Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 130, Number 4, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 25 January 2007 — Page 9

Panthers are still on top in NLC race

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DAT PHOTO Senior Kelly Adams goes up for two for North Wood.

NWHS freshman boys win three more, now 12-1

By Steve Sittier Correspondent The North Wood High School freshman boys' basketball team captured their 11th consecutive victory on Jan. 18 with a thrilling 35-34 road win over the Goshen Redskins. The triumph gives the Panther frosh a 12-1 record on the season, including winning five games in the last eight days (January 11-18) in an NBA-like schedule. North Wood also defeated Tippecanoe Valley on the road and Jimtown at home on Jan. 15 and 16, respectively. NORTHWOOD 51, TIPP. VALLEY 44 The Valley game was a very physical affair which featured eight fouls on the Vikings in the opening period alone, leading to a 13-6 Panther lead. Valley narrowed the margin

NWHS box scores

VARSITY BASKETBALL LAKELAND 57, NORTHWOOD 41 At Lagrange NORTHWOOD (41): J.J. Anglemeyer 10-03, Dustin Bussard 1 2-3 4, Skyler Titus 3 1-2 8, Kelly Adams 1 0-0 2, Aaron McDowell 0 0-0 0, Zach Troyer 9 0-0 20, Alan Leichty 0 0-0 0, Nate Brown 2 0-0 4 TOTALS 17 3-5 41 LAKELAND (57): Kyle Witham 4 4-4 12, Tanner King 0 0-0 O, Skyler King 5 0-0 15, Josh Witham 6 2-3 16, Marcus James 0 0-0 0, Brian Sherck 0 2-2 2, Cole Pechin 0 0-00, Doug Bontrager 5 2-2 12, Mitch Evenson 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 20 10-11 57 North Wood 6 16 27 41 Lakeland 10 28 43 57 3-Point Goals: North Wood 4 (Troyer 2, Anglemeyer, Bussard), Lakeland 7 (S. King 5, J. Witham 2) NORTHWOOD 47, GOSHEN 32 At Nappanee GOSHEN (32): Ethan Hussey 4 3-4 11, Scott Landis 0 0-0 0, P. Hussey 10-0 2, Cameron Snyder 1 1-2 3, Justin Turney 000 0, Ryan Bartley 10-0 3, Brandon Farver 0 0-0 0, Joshua Randall 3 0-0 9, Carlos Zepeda 0 0-0 0, Brock Bender 0 0-0 0, Bradley Sink 10-0 2, Nathan Stegelmann 10-02 TOTALS 12 46 32 NORTHWOOD (47): J.J. Anglemeyer 00-00, Dustin Bussard 3 5-6 12, Skyler Titus 6 2-3 14, Kelly Adams 3 0-1 6, Aaron McDowell 10-0 2, Zach Troyer 3 0-0 6, Nate Brown 3 1-2 7 TOTALS 19 8-12 47 North Wood 8 16 36 47 Goshen 5 12 27 32 3-Point Goals: Goshen 4 (Randall 3, Bartley), North Wood 1 (Bussard) .

to 24-21 at the half, thanks to six North Wood turnovers and eight points from Anthony Tolson. The halftime margin would have been just one, except for a fabulous onehanded scoop shot by North Wood's Tony Miranda off a feed from John Sittier that just beat the buzzer. After a 10-10 third quarter, the Panthers were able to pull away in the final stanza thanks to a brilliant 9 of 11 from the free throw line by four different players. Leading scorer Cam Spitaels had 16 points to pace the Panthers, while Miranda added a season high 13 points and also pulled down six rebounds. Kyle Yoder and Brandon Menzie scored six points apiece for North Wood, and Menzie blocked a seasonhigh four shots. The Panthers shot a sparkling 57% from the field. Valley was led by Tolson with 13 points and

Community

By Sieve SHlter Correspondent LAGRANGE The North Wood Panthers boys' basketball team remained alone atop the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) with a 47-32 home-court win over the Goshen Redskins on Jan. 19. The Panthers are now 4-0 in the NLC and 9-3 overall. The win offset a disappointing 5741 loss earlier in the week at Lakeland, when the Panthers, to quote an old-timer overheard in the stands, "couldn't throw it in the ocean from the beach". LAKELAND 57, NORTHWOOD 41 The temperatures finally dropped into the teens on Tuesday and with them, North Wood's shooting percentage, as the Panthers were a miserable 17 of 47 from the field (36%), including just four of 19 from three-point range in the loss to Lakeland. Not including the nine of 17 shooting from Zach Troyer, who led North Wood with 20 points, the Panthers shot just eight of 30 (27%). The Lakers, meanwhile, canned seven three-pointers and simply out-hustled the Panthers for loose balls and rebounds, grabbing a 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 28-16 halftime advantage in a game in which they never trailed. Troyer added six rebounds to go with his 20 points, and Skyler Titus contributed eight points and five boards to the Panther effort. Lakeland was led by Josh Witham with 16 points, and

