Panthers Bank On Home Court

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Writer-

NAPPANEE -ÊIt's always nice to play in front of a friendly home crowd. The NorthWood boys basketball team can attest to that fact this year.

"I'm certainly glad the games are here at home," said NorthWood coach Dan Gunn. "If you want a point value, I can't give you that, but it is definitely a plus for us. It is a mental edge not to have to get on the bus and ride somewhere.

"We are also playing pretty well at home."

That might be the understatement of the year.

After going 8-0 in the Panther Pit through the regular season, the NorthWood squad upped that total to 11-0 after winning games against Lakeland, Angola and Northridge to capture its first sectional title since 1995.

Now the 18-5 Panthers will try to extend their streak to 12-0 tonight when they host the 12-10 Columbia City Eagles in the NorthWood 3A Regional.

"Columbia City has good guards in (Tim) Schmitt and (Trevor) Shively," said Gunn. "(Jon) Pettigrew at the forward position is hard-working and intelligent.

"They play very aggressive defensively. Basically they are in your face the whole game. Offensively, they are disciplined and patient. They have won nine of their last 11 games."

The Panthers are on a streak as well. They have won 12 of their last 13 games, including seven straight. NorthWood also avenged three of its five regular-season losses at the sectional.

"NorthWood is very well-coached, and they are fundamentally sound both offensively and defensively," said Columbia City coach Chris Benedict. "We have been working on getting up and down the floor and controlling the tempo. We want to play the game at our pace."

Although NorthWood and Columbia City did not meet in the regular season, Gunn thinks the Eagles are similar to other NorthWood opponents this year.

"They remind me of Angola and Lakeland somewhat," Gunn said. "In a way, they are similar to us as well."

The Panthers and Eagles both shoot around 40 percent from three-point range, but on paper, NorthWood holds the edge in most other categories.

NorthWood scores 63.1 points per game to Columbia City's 55.6. The Panthers pull down 24.1 rebound per contest to the Eagles' 19.7. NorthWood hits 56.6 percent of its field goals, while Columbia City hits 46.8 NORTHWOOD 3A REGIONAL

2000-2001 NORTHWOOD PANTHERS BOYS BASKETBALL STATS

Name FG FG % 3-PT 3-PT % FT FT% PTS. PPG R RPG A APG S SPG

Will 127-208 61.1 4-17 23.5 84-117 71.8 350 15.2 140 6.1 104 4.5 59 2.6

Bradley 64-121 52.9 34-88 38.6 69-92 75.0 299 13.0 54 2.3 80 3.5 29 1.3

Clouse 75-146 51.4 50-108 46.3 48-64 75.0 348 15.1 155 6.7 24 1.0 43 1.9

Clem 22-37 59.5 4-10 40.0 17-25 68.0 73 3.2 22 1.0 23 1.0 19 0.8

Reynolds 38-70 54.3 5-9 55.6 7-10 70.0 98 4.3 98 4.3 62 2.7 40 1.7

Hill 7-12 58.3 1-6 16.7 5-9 55.6 22 1.0 13 0.6 12 0.5 9 0.4

Totals 393-694 56.6 133-328 40.5 267-370 72.2 1452 63.1 555 24.1 365 15.9 246 10.7

Opponents 338-693 48.8 126-333 37.8 196-284 69.0 1250 54.3 485 21.1 301 13.1 186 7.2

2000-2001 COLUMBIA CITY BOYS BASKETBALL STATS

Name FG FG % 3-PT 3-PT % FT FT% PTS. PPG R RPG A APG

Dye 75-155 48.4 11-36 30.6 48-68 70.6 209 9.5 111 5.0 26 1.2

Shively 113-251 45.0 57-141 40.4 72-83 86.7 353 16.0 49 2.2 44 2.0

Schmitt 41-68 60.3 17-34 50.0 33-38 86.8 132 6.0 58 5.3 116 5.3

Boylan 42-92 45.7 17-45 37.8 24-39 61.5 125 5.7 30 1.4 26 1.2

Heuer 28-61 45.9 1-13 7.7 12-21 57.1 69 3.1 54 2.5 33 1.5

Pettigrew 69-175 39.4 6-18 33.3 69-90 76.7 213 9.7 79 3.6 16 0.7

Gardner 7-11 63.6 3-4 75.0 2-2 100 19 1.1 10 0.6 8 0.4

Myers 29-58 50.0 0-0 - 4-11 36.4 62 2.8 33 1.5 4 0.2

Sheckler 10-17 58.8 0-1 0.0 3-5 60.0 23 2.1 4 0.4 0 0.0

Totals 417-891 46.8 112-292 38.4 278-367 75.7 1223 55.6 435 19.7 265 12.0

Opponent 395-838 47.1 92-244 37.7 229-319 71.8 1111 50.5 492 22.4 NA NA

NORTHWOOD (18-5)

