Kaden Gongwer goes on a fast break while teammate Luke Holland and Lakeland’s Kole Miller trail during last Saturday’s Sectional 21 championship game at The Pit in Nappanee. The Panthers now turn their attention the Marion Regional Saturday. (Photos by James Costello)

NAPPANEE — After cruising through the Sectional 21 field on their home floor, the road to a regional championship gets a lot steeper for NorthWood’s Panthers this weekend.

The Panthers pretty much dominated through three sectional games with an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points. They now find themselves up against a challenging Marion Regional field, with a host Giants squad rated 15th in the final AP rankings in the tournament-opener at 10 a.m. Saturday. Should they be fortunate enough to advance, either Angola or, more likely, No. 1-ranked New Castle waits in the championship at 8 p.m.

But the rise in the level of competition is just something that comes with the territory of advancing in the tournament. Besides, NorthWood (18-5) is playing really good basketball right now, with 10 straight wins as of last Saturday’s 52-33 sectional championship victory over Lakeland, and a streak like that is bound to give a team some confidence, regardless of who they’re up against.

“We are playing our best basketball towards the end of the season, and we’ve won some games in a row that is giving us confidence. We understand as you get deeper in the tournament, each game is going to be a greater challenge. So we’re looking forward to it,” said head coach Aaron Wolfe.

Regionals represent a unique stage of the state tournament as teams have to play — hopefully — two games in a single day. Three teams must be accounted for in coaches’ scouting reports, and the time to prepare specifically for the night game is limited. But if there’s a temptation to look beyond the morning game to the title match, it’s one that must be avoided if the Panthers want to survive their opener.

“Right now our 100 percent focus is on the Marion Giants,” said Wolfe. “Obviously we have coaches that are preparing for both Angola and New Castle, if we’re fortunate enough to win game one. But there is no game two unless you play exceptionally well in game one, so I know that has been the focus of our players and the majority of our coaching staff.”

Fortunately for NorthWood, the team has a cast of six seniors and a generally veteran group that can remember advancing to the regional championship game in 2016 when the Panthers lost by a narrow 66-62 margin to — who else — Marion. They’ll get another shot at the Giants come Saturday morning, as, after enjoying home court advantage throughout sectional, they find themselves on the other side of the coin against the hosts.

“I think we have a veteran basketball team that has been in this situation two years ago playing them in the regional championship on their home floor, and I think that helps us to draw from that experience. On the other hand, they have a younger team, and I think that probably bodes well for them just because they’re more comfortable,” Wolfe said. “It’s a unique situation, having to travel, staying all night, but I think that it’s a memorable experience for our players so we’ve always looked forward to it.”

NorthWood head coach Aaron Wolfe and the rest of the Panthers celebrate their win following the final buzzer in last Saturday’s sectional title match. They’re hoping to take the next step this weekend.

The Panthers are a team that can share the ball — seniors Caleb Lung, Brad Delio, DeAndre Smart, Caleb Glick and Luke Holland have all proven capable of lighting up the scoreboard on a given night, as have juniors Kaden Gongwer and Nick Bean. They can score outside or in, with Delio and Gongwer pouring it in from beyond the 3-point arc, Lung attacking from midrange, and Smart, Holland and Bean all able to score from the interior. They’ll be up against a team with some pretty good balance of its own in Marion (19-6).

The Giants enter Saturday’s regional with three players averaging double-digit production in junior Latrell Simpson, sophomore Jakylen Thomas and freshman Jalen Blackmon. Blackmon owns an impressive basketball pedigree, including father and Marion head coach James Sr., as well as brothers James Jr. and Vijay — a former standout and current player at IU, respectively. Jalen is the engine that makes the Giants go with better than 22 points and 3.3 assists per game, but NorthWood can’t simply focus all its efforts on him, either.

“Marion plays a very tough schedule, and it’s a storied program, which makes it challenging to play them on their home floor on Saturday. They are led by an elite freshman, Jalen Blackmon, who is averaging 22 points a game and plays lead guard for them,” said Wolfe. “He’s the best offensive player that we have played against all year and maybe the last two years. He’s very talented. He’s followed up by a sophomore guard, JK Thomas, who is averaging 17 points a game, and the combination of those two players makes them extremely difficult to guard.”

While the Panthers definitely aren’t looking past Marion and its 75.5 points per game, waiting in the wings will be either Angola (17-8) or top-ranked New Castle (25-2) should they emerge victorious from their opener.

Like the Giants, the Trojans are loaded with top-level talent, led by 6’6” junior Mason Gillis — who according to Wolfe is entertaining offers from Purdue, Xavier and Butler and is averaging a double-double of 21.1 points and 12.8 rebounds per game — in addition to another DI prospect in junior guard Luke Bumbalough, who owns 19.9 points and 5.7 assists an outing.

It’s an uphill climb for the Panthers this weekend, for sure, but they’re feeling good and ready to rise to the occasion.

“I think we’re healthy. I think it’s always exciting to win games in the postseason; obviously, it’s a confidence boost. Spirits are high, and we’ve had good, energetic practices this week,” said Wolfe.