By Adam Yoder
InkFreeNews

NAPPANEE – The NorthWood boys basketball squad pulled off an amazing comeback late in regulation in The Pit Thursday night. In the end, though, the visiting Concord Minutemen won their fifth straight game to hold off the Panthers, 72-67, in overtime.

Jamarr Jackson of NorthWood puts up a shot in Concord traffic Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Dale Tobias

Per usual, NorthWood head coach Aaron Wolfe was quick to praise the Panthers’ opponent. “Concord’s players and coaches deserve a lot of praise for how they’ve been playing. That’s an improving basketball team and it showed tonight.”

The first three quarters were a typical back and forth NLC tilt. Concord head coach Derrick DeShone’s squad’s improved play recently was coupled with some excellent shooting throughout the first three quarters that saw neither team lead by more than four points at each of the breaks.

Slowly, however, the Minutemen began to creep out of the Panthers reach when late in the fourth quarter, Concord’s Jack D’Arcy made one of two free throws to take a 59-53 lead with just under 30 seconds left.

Or so it seemed.

An Ian Raasch bucket with sixteen seconds left pushed his game total to 14, and after a Cade Brenner three-pointer after a Minutemen turnover, the had Panthers cut the lead to one with 7.5 seconds left.

The ensuing Panther foul led to Gavin Smith’s two free throws that pushed the lead back to three.

Brenner took center stage and hit an insane step back three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Brenner totaled 26 points on the night, including the two three-pointers in the last ten seconds of regulation to go with six more the overtime.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, there would be no such heroics in the overtime period. The Minutemen would go seven-for-seven in the extra frame to hold the Panthers at bay.

As his for his squad, now 9-5 overall and 3-3 in the NLC, Wolfe’s focus is on the big picture right now as the sectional looms in a few week’s time.

“We have to keep building consistency on both ends of the floor down the stretch, especially in how we score the basketball. We’re battling, but we must keep improving,” offered Wolfe.

Payton Fish led the Minutemen (7-6, 4-1 NLC) with 21 points, including 18 in the second half.

Senior guard Ben Vincent chipped in ten points on his senior night for the Panthers.

Senior student manager Kyle Cripe, the senior cheerleaders, and the senior student trainers were also honored in The Pit Thursday night.

Concord was victorious in the JV game, 36-35.

The Panthers get the weekend off before they hit the road next week for a tough Tuesday-Friday-Saturday stretch that includes games at West Noble, Mishawaka and South Bend Saint Joseph’s.