NORTHWOOD 77, Triton 47

NORTHWOOD 65, Fairfield 56

NORTHWOOD 76, Jimtown 48

Plymouth 53, NORTHWOOD 42

NORTHWOOD 62, Goshen 60

Warsaw 50, NORTHWOOD 46

NORTHWOOD 69, Wawasee 63

Northridge 53, NORTHWOOD 51

NORTHWOOD 57, Goshen 48

Angola 71, NORTHWOOD 63

NORTHWOOD 54, Warsaw 47

NorthWood 76, West Noble 58

NORTHWOOD 89, Concord 59

NORTHWOOD 69, Westview 41

NORTHWOOD 58, Elkhart Memorial 55

Lakeland 54, NORTHWOOD 50

NORTHWOOD 58, Bremen 52

NORTHWOOD 57, Penn 55

NORTHWOOD 70, Whitko 44

NORTHWOOD 68, John Glenn 67

NORTHWOOD SECTIONAL

NORTHWOOD 63, Lakeland 56

NORTHWOOD 70, Angola 59

NORTHWOOD 64, Northridge 54

COLUMBIA CITY (12-10)

COLUMBIA CITY 66, Whitko 41

Warsaw 54, COLUMBIA CITY 40

COLUMBIA CITY 67, North Side 51

Snider 54, COLUMBIA CITY 43

COLUMBIA CITY 66, Garrett 33

East Noble 57, COLUMBIA CITY 49

Angola 61, COLUMBIA CITY 58

Bellmont 68, COLUMBIA CITY 64, OT

Homestead 79, COLUMBIA CITY 70

Huntington 53, COLUMBIA CITY 49

DeKalb 70, COLUMBIA CITY 59

COLUMBIA CITY 56, New Haven 44

COLUMBIA CITY 71, Northrop 43

COLUMBIA CITY 59, Norwell 52

Carroll 48, COLUMBIA CITY 44

COLUMBIA CITY 57, Manchester 45

COLUMBIA CITY 49, Wawasee 47

Elkhart Central 60, COLUMBIA CITY 40

COLUMBIA CITY 69, Churubusco 51

COLUMBIA CITY 55, Blackford 42

NEW HAVEN Sectional

COLUMBIA CITY 48, New Haven 23

COLUMBIA CITY 44, Wayne 35 [[In-content Ad]]

NAPPANEE -ÊIt's always nice to play in front of a friendly home crowd. The NorthWood boys basketball team can attest to that fact this year.

"I'm certainly glad the games are here at home," said NorthWood coach Dan Gunn. "If you want a point value, I can't give you that, but it is definitely a plus for us. It is a mental edge not to have to get on the bus and ride somewhere.

"We are also playing pretty well at home."

That might be the understatement of the year.

After going 8-0 in the Panther Pit through the regular season, the NorthWood squad upped that total to 11-0 after winning games against Lakeland, Angola and Northridge to capture its first sectional title since 1995.

Now the 18-5 Panthers will try to extend their streak to 12-0 tonight when they host the 12-10 Columbia City Eagles in the NorthWood 3A Regional.

"Columbia City has good guards in (Tim) Schmitt and (Trevor) Shively," said Gunn. "(Jon) Pettigrew at the forward position is hard-working and intelligent.

"They play very aggressive defensively. Basically they are in your face the whole game. Offensively, they are disciplined and patient. They have won nine of their last 11 games."

The Panthers are on a streak as well. They have won 12 of their last 13 games, including seven straight. NorthWood also avenged three of its five regular-season losses at the sectional.

"NorthWood is very well-coached, and they are fundamentally sound both offensively and defensively," said Columbia City coach Chris Benedict. "We have been working on getting up and down the floor and controlling the tempo. We want to play the game at our pace."

Although NorthWood and Columbia City did not meet in the regular season, Gunn thinks the Eagles are similar to other NorthWood opponents this year.

"They remind me of Angola and Lakeland somewhat," Gunn said. "In a way, they are similar to us as well."

The Panthers and Eagles both shoot around 40 percent from three-point range, but on paper, NorthWood holds the edge in most other categories.

