Warriors Fall To NLC Rival Panthers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
The Panthers' latest conquest was a 62-53 win over the Wawasee Warriors Tuesday in the opening game of Class 3A Sectional 21 boys basketball action at Wawasee High School.[[In-content Ad]]The win avenges an 84-83 overtime loss at Wawasee back on Jan. 4, which left the Panthers with a 2-6 record at the time. Since that game, NorthWood's gone 10-3, showing they're growing more comfortable under first-year coach Aaron Wolfe's system.
"Our confidence is growing with each game," Wolfe said. "I think we have more offensive weapons than we did the first time we played (Wawasee)."
Wolfe's main offensive threats have been 6-foot-2 junior Skyler Titus and 6-5 senior Aaron McDowell, both of whom were named to the All-Northern Lakes Conference team. In the sectional win, McDowell went for 16 points and Titus for 10, but it was senior Dustin Bussard's 21 points that pushed NorthWood over the top.
"I can not say enough about Dustin Bussard," Wolfe said. "He is our senior leader, he's taken this team under his wings. He's a person we trust on the floor, and his confidence is growing at this point. I thought he was a difference maker in the ballgame."
He made the biggest difference in the last 1:38 of the first half.
With Wawasee on top 25-18, Bussard scored on consecutive "and-1" plays, before assisting freshman Michael Paul on a buzzer-beating three pointer, sending NorthWood into the half with its first lead of the game at 27-25.
"Bussard, we knew we had to stop early and try to contain him as much as possible - and he went into halftime with 12 points," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said of the NorthWood point guard, who also finished with six assists and five steals. "That was just too many."
On top of his statistical output, Bussard also kept pressure on the Warriors' defense all night. Instead of taking a breath following a Wawasee bucket or miss, the Panthers were constantly pushing the ball up the court.
"Wawasee is generally a team that will press you," Wolfe said. "So we wanted to make sure that if they were going to press us, we were going to attack the basket in transition. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of at least getting the ball up the floor."
That pace really picked up after Wawasee appeared to be gaining control of the game, with the seven-point lead late in the first half.
"They picked it up a little bit, but I thought we made some poor decisions with the ball, right at the end (of the half)," Mishler said. "NorthWood was able to capitalize on that by hitting some big shots."
Opening the second half, Wawasee's game plan was clear - get the ball to senior Brandon Geiger. With that in mind, Geiger scored the first four points of the second half, en rout to a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds.
"Brandon Geiger is an exceptional basketball player, maybe the best we've seen this year," Wolfe said of Wawasee's leading scorer and rebounder. "Credit goes to him. I think Aaron McDowell had one of his strongest defensive games here tonight. I was extremely proud of him."
Even though his effort was there until the end, Geiger, along with classmates Brad Granger and Chas Amadeo, had their high school careers end before they were ready for it to.
"You're never ready for it to end, at any age," Mishler said. "As a senior, it hurts even more, because this is the last time you play here."
Those careers came to an end thanks to a 20-3 NorthWood run that extended between the 1:42 mark of the third and 6:31 of the fourth. In that span, the Panthers turned a 37-36 deficit into a 56-40 lead.
"We were fortunate to capatilize on some plays at the basket area to start the fourth quarter," Wolfe said. "On the other hand, Wawasee missed some good shots. From that standpoint, we were able to separate the lead."
Down 58-42 with 5:38 remaining, Wawasee did go on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 58-53 with 1:38 to play, but couldn't get any closer.
"They were able to recognize when it was time for a big play or an answer, defensively," Mishler said of the Panthers. "Their experience in tournament play really showed with that. You could see it happen every time we made a run."
The win over the Warriors was NorthWood's first step in defending its sectional title, with the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings on tap for Friday at 6 p.m.
"I think many would consider them the favorite in our sectional, coming in with a 16-4 record," Wolfe said of Valley, which will be without Chad Hoffer's 14 points, four assists and three steals a game after violating the school's athletic code this week. "They have many capable players, and we'll need to play one of our strongest games of the year in order to play again Saturday (in the championship)."
NORTHWOOD 62, WAWASEE 53
N 4 23 18 17 - 62
W 12 13 15 13 - 53
NorthWood - Horner 3-9 0-0 9, Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Bussard 8-11 4-7 21, Titus 3-13 4-6 10, McDowell 7-12 2-2 16, Paul 1-1 1-2 4. Totals 23-47 11-17 62.
Wawasee - Stichter 4-6 2-2 13, Kaiser 2-8 2-2 7, Granger 0-0 0-0 0, Amadeo 4-10 0-0 9, Geiger 7-17 4-4 18, Ruch 2-6 0-0 6, Ringler 0-2 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 8-8 53.
3-point goals - NW 5-11 (Horner 3, Bussard, Paul), Wawasee 7-19 (Stichter 3, Ruch 2, Kaiser, Amadeo). Team Fouls (fouled out) - NW 12, Wawasee 17 (Geiger). Turnovers - NW 10, Wawasee 16. Rebounds - NW 21 (Titus 7, McDowell 7), Wawasee 26 (Geiger 9, Amadeo 7). Steals - NW 10 (Bussard 5), Wawasee 5 (Stichter 3). Blocks - NW 3 (Titus 3), Wawasee 1. Assists - NW 11 (Bussard 6), Wawasee 8 (Stichter 3). Records - NW 12-9, Wawasee 12-9.
