NAPPANEE – Wawasee was able to dictate the tempo against NorthWood for portions of Friday’s Northern Lakes Conference basketball game. But the Class 3A No. 1 Panthers were able to convert some turnovers into points and used a third-quarter surge to pull away for a 59-33 victory at The Pit. Wawasee coach Jon Everingham watched his team use patience that caused NorthWood (9-0, 2-0) to go from the man-to-man defense that the hosts opened in to a trapping defense. Everingham said he saw a hint of the gameplan. “(Trapping) was supposed to give us some open shots in the corners,” said Everingham, who did see Bennett Hoffert hit 5 of 9 three-point attempts from the right corner on a 15-point night off the bench. “We’re just not good enough yet. But we’re getting better. We’re forcing teams to do different things.” NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said he planned to use a trap as part of his multiple defensive coverages. “Our guys made some pretty good defensive plays and made some separation in the game,” Wolfe said. NorthWood led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, with Trevon Coleman netting six of his eight points on the night for the Warriors. Vinny Miranda netted 29 points for the Panthers, including seven each in the first two quarters and 13 in the third. In the first 2:30 of the third quarter, Miranda sank a pair of treys, and so did Luke Zurcher on the way to his 14-point night. NorthWood led by as many as 27 in the third stanza – the last time at 49-22. “They changed defenses in the third quarter and Luke Zurcher was able to create some space,” Wolfe said. “That gave us a lift.” There was as much as a 31-point gap in the fourth quarter at 59-28. Caleb Lung tallied four of his 10 points for NorthWood in the first quarter. Wawasee (4-5, 0-2) lost for the fifth straight time this season, and Friday’s loss was the eighth consecutive defeat to NorthWood, dating back to the 2010-11 season.
