NAPPANEE - Just about the only suspense during Wawasee's visit to NorthWood Friday was whether or not the host Panthers would break the century mark.
They did.Picking up a 101-71 Northern Lakes Conference victory at The Pit, NorthWood outrebounded the Wawasee Warriors 56-27.
"We have to crash the boards like NorthWood did," Wawasee coach Phil Mishler said. "They wanted it, on the boards, more than we did."
Leading the Panthers in rebounding was senior Skyler Titus, who finished with nine to go with his game-high 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting.
Because of a wrist injury, Titus missed NorthWood's loss at LaVille Tuesday, but with the wrist wrapped, took the court against the Warriors.
"It was hard to adjust with that huge thing on my arm," Titus said. "(NorthWood Athletic Trainer Paul) Widner did all he could for me during this week, and I appreciate that."
On a bucket at the 2:55 mark of the second quarter, Titus also broke the 1,000 career point mark, finishing the game with 1,019.
"It means a lot to me," Titus said. "I want to thank my teammates for being out here with me. It's just a great accomplishment."
Titus now ranks fifth on NorthWood's all-time scoring list, 33 points behind 2003-graduate Ryan Bradley.
"Skyler Titus is a once in a lifetime type of player," Mishler said. "He's just a great person, a three-sport athlete and the community loves him. He gets people on his back. There was no way he was going to sit this one out. That's the type of competitor he is."
NorthWood also received 15 points each from Kyle Heckaman and Tony Miranda, while Micah Horner and Michael Paul both scored 13.
For Wawasee, Trevor McKibben and Riley Stichter led the way with 16 points each, followed by 10 each from Wes Kaiser and Keegan Beer.
The balanced scoring kept the Warriors in the contest until late in the second quarter.
Already ahead 42-34, NorthWood got a five-point possession when Wawasee commited a foul during a made three-pointer by Horner. With the extra possession, Tony Miranda added another bucket for the Panthers, who proceeded to go on an 11-0 run over the next minute, running the score to 53-34.
"Our system is really about tiring the opponent out," Mishler said of his offense, which was averaging 85 points a game. "What happened was, we got tired and stopped playing."
Fatigue may have affected the Warriors' legs, as they hit just 6 of 28 three-pointers, including a span of 16-straight misses.
"NorthWood hit a lot of good shots," Mishler said. "They beat us at our own game. They shot 40 percent from three-point range and shot 31 threes. We try to get off 45, and only got 28. They, in a sense, beat us at our own game."
The win was NorthWood's first in three games, making coach Aaron Wolfe a happy man.
"I thought our kids responded well after two tough losses," Wolfe said. "It was nice to get a win. From the standpoint of playing frenetically, I think our kids handled it well and made good decisions."
The 3-6 Warriors are right back in NLC action Friday at Elkhart Memorial. Junior varsity tipoff for the game will be at 6:15 p.m.
