 0-2.

For the second time in four nights, Mangas was spectacular. The selfless Indiana All-Star candidate, who will play for coach Tonagel at Indiana Wesleyan University next year, was unstoppable in the opening half. Mangas, who poured in 30 points in a season-opening win over Tippecanoe Valley at home Wednesday night, scored 13 points in the opening period and had 21 at halftime. He was 9-9 from the field in the first half, including several strong drives to the rack.

“I’d say that first half by Kyle was memorable, special,” noted Warsaw coach Ogle. “He singlehandedly keep us in the game. Late in the first half I told Kyle that coach Tonagel was here tonight and that he must be loving life right now.

“Kyle is just playing really well right now, at a very high level. It’s just hard to defend him. He just has very good body control and balance.”

Warsaw led 17-14 after the opening period and stretched their lead to 35-23 at halftime. The Tigers, who shot 14-22 from the field in the first half, used an 11-2 run in the second quarter to take charge of the game.

Warsaw’s Braxton Minix is defended by Parker Hazen. Minix had seven points and seven rebounds.

Warsaw, which won 52-51 in double overtime at City last year, was ahead 50-39 after the third period. The hosts opened the final frame with a 12-0 run and outscored the Eagles 12-2 in the fourth quarter for the lopsided victory.

“Ross played more like I envisioned him doing tonight,” Ogle said. “He was more aggressive on offense. I think that he can score for us. He’s crafty and he’s shot the ball well in practice.

“We had guys like Braxton (Minix) and Jaceb (Burish) make shots off passes from Kyle tonight. I thought that Braxton was impressive off the bench for us in the first half. Zach Riley did a solid job for us tonight too.”

First-year City coach Brett Eberly, who inherited a team that graduated 11 seniors from a 20-7 team that won a sectional title last season, was also impressed with Mangas.

“He’s just a really good score, not just a shooter,” said Eberly of Mangas. “He’s so multifaceted on offense. You can’t just take one thing away and stop him. He’s going to get his. They just put a lot of pressure on your defense and this early in the season we are not ready for that.

“We got some open looks and I thought that if we could have gotten a couple of stops to start the fourth quarter we could have made it interesting. Warsaw just does not beat themselves. They are just willing to make every simple play. That’s a compliment to them. They just wear you down.”

Braxton Minix played strong with seven points and seven rebounds for Warsaw. Asher Blum had seven points, while Jaceb Burish had six and Jeremy David two.

Mitchell Wilson and Garret Roehling each had six points for the Eagles.

Warsaw shot 26-40 from the field overall in the win and was 8-11 from the line. City finished 14-37 from the field, including 5-23 from distance, and 8-13 from the stripe.

Warsaw won the junior varsity game 44-29. Nolan Groninger scored 11 points and Jaylen Reese 10 to pace the JV Tigers. Michael Sievers led City with 11 points.

Warsaw plays at Homestead and City hosts Fort Wayne Northrop Friday night.

Ross Johnson releases a jumper for the Tigers.

Asher Blum looks to pass the ball.