Strong Finish Gives Raiders Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE -ÊThere wasn't a sectional in the state that featured a bigger boys basketball game than the Class 3A NorthWood Sectional. The game pitted No. 5 Northridge and No. 10 NorthWood at the Panther Pit Saturday night for the sectional championship.
At 6:30 p.m., there was a line about a mile long waiting to get into the highly touted rivalry between two familiar Northern Lakes Conference foes. This was the third matchup this season for the two squads. Northridge defeated NorthWood in the Goshen Holiday Tournament, and NorthWood got revenge on its home floor during the NLC game, which helped the Panthers secure the NLC crown.
Something had to give. By the end of the night, one of these two ranked teams would be getting ready for a spring sport.
In the last meeting between these schools, a NorthWood win, Northridge couldn't control its composure. That was the key, according to Raider coach Steve Austin.
"We knew in order to win this game tonight that we had to keep our composure the whole game, and we couldn't lose focus all night," said Austin.
The Raiders, who start five seniors, outscored NorthWood 17-10 in the final five minutes to win the NorthWood Sectional 57-51.
"Our kids really did a super job tonight," said Austin. "Playing here really didn't affect us too much. With our crowd, it really didn't feel like we were on the road."
This is a game where neither coach went to the bench much. NorthWood played its entire starting five the whole game, while the Raiders played only seven guys.
"We went with who got us here," NorthWood coach Dan Gunn said. "Both teams knew each other well, and both teams played hard."
NorthWood started the game with a bang as sophomore Rory Clouse drilled a three-pointer to give the host a 3-0 lead. After trailing 5-4, Northridge got its first lead of the night, thanks to an Aaron Thomas layup with 5:10 to play. Thomas paced the winners with 30 points and six rebounds.
"Aaron is our leader, our go-to guy," said Austin. "We will need to do a better job of having other guys step up in key situations."
The Panthers earned their last lead of the half when Ian Reed hit a layup to put the Panthers ahead 7-6 with 4:49 left.
Northridge led 15-13 after one quarter of play.
"It was a very tough and physical game for both teams," Gunn said. "Steve (Austin) really does a nice job at Northridge."
The Panthers opened up the second quarter on a Brock Doty jumper that tied the score at 15-all with 6:55 to play in the half. After that, it was all Thomas. Thomas, who is a Division I player, pounded the Panthers and scored 18 first-half points.
"Our goal was to pound it down as many times as we could," Austin said. "Last time we played NorthWood, we had some trouble getting the ball down low."
The Raiders had their biggest lead of the game when Jayme Fazi nailed a three-pointer that put the Raiders up 26-20 with 1:07 to play. Fazi also ended the quarter with a layup that gave Northridge a 28-24 halftime lead.
"I really thought Fazi came to play in the second quarter," said Austin. "He also hit some key baskets at the end of the first quarter."
NorthWood's Charlie Roeder was shut out in the first half, but he stepped up his play in the third quarter. Roeder scored nine of his team's 11 third quarter points to keep the game interesting. Northridge held a slim 38-35 lead at the end of three quarters.
"Charlie really did a nice job of battling Thomas underneath," said Austin. "We just couldn't get it where we wanted it. The defensive pressure was great by NorthWood."
The sectional title would come down to the fourth quarter. Big players and teams step up in big games,and neither team was ready to bow out yet. The Panthers took their first lead since the first quarter with 5:39 left when Doty drilled a 15-footer to give the Panthers a 41-40 lead. NorthWood fought back from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter.
After Doty connected, the Panther Pit faithful were rockin' and rollin' and the Panthers looked to gain momentum. Again, with the experience of the Raiders, Northridge didn't buckle.
After a Northridge timeout, Thomas nailed a triple that gave the Raiders the lead for good.
Again, the Raiders proved that they have learned from their past games against NorthWood.
"All we talked about in our walk-through this morning was composure," said Austin. "The kids did a great job of sticking to the game plan."
The Panthers tried to make one final push toward their first sectional championship sicne 1995, its only boys basketball sectional ever.
Again it was doty who hit a three to cut the lead to 48-46 with 3:25 to play.