Matthew Richie With 12. ' NORTHWOOD 50, JIMTOWN 36 Playing their second game in two days and their fourth in the last six, the Panthers showed no ill effects as they easily handled the Jimmies at The Pit. North Wood led 29-11 at the half behind 10 points from Miranda and scored the first 10 points, of the third quarter before the starters took a seat for the remainder of the contest. Jimtown left their starters in for the entire game, and managed to make a small run against the Panther reserves in the fourth quarter, but it was not nearly enough to get back in the game. Miranda finished with 12 points to lead North Wood, his second consecutive doublefigure output, and added three rebounds and three assists. Brant Nine dropped in

FRESHMEN NORTHWOOD 51, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 44 At Mentone NORTHWOOD (51): David Zeltwanger 0 1-2 1, Nick Anglemeyer 00-00, Mitch Anthony 0 2-2 2, Kyle Yoder 2 2-3 6, Brandon Menzie 30-0 6, John Sittler 10-0 2, Tony Miranda 5 34 13, Brant Nine 13-4 5, Cam Spitaels 5 5-8 16 TOTALS 17 1623 51 TIPPECANOE VALLEY (44): Caleb Rovenstine 10-0 2, Trent Swihart 0 0-0 0, Kameron Akers 4 1-2 9, Anthony Tolson 5 1-2 13, Matthew Richie 4 3-5 12, Sam Kimmel 10-0 2, Jordan Littlejohn 30-2 6 TOTALS 18 5-11 44 North Wood 13 24 34 51 Tippecanoe Valley 6 21 31 44 3-Point Goals: North Wood 1 (Spitaels), Tippecanoe Valley 3 (Tolson 2, Richie) NORTHWOOD 50, JIMTOWN 36 At Nappanee JIMTOWN (36): Tyler Smith 0 0-0 0, Richard Geraghty 5 0-0 10, Herman Pollard 2 0-0 5, Bret Giddings 00-00, Kyle'Coffman 0 0-0 0, Jordan Smith 5 3-4 15, Tyler Bryant 1 4-5 7, Jon Raderstorf 0 0-00 TOTALS 13 7-9 36 NORTHWOOD (50): David Zeltwanger 1 0-0 2, Nick Anglemeyer 0 0-0 0, Mitch Anthony 2 0-0 4, D.J. Prochno 1 0-0 2, Kyle Yoder 3 0-0 6, Brandon Menzie 3 0-0 6, John Sittler 2 12 5, Tony Miranda 6 0-0 12, Brant Nine 3 1-2 7, Cam Spitaels 2 0-0 4, Mike Bough 10-0 2, Mark Disher 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 24 2-4 50 Jimtown 6 11 16 36 North Wood 13 29 42 50 3-Point Goals: Jimtown 3 (Smith 2, Pollard), North Wood 0 NORTHWOOD 35, GOSHEN 34 At Goshen

Skyler King had five threes for 15 points, several of which appeared to have been launched from downtown Lagrange. Doug Bontrager and Kyle Witham added 12 points each for the Lakers. NORTHWOOD 47, GOSHEN 32 Titus scored 14 points, all in the second half, and Dustin Bussard added 12 points and seven assists to lead the Panthers to victory over the Redskins. The first half of the game was a monotonous affair in which Goshen appeared to borrow their playbook from Norman Dale's Hickory Huskers, endlessly passing the ball around the perimeter against North Wood's zone and rarely risking a shot attempt. The halftime score was just 16-12, with most fans settled firmly in their seats and hoping for an increase in the action. The second half was a little more lively thanks to Titus who poured in 10 points in the third quarter alone to give the Panthers a 36-27 lead going to the final period. North Wood then held Goshen to just five points in the last stanza (matching the first quarter when the Redskins also managed just five points), and sank five of seven free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Senior Nate Brown added seven points and three blocked shots for North Wood, while fellow seniors Kelly Adams and Zach Troyer chipped in six points each. Sophomore Ethan Hussey led the Redskins with 11 points, while junior Joshua Randall

seven points off the bench, Yoder and Menzie added six points each and Sittier scored five points and a had a "triple fourple" with four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Nick Anglemeyer also had four beautiful assists in the second half. The Panthers shot a blistering 62% from the field, with most of their shots coming from the paint. Jordan Smith led Jimtown with 15 points and Richard Geraghty contributed 10 in the loss. NORTHWOOD 35, GOSHEN 34 In a game that at times resembled Ultimate Fighting as much as basketball, the gritty Panthers overcame highly questionable officiating, as well as a Redskin squad who lived up to their name by hand-checking and slapping the Panther guards with impunity throughout the contest.

