Warsaw’s Jake Mangas goes up over Will Stueve of NorthWood Friday night.

NAPPANEE – Silver linings in a loss?

There were plenty of those for Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle to find Friday night.

Ogle’s shorthanded squad went toe-to-toe with one of the area’s top teams before coming up just short in a 54-47 defeat at NorthWood in a key Northern Lakes Conference contest.

The Panthers, ranked No. 8 in Class 3-A, got a premier performance from one of the area’s premier players in Zach Zurcher to hold off the Tigers.

Zurcher, a  6-5 senior, poured in a game-high 22 points and hit an efficient 8-12 from the field in leading an outstanding shooting night by the Panthers.

NorthWood shot 20-32 from the field in running its season mark to 12-1 overall and 4-1 in NLC action. The Panthers lone blemish was a 54-52 loss to NLC frontrunner Northridge.

The Raiders improved to a league-leading 5-0 with an NLC win at Plymouth Friday night. NorthWood is in second in the league standings at 4-1, followed by Concord (3-1), Elkhart Memorial (3-2), Warsaw (2-2), Goshen (1-4), Plymouth (0-4) and Wawasee (0-4).

Concord defeated Wawasee and Goshen topped Elkhart Memorial in other NLC games Friday night.

The duo of senior Jordan Stookey and junior Jake Mangas were outstanding for Warsaw. Stookey scored 16 points and Mangas added 16 for the Tigers, who fall to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the NLC.

Warsaw was playing for the first time since a 49-44 home loss to Fort Wayne Snider back on Jan. 18. The Tigers were also without standout junior Rashaan Jackson, the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.9 points-per-game, and junior Nick Sands, who had not played yet this season due to an injury. The pair were suspended earlier this week for violating the school’s athletic code. Ogle confirmed that both are likely out for 10 games.

Jordan Stookey led the Tigers with 16 points at NorthWood Friday night in NLC action.

There were plenty of things for Ogle to like after seeing a strong effort and performance from his game squad.

“I was proud of our players and how they competed tonight,” said Ogle. “They kept playing and the combination of Stookey and Mangas were very good for us.

“I told our guys that this is a starting point for us. This is the group we’re going to have the rest of the season. We’re not going to win the NLC now, but we have six regular-season games to get ready for the sectional. We have to be patient, but I’m encouraged by what I saw tonight.

“NorthWood is really good. They have a lot of offensive firepower. Zurcher is a player.”

The Tigers trailed by as many as 12 in the final frame before Stookey and Mangas led a rally. A Mangas bucket cut the Panther lead to 50-47 with 1:21 to play. NorthWood then got a key timeout with 58.2 seconds to play just before a held ball was called. Zurcher then made a huge play to tap out a long rebound off a missed free attempt by teammate Will Stueve with 44.7 seconds left.

The Panthers then iced the win as senior Jonathan Wilkinson hit a basket with 33 seconds to play and sophomore Braxton Linville hit two free throws with 21.8 ticks left on the clock after a Tiger turnover.

“Our guys battled through some adversity and we caught some breaks late in the game,” said NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe. “Zach played very well. He’s a senior and I thought he gave us great senior leadership in the first half.

“We wanted to establish ourselves around the basket early in the game and our guys finished plays. One of the strengths of our team is our balance and our unselfishness. Our guys were solid tonight.”

Tim Swanson protects the ball from a Panther defender Friday night.

Warsaw, which beat the Panthers 67-51 last season, bolted to a quick 8-3 lead Friday night. NorthWood responded with an 11-1 run to take control. The Panthers then outscored the Tigers 12-4 in the second quarter to lead 29-16 at halftime. Zurcher had 10 points in the opening period.

The Tigers were able to slice the NorthWood lead to 41-33 after the third period. Mangas and Stookey each scored four points as Warsaw outscored the hosts 17-12 in the quarter. The Panthers bumped the lead to 45-33 early in the final stanza before the Tigers rally came up just short.

Junior Tim Swanson scored seven points and senior Nate Pearl six for the Tigers. Sophomore Paul Marandet had three points and senior Moses Marandet two.

Wilkinson, a 6-5 senior, had 14 points on 5-7 shooting for NorthWood. Linville had a strong floor game with six points and eight assists for the Panthers.

NorthWood won the junior varsity contest by a 53-38 count. Vincent Miranda had 14 points and Chad Sellers 11 for the Panthers. Kyle Mangas netted 12 points and Lucas Cone eight to pace Warsaw.

Warsaw plays at NLC foe Concord and NorthWood hosts West Noble Tuesday night.

Sophomore Paul Marandet of the Tigers drives past NorthWood’s Braxton Linville.