NorthWood’s Nick Bean focuses on defense Thursday night versus Westview. The undefeated Warriors edged the Panthers 61-55 in a clash of ranked teams in Topeka.

TOPEKA – It’s hard to guard the free throw line.

That message rang loud and true for the NorthWood boys basketball team Thursday night.

Host Westview made the charity stripe the place to be in downing the Panthers 61-55 in a matchup of two undefeated and ranked foes.

Charity definitely began at home for the Class 2-A No. 4 ranked Warriors as they outscored NorthWood 18-4 from the line to pick up a tough victory.

The Panthers, ranked No. 3 in Class 3-A, were whistled for 21 fouls to just nine for the host Warriors. Westview drained18-23 from the stripe, while the Panthers were just 4-5.

Westview star sophomore Charlie Yoder poured in 29 points as the Warriors improved to 4-0. The crafty 6-4 guard, who was coming off a 35-point performance in a win over Churubusco last Friday, hit 9-10 from the free throw line.

NorthWood, despite the disparity from the 15-foot line, trailed just 46-45 after junior Nick Bean nailed a trey with 3:32 to play. The Warriors used a 6-0 run, keyed by a huge triple by senior Jeremiah Hostetler to take control for good. Hostetler came up huge in the final period as he scored all seven of his points.

The Panthers, who fall to 3-1, never led in the contest. The game was tied just once at 2-2 as NorthWood had to try and play catch up the entire 32 minutes.

Caleb Glick prepares to make a move.

NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe definitely took the high road when asked about the difference in free throws.

“Give them credit,” said Wolfe of the Warriors. “They did a nice job getting fouled. That’s an area that we can improve on. Yoder is long and does a nice job being patient in the basket area. He’s a crafty basketball player.”

Westview raced to a 17-10 lead after the opening period as Yoder netted a quick nine points. The hosts led by as many as 10 in the second stanza at 23-13. The Panthers came back to cut the deficit to 29-24 at halftime. Yoder scored 19 in the opening half.

“They did a nice job starting the game by taking control,” Wolfe said of Westview. “We were chasing the whole game. I thought that our guys did a great job battling back.”

NorthWood got within a single point at 29-28 on a layup by senior DeAndre Smart in the third period. Yoder answered with a huge conventional 3-point play inside to keep his team in the lead. The Warriors led 39-34 at the end of the third quarter.

The Panthers, who beat Westview 60-57 last season, battled in the final frame but it was just not enough. Westview hit nine free throws in the final period and came up with several key offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said Wolfe. “They battled back and gave us a chance to win the game late. We just needed a few more rebounds there late in the game.

“This gives us an opportunity to improve and grow as a team from this. All close games are 32 minute games. We just need to continue to grow our habits and become more consistent throughout the entire game.”

Brad Delio led the Panthers with 12 points. Bean and Kaden Gongwer each netted 11 points and Smart 10. Caleb Lung had seven and Luke Holland four.

NorthWood shot 23-44 from the field for the game, including 5-15 from distance. The Panthers were out rebounded 20-12.

Yoder tossed in 29 points and junior Elijah Hales added 12 for the Warriors, who were averaging 78 points per game through their first three games.

NorthWood won the junior varsity game 42-27. Ben Vincent scored 13 points and Brock Flickinger seven to power the winners. Drew Litwiller led Westview with 12 points.

NorthWood hosts Fairfield and Westview plays at Central Noble Saturday night.

Brad Delio led NorthWood with 12 points.