Panthers advance to 3A sectional final with 59-55 win over Vikings
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
SYRACUSE – The championship game of Class 3A Sectional 21 isn’t officially until tonight. Friday’s semifinal game between the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings and fifth-ranked NorthWood Panthers, however, sure had the feel of a title tilt. In front of a capacity crowd at Wawasee High School, the Panthers and Vikings went toe-to-toe, back and forth and shot for shot in a high school basketball game that epitomized Hoosier Hysteria. The only shame was that one of the teams had to lose, and after giving up an eight-point lead in the second half that team was Valley, which fell 59-55. “You can’t ask for a better ballgame...two good teams with good kids on both teams,” said Valley coach Bill Patrick, whose team finished the season with a 17-4 record. “We probably played about as well as we can play. It got tough for us when Logan Britton fouled out. We just gave up too much size inside. NorthWood took it inside on us and got to the free throw line.” The 6-foot-5 Britton, a senior starter for the Vikings, fouled out with 2:57 remaining in the game. Prior to his fifth foul, he was the anchor of Valley’s interior defense. His fifth foul put Will Stueve at the free throw line, and NorthWood’s 6-5 senior made both charity tosses to give the Panthers a 46-42 advantage. The Vikings, who led 33-25 in the third quarter, were able to tie the game at 49-all but couldn’t grab the lead down the stretch. Valley’s last advantage was at 42-41 midway through the final frame, about a minute before Britton fouled out. “I thought the turning point in the game was when Logan Britton picked up his fifth foul,” said NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe, whose team converted 14 of 17 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter and 17 of 20 all together. The Panthers led 10-9 after one quarter of play. The game was knotted at 23-all at halftime. Valley led 36-33 at the end of the third quarter. NorthWood took its first lead of the fourth quarter when senior Jonathan Wilkinson converted a pair of charity tosses with 4:17 remaining, giving the Panthers a 41-40 advantage. A pair of Wilkinson free throws with just under 15 seconds left pushed NorthWood’s lead to 58-52, but Valley cut the deficit in half with a Chainey Zolman three pointer with six seconds on the clock. Senior Zach Zurcher then converted 1 of 2 free throw attempts with two seconds remaining to account for the final score. In all, Friday’s game featured nine lead changes and six ties. “I thought this game showed what Indiana high school basketball is all about,” said Wolfe. “Hats off to Tippecanoe Valley, they played a great game. They did a great job controlling the tempo.” Senior Tanner Andrews led Valley with a game-high 20 points, while classmate Robby Groom chipped in with 15 points and Zolman added 14. Britton finished with six points. Wilkinson paced the Panthers with 17 points, while Stueve scored 12, sophmore Braxton Linville added 11 and seniors Zach Zurcher and Tanner Farmwald finished with 10 and nine points, respectively. With the win, the Panthers advanced to tonight’s 7:30 p.m. sectional final against West Noble (18-5). West Noble beat Fairfield 70-46 in Friday’s first semifinal game. The Panthers beat West Noble 71-54 a month ago in Nappanee. While many believed Friday’s NorthWood/Valley game was the sectional championship game, at least on paper, Wolfe quickly put that talk to rest. “A championship isn’t won without being in the championship game,” said Wolfe, whose team is looking for the program’s second title in three years. “We’ve had a tough road, and now we have a stiff challenge with a good West Noble Chargers team.” Valley posted an overall record of 37-8 and a 14-0 mark in the Three Rivers Conference the past two seasons. Friday night’s loss ended the prep careers of Andrews, Groom, Britton and Ben Shriver. The Vikings would have had a fifth senior, but an injury kept Derrick Cunningham from playing. “We can’t replace those seniors,” said Patrick. “We would have had a fifth senior, Derrick Cunningham, but an injury kept him out. We could have used him tonight. “This was a great game, two good teams battling to advance to the sectional championship game.”