NorthWood scores 63.1 points per game to Columbia City's 55.6. The Panthers pull down 24.1 rebound per contest to the Eagles' 19.7. NorthWood hits 56.6 percent of its field goals, while Columbia City hits 46.8 NORTHWOOD 3A REGIONAL

2000-2001 NORTHWOOD PANTHERS BOYS BASKETBALL STATS

Name FG FG % 3-PT 3-PT % FT FT% PTS. PPG R RPG A APG S SPG

Will 127-208 61.1 4-17 23.5 84-117 71.8 350 15.2 140 6.1 104 4.5 59 2.6

Bradley 64-121 52.9 34-88 38.6 69-92 75.0 299 13.0 54 2.3 80 3.5 29 1.3

Clouse 75-146 51.4 50-108 46.3 48-64 75.0 348 15.1 155 6.7 24 1.0 43 1.9

Clem 22-37 59.5 4-10 40.0 17-25 68.0 73 3.2 22 1.0 23 1.0 19 0.8

Reynolds 38-70 54.3 5-9 55.6 7-10 70.0 98 4.3 98 4.3 62 2.7 40 1.7

Hill 7-12 58.3 1-6 16.7 5-9 55.6 22 1.0 13 0.6 12 0.5 9 0.4

Totals 393-694 56.6 133-328 40.5 267-370 72.2 1452 63.1 555 24.1 365 15.9 246 10.7

Opponents 338-693 48.8 126-333 37.8 196-284 69.0 1250 54.3 485 21.1 301 13.1 186 7.2

2000-2001 COLUMBIA CITY BOYS BASKETBALL STATS

Name FG FG % 3-PT 3-PT % FT FT% PTS. PPG R RPG A APG

Dye 75-155 48.4 11-36 30.6 48-68 70.6 209 9.5 111 5.0 26 1.2

Shively 113-251 45.0 57-141 40.4 72-83 86.7 353 16.0 49 2.2 44 2.0

Schmitt 41-68 60.3 17-34 50.0 33-38 86.8 132 6.0 58 5.3 116 5.3

Boylan 42-92 45.7 17-45 37.8 24-39 61.5 125 5.7 30 1.4 26 1.2

Heuer 28-61 45.9 1-13 7.7 12-21 57.1 69 3.1 54 2.5 33 1.5

Pettigrew 69-175 39.4 6-18 33.3 69-90 76.7 213 9.7 79 3.6 16 0.7

Gardner 7-11 63.6 3-4 75.0 2-2 100 19 1.1 10 0.6 8 0.4

Myers 29-58 50.0 0-0 - 4-11 36.4 62 2.8 33 1.5 4 0.2

Sheckler 10-17 58.8 0-1 0.0 3-5 60.0 23 2.1 4 0.4 0 0.0

Totals 417-891 46.8 112-292 38.4 278-367 75.7 1223 55.6 435 19.7 265 12.0

Opponent 395-838 47.1 92-244 37.7 229-319 71.8 1111 50.5 492 22.4 NA NA

NORTHWOOD (18-5)

NORTHWOOD 77, Triton 47

NORTHWOOD 65, Fairfield 56

NORTHWOOD 76, Jimtown 48

Plymouth 53, NORTHWOOD 42

NORTHWOOD 62, Goshen 60

Warsaw 50, NORTHWOOD 46

NORTHWOOD 69, Wawasee 63

Northridge 53, NORTHWOOD 51

NORTHWOOD 57, Goshen 48

Angola 71, NORTHWOOD 63

NORTHWOOD 54, Warsaw 47

NorthWood 76, West Noble 58

NORTHWOOD 89, Concord 59

NORTHWOOD 69, Westview 41

NORTHWOOD 58, Elkhart Memorial 55

Lakeland 54, NORTHWOOD 50

NORTHWOOD 58, Bremen 52

NORTHWOOD 57, Penn 55

NORTHWOOD 70, Whitko 44

NORTHWOOD 68, John Glenn 67

NORTHWOOD SECTIONAL

NORTHWOOD 63, Lakeland 56

NORTHWOOD 70, Angola 59

NORTHWOOD 64, Northridge 54

COLUMBIA CITY (12-10)

COLUMBIA CITY 66, Whitko 41

Warsaw 54, COLUMBIA CITY 40

COLUMBIA CITY 67, North Side 51

Snider 54, COLUMBIA CITY 43

COLUMBIA CITY 66, Garrett 33

East Noble 57, COLUMBIA CITY 49

Angola 61, COLUMBIA CITY 58

Bellmont 68, COLUMBIA CITY 64, OT

Homestead 79, COLUMBIA CITY 70

Huntington 53, COLUMBIA CITY 49

DeKalb 70, COLUMBIA CITY 59

COLUMBIA CITY 56, New Haven 44

COLUMBIA CITY 71, Northrop 43

COLUMBIA CITY 59, Norwell 52

Carroll 48, COLUMBIA CITY 44

COLUMBIA CITY 57, Manchester 45

COLUMBIA CITY 49, Wawasee 47

Elkhart Central 60, COLUMBIA CITY 40

COLUMBIA CITY 69, Churubusco 51

COLUMBIA CITY 55, Blackford 42

NEW HAVEN Sectional

COLUMBIA CITY 48, New Haven 23

COLUMBIA CITY 44, Wayne 35 [[In-content Ad]]

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