Panthers Stay Perfect In Their Pit
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE -ÊAlthough the NorthWood boys basketball team played the sectional on its home floor, the Panthers were the vistors on the scoreboard in the first game of the sectional because of the way the sectional was drawn.
However, that did not phase the NorthWood squad (16-5) as it beat No. 10 Lakeland (18-5) 63-56 to improve to 9-0 at the Panther Pit this season.
When asked if being at home was an a big advantage for the Panthers, the normally talkative NorthWood coach Dan Gunn gave a decisive one-word answer: "Absolutely."
NorthWood and Lakeland traded threes to begin the first quarter, and by the end of the first stanza, NorthWood held an 18-13 advantage.
However, that advantage was short-lived as Lakeland fought back to tie the score at 18 with 5:52 left in the second quarter.
After NorthWood's Ryan Bradley and Lakeland's Brody Duncan traded baskets, the score was tied at 20.
Willy Will hit both ends of a one-and-bonus free throw opportunity and then got another basket with 2:14 to put the Panthers up 24-20.
But Lakeland's Josh Weimer hit two straight three-point goals to give Lakeland its first lead since the first quarter, 26-24.
Two more free throws by Will and a steal and a basket from Bradley restored NorthWood's lead, and a basket by Scott Hill just before the buzzer gave NorthWood a 30-27 advantage at the half.
NorthWood held a slim lead ranging from one to five points through much of the third frame, but a trey by Josh Weimer at the 2:19 mark gave Lakeland a 41-40 lead. John VanderRoest and Josh Weimer hit baskets to give Lakeland a 45-40 lead heading into the final frame of play.
Lakeland held the lead until the 1:46 mark when Rory Clouse netted a three-pointer to put NorthWood up 54-53. The Panthers never lost the lead from that point, hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 1:01 to get the 63-56 win.
"I thought we hung tough until Rory hit a couple shots for us," said Gunn. "It felt like we were waiting for him to start. I'm sure glad he hit a couple."
Lakeland's Josh Weimer led all scorers with 26 points, while NorthWood's Will added 24. Bradley added 15 for the Panthers, while Jerod Weimer added 10.
The Panthers held Lakeland's Nathan Romer, a leading Laker scorer, to just five points.
"We did a much better job shutting down Romer this time," said Gunn. "We knew we couldn't let him beat us like last time. We did a much better job tonight than last time we played them."
NorthWood advances to the sectional semifinal game where the Panthers will face Angola. Angola defeated Wawasee 71-59 in Tuesday night's second game. NorthWood and Angola will face off at 6 p.m. Friday night in Nappanee.
NORTHWOOD 63
No. 10 LAKELAND 56
NorthWood 18 12 10 23 - 63
Lakeland 13 14 18 11 - 56
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
Will 7-11 10-10 8 0 24
Reynolds 1-1 0-0 3 1 2
Lightfoot 3-8 2-2 1 0 11
Hill 1-1 0-1 0 1 2
Bradley 5-7 5-5 1 3 15
Clouse 3-5 1-2 10 0 9
Clem 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
Klotz 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 20-35 18-20 23 6 63
Lakeland FG FT R S Pts.
Je. Weimer 4-6 0-0 1 1 10
VanderRoest 2-2 0-0 1 1 4
Duncan 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Romer 2-4 1-3 0 3 5
Jo. Weimer 10-15 2-2 4 3 26
Long 1-7 1-2 2 0 4
Mason 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Howard 2-3 1-3 9 0 5
Fry 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 22-38 5-10 19 8 56
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 5-15 (Lightfoot 3-8, Bradley 0-1, Clouse 2-3, Clem 0-1), Lakeland 7-19 (Je. Weimer 2-2, Romer 0-2, Jo. Weimer 4-9, Long 1-6). Fouls -ÊNorthWood 15, Lakeland 18. Fouled out -ÊReynolds, Je. Weimer, VanderRoest. Turnovers -ÊNorthWood 12, Lakeland 8. [[In-content Ad]]
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NAPPANEE -ÊAlthough the NorthWood boys basketball team played the sectional on its home floor, the Panthers were the vistors on the scoreboard in the first game of the sectional because of the way the sectional was drawn.
