WARSAW — It was business as usual for the Warsaw boys basketball team Friday night at the Tiger Den.

The Orange and Black welcomed in Northern Lakes Conference foe Goshen for the two team’s 106th meeting on the hardwood. The Tigers left the gym the same way they entered, undefeated. Warsaw used a big third quarter performance to pull away for a 55-41 victory.

“I don’t know how we were scoring in that third quarter, but I know we had a good third quarter,” said Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. “It seems like we were scoring in a variety of ways in that quarter. We just kept getting the ball inside on Goshen and we got some in transition, too.”

Warsaw, which led for the overwhelming majority of the game, held a 15-8 lead after one and a 25-18 advantage at the half. In the third quarter the Tigers let their top two playmakers take over and build the lead.

“I thought this was Paul’s best game to date,” Ogle said of senior guard Paul Marandet. “He’s getting more confident offensively and you could definitely see that out there tonight.”

Marandet led all scorers with 15 points, including six in the third quarter. Goshen scored six as a team in the frame. Marandet was 7-8 from the line, 4-5 from the floor, led all players with five assists and added three rebounds.

Kyle Mangas scored five points in the third to compliment Marandet’s efforts. Warsaw would score 16 in the frame to open up a 17-point lead going into the fourth.

Goshen would outscore the Tigers 17-14 in the final frame, but Warsaw spent much of the quarter milking the clock. The Tigers led by as many as 24 at one point before Goshen closed the game on a 12-2 run.

“I felt like our defense was good tonight,” Ogle continued. “CJ Detweiler is averaging around 12 points per game, he had two against us. (Brady) Bechtel had to earn his 12. Had they (Goshen) not made some threes at the end then they would’ve been in the mid-30s. So, I was happy with our defense.”

Bechtel led the RedHawks with 12 points Clayton Litwiller added six for the visiting squad.

Friday night also marked the return of Riley Rhoades to Warsaw’s starting lineup. The senior was perfect from the floor (2-2) and the charity stripe (4-4) to finish with eight points. He also tied for the team lead, along with Jeremy David, with five rebounds. David scored seven points of his own.

Warsaw, which struggled on the boards in last Friday’s game with Northridge, dominated the rebounding battle against Goshen 27-11.

Warsaw (11-0, 3-0) will have a quick turnaround as it hosts Snider and highly coveted recruit Malik Williams. The Panthers fell at Homestead 51-50 Friday night. Williams is a 6’11” junior center and the state’s No. 3 overall prospect. He currently holds offers from, among others, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Purdue, Indiana and Iowa.

Goshen won the JV contest 32-28 behind 13 points from Michael Pinarski. Warsaw was led by eight points each from Dane Stookey and Jack Rhoades.