WINONA LAKE – Kyle Mangas did what he does best Tuesday night.

He was Kyle Mangas.

Which is to say that he was simply sensational on the basketball court.

The former Warsaw hoops star had some kind of Homecoming as he led his Indiana Wesleyan team to a dominating 87-68 win over Grace College.

Mangas poured in a game-high 29 points as the No. 6 ranked Wildcats improved to 7-1 by downing the host Lancers in the Crossroads League opener for both teams in the MOCC.

Mangas was his usual efficient self in front of numerous friends and family members, including Warsaw coach Doug Ogle and many members of this year’s Warsaw team. The 6-3 freshman guard drained 12-18 shots from the field, including 5-9 from distance. He also had five rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal in a team-high 33 minutes.

Mangas, who earned a spot on the Indiana All-Star team this past summer after a prolific prep career, was also his usual humble self following a terrific performance. He did admit though that it was special hearing his name called for the starting lineup Tuesday night in front of a lot of supporters.

“It was a special feeling to hear my name called tonight,” said Mangas, who was greeted with a huge ovation to start the night. “It’s really nice to know that Warsaw fans still care. It was really fun out there tonight. This was something that I was looking forward to.

“There’s always a little extra motivation to play when you come home. I just wanted to come out aggressive from the start tonight and attack. I was hunting threes because that is something that I have been working on. But this was a good team win for us.”

Mangas, who led the Tigers to 61 wins the past three seasons, was on his A game from the start. He hit for 14 points in the opening half as the Wildcats built a 52-32 halftime lead. He hit 6-8 shots from the field in the first half, including throwing down a big time dunk in transition with just 35 seconds to play before intermission.

“I definitely wanted a dunk tonight and that felt good,” admitted Mangas.

Mangas, who finished his prep career fourth all-time in career scoring at WCHS with 1,450 points, has been on fire. He entered play Tuesday night leading the Wildcats in scoring at 16.3 points-per-game. He was also first in assists and tied for first in 3-pointers for IWU through its first seven game. He had 33 points earlier this month in a 92-77 win over Northwestern (Ohio).

“I’m pretty confident right now and I feel like I can fit into any system,” said Mangas, who was the Ink Free News Player of the Year the past two seasons. “This one here gives me a lot of freedom.”

IWU coach Greg Tonagel, now in his 13th season at the school located in Marion, is just happy to have No. 24 on his side.

“The thing about Kyle is that he’s good, but so humble,” said Tonagel, who was a star guard at LaPorte High School and Valparaiso University. “He leaves his ego at the door and just brings his work ethic every day. He’s just all about the team.

“There are a lot of words to describe Kyle, but he just has a knack for scoring. He can beat you in so many ways. His greatest ability though is how efficient he is. He has equity with his teammates because of the type of person he is.”

Tonagel guided the Wildcats to NAIA Division II national championships in both 2014 and 2016.

“We’re not changing habits with Kyle like most freshmen and he’s further ahead defensively than most freshmen,” noted Tonagel. “That’s a tribute to coach Ogle and his system at Warsaw. I don’t know if the stage is ever too big for Kyle. He has that special quality and I’m thankful that we have him here.”

Mangas, who plays like a throwback from the past, is very happy he is at IWU. The school is the right fit for a lot of reasons for the son of Tim and Ann Mangas. Father Tim was a basketball standout at Wawasee and mother Ann, who is a teacher at Milford School, was on the 1985 state runner-up hoops team at Wawasee and was a volleyball standout in high school.

“I’m just super happy with my decision to come to IWU,” emphasized Mangas, who was also an Academic All-State selection in high school. “Both on and off the court. There’s so many ways I’m growing as a man there.”

Tonagel has no explanation for why so many college coaches missed the boat on his star, but he is very glad they did.

“I’d like to buy all of them dinner,” said Tonagel with a hearty laugh when asked about why more coaches did not try and recruit Mangas.

“Kyle chose the school that was the best fit for him as a person. Kudos to him for that. And I think that his greatest mark with our program will be winning.”