However, that did not phase the NorthWood squad (16-5) as it beat No. 10 Lakeland (18-5) 63-56 to improve to 9-0 at the Panther Pit this season.
When asked if being at home was an a big advantage for the Panthers, the normally talkative NorthWood coach Dan Gunn gave a decisive one-word answer: "Absolutely."
NorthWood and Lakeland traded threes to begin the first quarter, and by the end of the first stanza, NorthWood held an 18-13 advantage.
However, that advantage was short-lived as Lakeland fought back to tie the score at 18 with 5:52 left in the second quarter.
After NorthWood's Ryan Bradley and Lakeland's Brody Duncan traded baskets, the score was tied at 20.
Willy Will hit both ends of a one-and-bonus free throw opportunity and then got another basket with 2:14 to put the Panthers up 24-20.
But Lakeland's Josh Weimer hit two straight three-point goals to give Lakeland its first lead since the first quarter, 26-24.
Two more free throws by Will and a steal and a basket from Bradley restored NorthWood's lead, and a basket by Scott Hill just before the buzzer gave NorthWood a 30-27 advantage at the half.
NorthWood held a slim lead ranging from one to five points through much of the third frame, but a trey by Josh Weimer at the 2:19 mark gave Lakeland a 41-40 lead. John VanderRoest and Josh Weimer hit baskets to give Lakeland a 45-40 lead heading into the final frame of play.
Lakeland held the lead until the 1:46 mark when Rory Clouse netted a three-pointer to put NorthWood up 54-53. The Panthers never lost the lead from that point, hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 1:01 to get the 63-56 win.
"I thought we hung tough until Rory hit a couple shots for us," said Gunn. "It felt like we were waiting for him to start. I'm sure glad he hit a couple."
Lakeland's Josh Weimer led all scorers with 26 points, while NorthWood's Will added 24. Bradley added 15 for the Panthers, while Jerod Weimer added 10.
The Panthers held Lakeland's Nathan Romer, a leading Laker scorer, to just five points.
"We did a much better job shutting down Romer this time," said Gunn. "We knew we couldn't let him beat us like last time. We did a much better job tonight than last time we played them."
NorthWood advances to the sectional semifinal game where the Panthers will face Angola. Angola defeated Wawasee 71-59 in Tuesday night's second game. NorthWood and Angola will face off at 6 p.m. Friday night in Nappanee.
NORTHWOOD 63
No. 10 LAKELAND 56
NorthWood 18 12 10 23 - 63
Lakeland 13 14 18 11 - 56
NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.
Will 7-11 10-10 8 0 24
Reynolds 1-1 0-0 3 1 2
Lightfoot 3-8 2-2 1 0 11
Hill 1-1 0-1 0 1 2
Bradley 5-7 5-5 1 3 15
Clouse 3-5 1-2 10 0 9
Clem 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
Klotz 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 20-35 18-20 23 6 63
Lakeland FG FT R S Pts.
Je. Weimer 4-6 0-0 1 1 10
VanderRoest 2-2 0-0 1 1 4
Duncan 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Romer 2-4 1-3 0 3 5
Jo. Weimer 10-15 2-2 4 3 26
Long 1-7 1-2 2 0 4
Mason 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Howard 2-3 1-3 9 0 5
Fry 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 22-38 5-10 19 8 56
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 5-15 (Lightfoot 3-8, Bradley 0-1, Clouse 2-3, Clem 0-1), Lakeland 7-19 (Je. Weimer 2-2, Romer 0-2, Jo. Weimer 4-9, Long 1-6). Fouls -ÊNorthWood 15, Lakeland 18. Fouled out -ÊReynolds, Je. Weimer, VanderRoest. Turnovers -ÊNorthWood 12, Lakeland 8. [[In-content Ad]]