WARSAW – Nick Sands only shot two free throws Friday night.

The Warsaw senior guard sure made those pair count in a big way though.

Sands calmly connected on two tosses from the line with less than a second to play to lift the Tigers to a key 39-37 win over Concord in Northern Lakes Conference play.

Warsaw improves to 12-2 overall, but more importantly goes to 3-0 in league play. Concord drops to 2-12 overall and 0-4 in the NLC.

The Minutemen, who beat Warsaw 49-25 a year ago, led 37-35 late in the game. Warsaw  tied the contest at 37-37 on a rebound bucket by Jake Mangas.

Concord, after calling timeout with 30 seconds to play, worked the clock. The Minutemen then lost the ball on a drive and Sands came up with the turnover. Concord was then whistled for an intentional foul as Sands headed up the floor to try and get off a final shot.

The big story on the night for the Tigers was their yeoman’s work on the glass. Warsaw out rebounded Concord 25-14 and had 15 offensive caroms in the win.

“I’m really happy with this win because we got defensive stops late and hit free throws,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “Our shooting woes continued, but we were good enough rebounding and defensively to win and that encourages me.”

“NLC play is tough and we were able to grind out a win. We’ve won three of our last four games without shooting the ball well, but by doing enough other things to get the job done.”

Kyle Mangas turned in a fine effort to lead the way for Warsaw. The smooth sophomore had 17 points to go with five rebounds.

“The story of the game was our rebounding, especially offensively, and that Kyle played well for us too,” Ogle noted.

Concord took a quick 11-2 lead to open the game and was up 11-4 after the opening prior. The Tigers used a 13-1 run to take a 19-18 lead into the lockeroom at halftime. Kyle Mangas had seven points at the break.

Warsaw outscored the Minutemen 12-9 in the third period to take a 31-27 lead heading into the final frame.

Filip Serwatka was the offense for the Minutemen. The senior canned a game-high 25 points on 9-13 shooting from the field, including 4-7 from distance. He also had seven rebounds.

Sands finished with seven points for Warsaw. Jake Mangas had six points and eight rebounds. Rashaan Jackson scored five points and Riley Rhoades and Paul Marandet each had two.

Danny McMahon was the second leading scorer for coach Steve Austin’s Minutemen with six points.

Warsaw shot 16-39 overall from the field, including 3-12 from distance, and was 4-8 from the line. Concord went 13-25 from the field, including 4-14 on 3-pointers, and 7-8 from the line.

Warsaw and Concord are both in the Class 4-A Elkhart Central Sectional, which the Minutemen won last year.

NorthWood, which beat Goshen 61-55 at home Friday night in NLC play, leads the league at 4-0. Warsaw is 3-0 and Elkhart Memorial is 2-0.

Warsaw won the junior varsity game 35-28. Bishop Harrison scored seven points and Ross Johnson six for the Tigers. Nathan Hermon and Grant Magnuson each had eight points for Concord.

Warsaw host Fort Wayne Northrop Saturday night. Concord hosts Wawasee in NLC play next Friday night.