Defense The Key For TigersEast Chicago Central scores 71 points per game, the 11th-best average among Class 4A teams. Warsaw prides itself on defense, giving up just 41 points per game, which is tops in the state among 4A squads. When the Cardinals and Tigers meet Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time in the second semifinal game of the Michigan City Regional, something has to give. "They average better than 70 points a game ... they just have a lot of offensive firepower," Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of East Chicago Central, who enters regional play with a 15-9 record after winning the sectional on its own floor by beating Hammond Morton (74-69) and Lake Central (67-62). "We're gonna have our hands full trying to sew them up." Action in the four-team regional begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time when Merrillville (19-7) squares off with South Bend Adams (21-4). The two semifinal winners meet in the championship game at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, with the regional victor advancing to a one-game semistate to be played at either Lafayette Jeff or Huntington North on March 18. "Our defense gives us a chance, if we can stay in front of Jermaine Couisnard as a team, and kind of coax him into a lot of three-point attempts," said Ogle. "Nobody seems to have been able to do that. "The other thing is we've got to do a good job on the inside of making Jabrill Harris work for his points, and not let him get behind us and shoot layups. We have to keep him off the offensive boards. He averages about three offensive rebounds a game, nine rebounds a game total. He's a rebounding force. He's got long arms. We have to block out and go after rebounds." Couisnard, a 6-foot-3 senior being recruited by the Kansas Jayhawks, averages 28 points per game, while Harris, a 6-8 senior, averages 14 points and nine boards per game. Don't expect the Tigers, however, to be wowed by East Chicago Central. Warsaw has a win this season at Fort Wayne Snider, who features 7-foot Louisville recruit Malik Williams. The Tigers rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took Crown Point and Purdue recruit Sasha Stefanovic to overtime before falling 50-46 on the road. Only three teams – Lawrence North (64), Merrillville (53) and Carmel (54) – have scored more than 50 points against the Tigers this season. Of Warsaw's nine losses, six have been by five or fewer points. "I think our pack-line defense is gonna come up big," said Warsaw senior Jaceb Burish. "They like to drive to the basket, so if we stay crowded in the lane it's really going to effect their offense." Like Burish, Jeremy David is known for his defense and rebounding power. The chiseled 6-foot-4 senior was part of a defensive effort that gave up an average of just 34 points in sectional wins over Northridge, Elkhart Central and Goshen. "Defense is going to be very important because they score about 70 points a game," David said of East Chicago Central. "When teams face our defense they just get shocked. Defense helps us withstand a bad shooting night, or if we're relying on Kyle (Mangas) too much. We know we can rely on our defense." Mangas, Warsaw’s 6-foot-3 senior leader, paces the Tigers with 21.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Mangas, fourth on Warsaw’s all-time scoring list with 1,379 points, shoots 49 percent from the field overall, 41 percent from the arc, and 87 percent from the free throw line. It doesn’t stop with offense, though. Mangas’ length and athleticism is a big part of the Tigers’ defense. “Defense is going to be the most important thing,” said Mangas. “We had a really good week last week in the sectional. We kept teams low-scoring, so hopefully we can do that again and have that same focus.” The Tigers have never played East Chicago Central in boys basketball, though Warsaw faced East Chicago Roosevelt in 1970 and 1971, and played East Chicago Washington six times in the 1980s.
