ELKHART – A memo to college basketball coaches.

If you have not taken a look at Warsaw senior Paul Marandet you might want to.

Marandet, who is beginning to receive more attention from the collegiate ranks and rightfully so, may want to send them a game tape from Thursday night too

The standout point guard did what he does best, a little bit of everything, to pace the undefeated Tigers to a tough 46-39 win over Elkhart Memorial in North Side Gym.

Junior Kyle Mangas and senior Riley Rhoades led a late charge as the Class 4-A No. 4 Tigers rallied to win the Northern Lakes Conference contest.

Marandet and Rhoades each netted 10 points as Warsaw improved to 18-0 overall and clinched at least a share of a second straight conference championship. The Tigers are now 6-0 in league play with the conference finale at home versus Plymouth on Feb. 12. Both Plymouth and NorthWood are 5-1 in NLC action after the Pilgrims topped Goshen 65-60 and NorthWood beat Concord 65-32 in conference play Thursday night.

Senior A.J. Gary scored a game-high 19 points to lead Memorial, which drops to 4-14 overall and 2-4 in NLC play.

It was once again their calling card of defense that won this one for the Tigers.

Warsaw, which entered the game allowing just 40 points-per-outing for one of the best defensive averages in the state, held its 11th opponent this season to less than 40 points. Memorial, which entered play Thursday night averaging 54 ppg., was held to a season low point total.

Warsaw clamped down on the defensive end to ignite a 13-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to turn a four-point deficit into a nine-point lead. The Tigers held the Crimson Chargers without a point for a span of 8:18 in the game-turning run.

“We got stops and rebounds in that stretch,” said Marandet of the pivotal part of the contest. “We played good defense and that was the difference. They shot it well in the first half, but we got out on shooters in the second half.”

The Tigers, who beat Memorial 68-57 last season, trailed 32-28 after a bucket by Memorial senior Davon Long with 2:36 to play in the third quarter. Warsaw closed the period on a 6-0 run, capped by a Marandet jumper, to lead 34-32. The Tigers then scored the first seven points of the final frame, sparked by back-to-back layups by Rhoades to start the quarter, to lead 41-32 when Jeremy David converted a three-point play with 2:31 to play.

Memorial finally broke its scoring drought when Gary drained a triple to make it 41-35 with 2:18 remaining. The hosts got within 43-39 on a pair of Gary free throws with 23.6 seconds left. Mangas then hit 3-4 free throws in the final 20.7 seconds to seal the win for Warsaw.

“Winning conference road games is never easy,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “Memorial played well tonight. They were patient, shot it well and spread us out. We told the team that they were better than a four-win team and they were. They shot 5-8 from three in the first half.  We weren’t into it like we needed to be on defense at the start.

We did not play bad. We shot it well, rebounded well and had 12 assists to just five turnovers.  We just stayed steady when we got down, didn’t get rattled and got some stops on defense. Paul played well and Riley played really well. We got the ball inside to Riley in the fourth quarter and he was big finishing plays. Paul and Riley were the difference in the game tonight.

“Paul has just been real steady for us. He thinks like a coach is is just playing at a high level for us right now.”

Warsaw led 13-9 after the opening period and 25-23 at halftime as Evan Schmidt had seven points and Marandet six. The Chargers stayed close thanks to a 9-15 shooting effort, including 5-8 from distance. Warsaw was 9-13 from the field in the opening half.

Marandet stepped up once again big time as Mangas could not find his rhythm on offense. Mangas, who was averaging 20 points-per-game, finished with eight points on 2-5 shooting.

“My confidence level is really high right now,” admitted Marandet. “I tell myself that I’m the best player on the court every time I step out there. I can’t describe what it’s like to be 18-0. It just feels really good. We have a pretty experienced team and that keeps us poised in tough situations like tonight when we got down there late in the third quarter.”

Marandet went 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from the line for his 10 points. The ultra strong point guard also had six assists and just one turnover.

Senior guard Schmidt finished with seven points, sophomore Ross Johnson a key six on two big treys, and David five for the Tigers.

Warsaw shot 17-26 overall from the field, including 5-10 from deep. They were just 7-13 from the line, but had an 18-12 rebounding edge with just five turnovers.

Senior Jon Bailey had nine points and freshman Hank Smith eight for Memorial. Senior Michael O’Toole scored three points. Memorial finished 15-30 from the field, but just 6-15 in the second half. The hosts were 7-16 from deep, including 2-8 in the final half.

Warsaw, which has now won 13 NLC games in a row, could see Memorial again the postseason. Both teams will be part of the Class 4-A Elkhart Sectional back at North Side Gym in March.

Warsaw won the junior varsity game 53-42. Landen Ferber and Jack Rhoades each had 12 points and Zach Riley nine for the Tigers. Jose Soto led Memorial with 12 points.

Warsaw hosts Plymouth (14-4) and Memorial plays at NorthWood (14-2) in NLC games Feb. 12.

The Tigers then have regular-season games left versus Hamilton Southeastern (Feb. 13) and Carmel (Feb. 20) at home and the finale at Carroll on Feb. 26. The draw for the state tournament is set for Feb. 21 in Indianapolis.