Northridge sealed the championship by hitting 7 of 8 free throws, 1 of 2 field goals, and only committing one turnover during the final minutes. The Panthers had their chances, but had three costly turnovers.
"We had our chances, that is for sure," said Gunn. "Give them credit, they hit their free throws."
Roeder ended his career by leading the Panthers with 16 points, all coming in the second half. Doty chipped in 15, while Ian Reed added 10.
Besides Thoms' 30, Fazi added 12 points and Justin Anderson chipped in 10.
With the win, the Raiders move on to Wednesday's Regional where they will face Fort Wayne Concordia. NorthWood finishes the season with a 16-7 record, while the Raiders improve to 18-4.
NORTHRIDGE 57 NORTHWOOD 51
Northridge 15 13 10 19 - 57
NorthWood 13 11 11 16 - 51
Northridge FG FT R A S Pts.
*Weirich (G) 0-1 0-0 4 4 1 0
*Pletcher (G) 2-4 1-2 3 2 3 5
*Fazi (F) 4-7 2-2 1 0 0 12
*Anderson (F) 2-6 5-5 3 3 0 10
*Thomas (C) 10-20 8-10 6 0 0 30
Yoder 0-2 0-0 1 1 0 0
Totals 18-40 16-19 18 10 4 57
NorthWood FG FT R A S Pts.
*Will (G) 3-5 1-2 3 5 1 7
*Reed (G) 5-13 0-0 5 1 2 10
*Doty (G) 7-12 0-0 4 2 0 15
*Roeder (F) 6-10 2-3 4 2 2 16
*Clouse (F) 1-7 0-0 2 1 2 3
Totals 22-47 3-5 18 11 7 51
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 4-11 (Reed 0-3, Doty 1-2, Roeder 2-2, Clouse 1-4), Northridge 5-10 (Pletcher 0-1, Fazi 2-3, Yoder 0-1, Anderson 1-2, Thomas 2-3). Total fouls - NorthWood 16, Northridge 8. Fouled out -ÊNone. Turnover -ÊNorthWood 12, Northridge 14. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE -ÊThere wasn't a sectional in the state that featured a bigger boys basketball game than the Class 3A NorthWood Sectional. The game pitted No. 5 Northridge and No. 10 NorthWood at the Panther Pit Saturday night for the sectional championship.
At 6:30 p.m., there was a line about a mile long waiting to get into the highly touted rivalry between two familiar Northern Lakes Conference foes. This was the third matchup this season for the two squads. Northridge defeated NorthWood in the Goshen Holiday Tournament, and NorthWood got revenge on its home floor during the NLC game, which helped the Panthers secure the NLC crown.
Something had to give. By the end of the night, one of these two ranked teams would be getting ready for a spring sport.
In the last meeting between these schools, a NorthWood win, Northridge couldn't control its composure. That was the key, according to Raider coach Steve Austin.
"We knew in order to win this game tonight that we had to keep our composure the whole game, and we couldn't lose focus all night," said Austin.
The Raiders, who start five seniors, outscored NorthWood 17-10 in the final five minutes to win the NorthWood Sectional 57-51.
"Our kids really did a super job tonight," said Austin. "Playing here really didn't affect us too much. With our crowd, it really didn't feel like we were on the road."
This is a game where neither coach went to the bench much. NorthWood played its entire starting five the whole game, while the Raiders played only seven guys.
"We went with who got us here," NorthWood coach Dan Gunn said. "Both teams knew each other well, and both teams played hard."
NorthWood started the game with a bang as sophomore Rory Clouse drilled a three-pointer to give the host a 3-0 lead. After trailing 5-4, Northridge got its first lead of the night, thanks to an Aaron Thomas layup with 5:10 to play. Thomas paced the winners with 30 points and six rebounds.
"Aaron is our leader, our go-to guy," said Austin. "We will need to do a better job of having other guys step up in key situations."
The Panthers earned their last lead of the half when Ian Reed hit a layup to put the Panthers ahead 7-6 with 4:49 left.
Northridge led 15-13 after one quarter of play.
"It was a very tough and physical game for both teams," Gunn said. "Steve (Austin) really does a nice job at Northridge."
