Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 4, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 28 January 2016 — Page 3

Panthers top Goshen for 10th straight victory

By Steve Sittler Correspondent GOSHEN The class 3A third-ranked North Wood Panthers rode a 23-14 fourth quarter blitz to down the gritty Goshen Redhawks 69-55 in a hard-fought Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) game. The win was the 10th straight for the Panthers, setting up a showdown in the Pit on Jan. 29 against unbeaten Warsaw, in a 'game that will in all likelihood decide the Northern Lakes Conference title. North Wood 69, Goshen 55 Although the noble wooden Indian has departed from the premises following Goshen's controversial mascot change from Redskins to Redhawks, it didn't change the feistiness of the Goshen basketball team, as they came out aggressively in the first period, led by their stellar senior backcourt of Cam Kline and Brady Bechtel. Frenetic play on both ends was a hallmark of the opening period, with North Wood's DK Fox and Trey Bilinski combining for 12 points to counter Kline's and Bechtel's eight. An offensive rebound basket by Fox at the buzzer finally tied the score at 19-all after eight minutes. Of greater concern was foul trouble for Panther standout Vinny Miranda, who went to the pine with two fouls with a minute to play in the opening period and remained seated for the rest of the half. The game continued to be an up-and-down, back-and-forth affair throughout the second period with neither team able to secure a significant advantage. Luke Zurcher came alive with five points for North Wood in the quarter, while Goshen used a balanced attack and a wild buzzer-beating shot by Mitchell Walters to stay within four points at 31-27. In the third period, the Redhawks opened in a zone and Miranda, returning from his self-imposed exile, took advantage pouring in nine points including a three and an ankle-brealang driving runner in the final seconds to push the Panthers to a 46-41 lead with eight minutes to play. North Wood did most of their damage without Fox, who took a seat with 4:19 left in the period thanks to his third foul, but sophomore Caleb Lung filled in ably in his place, grabbing a key offensive rebound and putting it back for a basket. Fox returned briefly at the start of the fourth quarter but after quickly picking up his fourth foul, departed again in favor of Lung. The talented sophomore promptly grabbed yet another offensive rebound and put it back while being fouled, converting the old-fashioned three-point play to give North Wood their largest lead of the night at 55-45 with four minutes remaining. The Redhawks refused to go quietly as Kline and Walters each knocked down a 3, but their attempts to foul proved futile as the Panthers nailed 11 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. After the slow start, Miranda finished with 15 points to lead North Wood, followed by 13 from Zurcher, 12 from Fox (who also added 10 rebounds) and 11 from Bilinski. Braxton Linville just missed being the fifth Panther in double figures with nine points and also contributed six rebounds and four assists, while Lung was stellar off the bench with six points and four boards. Goshen was paced by 17 points from See Panthers, Page A 6

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DAT photo North Wood senior Arika Flickinger soars to the hoop for two of her team-high eight points against Tippecanoe Valley.

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DAT photo Panther forward Trey Bilinski powers to the hoop for two of his 11 points in North Wood's 69-55 win at Goshen.

Black Swish upset bid falls short

By Steve Sutler Correspondent NAPPANEE Despite a ferocious team-wide defensive effort, the North Wood girls basketball "Black Swish" could not overcome the one-two punch of Tippecanoe Valley's Hannah Dunn and Anne Secrest who combined for 33 points to lead the Class 3A, No. 5-ranked Vikings to a 43-28 win over the Panthers. North Wood held the highscoring Vikings nearly 20 points below their offensive average, but poor field goal shooting and a bevy of turnovers eventually undid the Black Swish upset bid, as North Wood dropped to 13-8 on the season with just three games remaining before the sectional The Vikings came out strong from the opening tip, scoring the first six points before a steal and length-of-the court drive by North Wood senior guard Arika Flickinger stopped the bleeding. A full-court

Advance News * Thursday, January 28, 2016

press by Valley forced five Panther turnovers in the period, and six points from Secrest boosted the Vikings to a 10-3 lead after one quarter of play. North Wood then picked up their defensive intensity in the second stanza, battling the Vikings to a 7-7 He in the quarter, but after shooting just 4-of-18 from the field in the first half, went to the locker room trailing 17-10 with no player posting more than a single basket. In the third quarter, the Panther defense got even sHffer, forcing several Valley turnovers and allowing North Wood to rally behind steady senior Andrea Tuttle and _ fiery junior guard Taitlyn Trenshaw. With 1:21 left in the period, the Black Swish pulled within a basket at 23-21 after a steal and bucket by Trenshaw, forcing a Hmeout by frustrated Viking head coach Chris Kindig. The break worked out marvelously for the visitors, as they scored

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two quick buckets to close out the period with a 27-21 advantage. The Vikings then put the game out of reach with a 5-0 run to start the period, and did not allow North Wood to score another basket the rest of the evening, limihng the Panthers to just seven free throws in the final nineplus minutes of play. Secrest and Dunn combined for 11 points in the final stanza, sealing the win for Valley and improving their record to a sparkling 18-1 on the year. The leading scorer for the Black Swish was Flickinger, who tallied eight points and also picked up four steals. Tuttle added seven points and Trenshaw contributed four points, four steals, and three assists. Secrest paced Valley with 17 points while Dunn added 16 as the junior post players tallied all but 10 of their teams' points. JV UPDATE The Black Swish JV team See Swish, Page A 6