Advance News • Thursday, January 25, 2007

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DAT PHOTO Junior Aaron McDowell looks to pass in North Wood's win over Goshen.

added nine, all on threepointers. JV SUMMARY The junior varsity squad picked up two more victories to move to 9-4 on the season, defeating Lakeland 43-33 and Goshen 38-25. Sophomore Matt Troyer led the way against the Lakers, pouring in 17 points, including two threes. Dustin Eby tossed in eight points and Brandon Williams added seven in the Panther victory.

Despite the assaults, North Wood took a 20-11 lead into the locker room of the dimly-lit Goshen auxiliary gymnasium, thanks to six points from Menzie and five from Spitaels, while Logan Gray of Goshen tallied nine of his team's 11 points to keep the Redskins in it.. In the third quarter, the Panthers quickly expanded the margin to 28-14 but after Sittier and Nine each picked up their fourth fouls and were sent to the pine, the Redskins rallied to trail 30-21 going to the final stanza. The fourth quarter was a wild affair, with Goshen storming back to tie the score at 28 on some terrific outside shooting, and both teams then battling fiercely and exchanging baskets until North Wood finally had possession with less than 30 seconds to play and the score tied at 34. As the clock

NORTHWOOD (35): David Zeltwanger 0 0-0 0, Mitch Anthony 0 0-0 0, D.J. Prochno 1 0-0 2, Kyle Yoder 2 1-2 5, Brandon Menzie 4 2-2 10, John Sittler 1 1-2 3, Tony Miranda 3 0-0 6, Brant Nine 10-02, Cam Spitaels 2 2-2 7, Mike Bough 0 00 0 TOTALS 14 6-8 35 GOSHEN (34): Austin Neff 0 0-0 0, Taylor Short 1 0-0 3, Michael Ciesielski 10-0 3, Cleveland Harris 4 2-3 10, Timothy Wright 0 0-0 0, Logan Gray 4 5-5 11, lan Irizarry 0 0-0 0, Bryan Baer 21-2 5, Jeffrey Weirich 0 2-4 2 TOTALS 1110-14 34 North Wood 4 20 30 35 Goshen 2 11 21 34 3-Point Goals: North Wood 1 (Spitaels), Goshen 2 (Short, Ciesielski) SWIMMING AND DIVING Boys and Girls North Wood vs Bremen Final: North Wood: Boys 60; girls 45: Bremen: Boys 124; Girls 135 NLC Prelims Individual Highlights: Asha Holsopple, 4th place 100 Fly, 1:08.93; Leslie Eisenbeiss, 12th place 100 Fly, 1:11.38. Both are in the finals Team Highlights: Many personal bests Jan. 20 ; Girls NLC Finals Individual highlights Brittany Weave, diving, 11th place, 218.50; Asha Holsopple, 100 fly, ninth place, 1:08.34; Leslie Eisenbeiss, 100\fly, 12th place, 1:11.01

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Lakeland was led by Josh Avery with 15 points and Marcus James with 12. Against Goshen, Eby was the high-point man for North Wood, scoring a seasonhigh 18 points including 8 of 12 from the charity stripe. Williams added nine points and Troyer six on two more threes for the Panthers. Scott Landis had eight points including a three to pace the Redskins.

wound down, Miranda drove the lane and found Sittier underneath who was fouled in the act of shooting with six ticks left. Sittier missed the first of his charity tosses, and Goshen promptly called timeout in an attempt to ice the Panther point guard. With an unruly Goshen student section screaming for a miss, Sittier calmly drilled the second free throw and a lastsecond Goshen shot bounced twice on the rim before falling off to give the Panthers the win. Menzie led the balanced Panther attack with 10 points, while Spitaels, nursing a hamstring injury, added seven and Miranda chipped in six. Gray led the Redskins with 11 points and Cleveland Harris scored 10.