The Panthers opened up the second quarter on a Brock Doty jumper that tied the score at 15-all with 6:55 to play in the half. After that, it was all Thomas. Thomas, who is a Division I player, pounded the Panthers and scored 18 first-half points.
"Our goal was to pound it down as many times as we could," Austin said. "Last time we played NorthWood, we had some trouble getting the ball down low."
The Raiders had their biggest lead of the game when Jayme Fazi nailed a three-pointer that put the Raiders up 26-20 with 1:07 to play. Fazi also ended the quarter with a layup that gave Northridge a 28-24 halftime lead.
"I really thought Fazi came to play in the second quarter," said Austin. "He also hit some key baskets at the end of the first quarter."
NorthWood's Charlie Roeder was shut out in the first half, but he stepped up his play in the third quarter. Roeder scored nine of his team's 11 third quarter points to keep the game interesting. Northridge held a slim 38-35 lead at the end of three quarters.
"Charlie really did a nice job of battling Thomas underneath," said Austin. "We just couldn't get it where we wanted it. The defensive pressure was great by NorthWood."
The sectional title would come down to the fourth quarter. Big players and teams step up in big games,and neither team was ready to bow out yet. The Panthers took their first lead since the first quarter with 5:39 left when Doty drilled a 15-footer to give the Panthers a 41-40 lead. NorthWood fought back from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter.
After Doty connected, the Panther Pit faithful were rockin' and rollin' and the Panthers looked to gain momentum. Again, with the experience of the Raiders, Northridge didn't buckle.
After a Northridge timeout, Thomas nailed a triple that gave the Raiders the lead for good.
Again, the Raiders proved that they have learned from their past games against NorthWood.
"All we talked about in our walk-through this morning was composure," said Austin. "The kids did a great job of sticking to the game plan."
The Panthers tried to make one final push toward their first sectional championship sicne 1995, its only boys basketball sectional ever.
Again it was doty who hit a three to cut the lead to 48-46 with 3:25 to play.
Northridge sealed the championship by hitting 7 of 8 free throws, 1 of 2 field goals, and only committing one turnover during the final minutes. The Panthers had their chances, but had three costly turnovers.
"We had our chances, that is for sure," said Gunn. "Give them credit, they hit their free throws."
Roeder ended his career by leading the Panthers with 16 points, all coming in the second half. Doty chipped in 15, while Ian Reed added 10.
Besides Thoms' 30, Fazi added 12 points and Justin Anderson chipped in 10.
With the win, the Raiders move on to Wednesday's Regional where they will face Fort Wayne Concordia. NorthWood finishes the season with a 16-7 record, while the Raiders improve to 18-4.
NORTHRIDGE 57 NORTHWOOD 51
Northridge 15 13 10 19 - 57
NorthWood 13 11 11 16 - 51
Northridge FG FT R A S Pts.
*Weirich (G) 0-1 0-0 4 4 1 0
*Pletcher (G) 2-4 1-2 3 2 3 5
*Fazi (F) 4-7 2-2 1 0 0 12
*Anderson (F) 2-6 5-5 3 3 0 10
*Thomas (C) 10-20 8-10 6 0 0 30
Yoder 0-2 0-0 1 1 0 0
Totals 18-40 16-19 18 10 4 57
NorthWood FG FT R A S Pts.
*Will (G) 3-5 1-2 3 5 1 7
*Reed (G) 5-13 0-0 5 1 2 10
*Doty (G) 7-12 0-0 4 2 0 15
*Roeder (F) 6-10 2-3 4 2 2 16
*Clouse (F) 1-7 0-0 2 1 2 3
Totals 22-47 3-5 18 11 7 51
Three-point goals -ÊNorthWood 4-11 (Reed 0-3, Doty 1-2, Roeder 2-2, Clouse 1-4), Northridge 5-10 (Pletcher 0-1, Fazi 2-3, Yoder 0-1, Anderson 1-2, Thomas 2-3). Total fouls - NorthWood 16, Northridge 8. Fouled out -ÊNone. Turnover -ÊNorthWood 12, Northridge 14. [[In-content Ad]]