The Panthers' latest conquest was a 62-53 win over the Wawasee Warriors Tuesday in the opening game of Class 3A Sectional 21 boys basketball action at Wawasee High School.[[In-content Ad]]The win avenges an 84-83 overtime loss at Wawasee back on Jan. 4, which left the Panthers with a 2-6 record at the time. Since that game, NorthWood's gone 10-3, showing they're growing more comfortable under first-year coach Aaron Wolfe's system.
"Our confidence is growing with each game," Wolfe said. "I think we have more offensive weapons than we did the first time we played (Wawasee)."
Wolfe's main offensive threats have been 6-foot-2 junior Skyler Titus and 6-5 senior Aaron McDowell, both of whom were named to the All-Northern Lakes Conference team. In the sectional win, McDowell went for 16 points and Titus for 10, but it was senior Dustin Bussard's 21 points that pushed NorthWood over the top.
"I can not say enough about Dustin Bussard," Wolfe said. "He is our senior leader, he's taken this team under his wings. He's a person we trust on the floor, and his confidence is growing at this point. I thought he was a difference maker in the ballgame."
He made the biggest difference in the last 1:38 of the first half.
With Wawasee on top 25-18, Bussard scored on consecutive "and-1" plays, before assisting freshman Michael Paul on a buzzer-beating three pointer, sending NorthWood into the half with its first lead of the game at 27-25.
"Bussard, we knew we had to stop early and try to contain him as much as possible - and he went into halftime with 12 points," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said of the NorthWood point guard, who also finished with six assists and five steals. "That was just too many."
On top of his statistical output, Bussard also kept pressure on the Warriors' defense all night. Instead of taking a breath following a Wawasee bucket or miss, the Panthers were constantly pushing the ball up the court.
"Wawasee is generally a team that will press you," Wolfe said. "So we wanted to make sure that if they were going to press us, we were going to attack the basket in transition. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of at least getting the ball up the floor."
That pace really picked up after Wawasee appeared to be gaining control of the game, with the seven-point lead late in the first half.
"They picked it up a little bit, but I thought we made some poor decisions with the ball, right at the end (of the half)," Mishler said. "NorthWood was able to capitalize on that by hitting some big shots."
Opening the second half, Wawasee's game plan was clear - get the ball to senior Brandon Geiger. With that in mind, Geiger scored the first four points of the second half, en rout to a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds.
"Brandon Geiger is an exceptional basketball player, maybe the best we've seen this year," Wolfe said of Wawasee's leading scorer and rebounder. "Credit goes to him. I think Aaron McDowell had one of his strongest defensive games here tonight. I was extremely proud of him."
Even though his effort was there until the end, Geiger, along with classmates Brad Granger and Chas Amadeo, had their high school careers end before they were ready for it to.
"You're never ready for it to end, at any age," Mishler said. "As a senior, it hurts even more, because this is the last time you play here."
Those careers came to an end thanks to a 20-3 NorthWood run that extended between the 1:42 mark of the third and 6:31 of the fourth. In that span, the Panthers turned a 37-36 deficit into a 56-40 lead.
"We were fortunate to capatilize on some plays at the basket area to start the fourth quarter," Wolfe said. "On the other hand, Wawasee missed some good shots. From that standpoint, we were able to separate the lead."
Down 58-42 with 5:38 remaining, Wawasee did go on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 58-53 with 1:38 to play, but couldn't get any closer.
"They were able to recognize when it was time for a big play or an answer, defensively," Mishler said of the Panthers. "Their experience in tournament play really showed with that. You could see it happen every time we made a run."
The win over the Warriors was NorthWood's first step in defending its sectional title, with the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings on tap for Friday at 6 p.m.
"I think many would consider them the favorite in our sectional, coming in with a 16-4 record," Wolfe said of Valley, which will be without Chad Hoffer's 14 points, four assists and three steals a game after violating the school's athletic code this week. "They have many capable players, and we'll need to play one of our strongest games of the year in order to play again Saturday (in the championship)."
NORTHWOOD 62, WAWASEE 53
N 4 23 18 17 - 62
W 12 13 15 13 - 53
NorthWood - Horner 3-9 0-0 9, Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Bussard 8-11 4-7 21, Titus 3-13 4-6 10, McDowell 7-12 2-2 16, Paul 1-1 1-2 4. Totals 23-47 11-17 62.
Wawasee - Stichter 4-6 2-2 13, Kaiser 2-8 2-2 7, Granger 0-0 0-0 0, Amadeo 4-10 0-0 9, Geiger 7-17 4-4 18, Ruch 2-6 0-0 6, Ringler 0-2 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 8-8 53.
3-point goals - NW 5-11 (Horner 3, Bussard, Paul), Wawasee 7-19 (Stichter 3, Ruch 2, Kaiser, Amadeo). Team Fouls (fouled out) - NW 12, Wawasee 17 (Geiger). Turnovers - NW 10, Wawasee 16. Rebounds - NW 21 (Titus 7, McDowell 7), Wawasee 26 (Geiger 9, Amadeo 7). Steals - NW 10 (Bussard 5), Wawasee 5 (Stichter 3). Blocks - NW 3 (Titus 3), Wawasee 1. Assists - NW 11 (Bussard 6), Wawasee 8 (Stichter 3). Records - NW 12-9, Wawasee 12-9.
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