By Greg Keim
The NorthWood Panthers regained the momentum in regulation, but lost it in overtime and dropped a 67-63 high school boys basketball thriller Tuesday night at Mishawaka Marian.
NorthWood rallied from a 13-point deficit in the third period and from a seven-point shortfall with 2:51 left in regulation.
Marian regained the edge in the extra session when 5-10 freshman Demetrius Jackson tipped in a teammate’s missed shot with :33 left, making the score 65-63.
“The difference was Marian had the momentum in overtime,” NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said. “We had finished the fourth quarter strongly and were looking to carry that over. You have to give Marian credit for a nice rebound basket.”
The Marian Knights then iced the game as 5-7 sophomore Coley Schultheis converted two free throws at :12.
“The difference was we were playing disciplined basketball,” Marian coach Tim Barwick said. “In the third quarter when NorthWood rallied we were not playing that way. Everyone was trying to make a steal or score. Had we continued to play with discipline in the third we might not have went to overtime.”
NorthWood (5-8) returns to Northern Lakes Conference action on Friday by hosting Warsaw. Marian is 6-8.
NorthWood was led in scoring by 5-9 junior Michael Paul with a game-high 25 points.
He netted 11 points in the fourth period, including a freebie at :27 that tied the score 61-61 and eventually forced the overtime.
“Paul stepped things up in the second half,” Wolfe said. ‘He hit some big shots for us, which is what we need from him.”
Schultheis drilled 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for the Knights in the third period and stretched the lead to 39-26 with 5:42 left in the quarter.
NorthWood went on to outscore Marian 14-5 over the rest of the stanza and trailed 55-43 entering the fourth.
Paul started the comeback with a trey at 5:25 and 5-11 junior Kyle Heckaman added one at 4:33 and the Panthers were down 39-32.
NorthWood trailed 44-38 with 2:08 left in the period before 5-11 sophomore Zac Coleman’s basket at 1:18 and Heckaman’s ‘3’ at :04 made it 44-43 entering the fourth.
Six-four junior Cameron Williams tossed in nine points for the Panthers. He spent a lot of time on the bench in the first half after picking up his second personal.
“Williams like a lot of our players were in foul trouble most of the night,” Wolfe said. “So you have to give our kids credit for battling back from a 13-point deficit like they did.”
Barwick said, “We had three big guys to guard Williams. Each one of them has a different style and that can be very frustrating to a player.”
Coleman also had nine points for NorthWood and 5-10 senior David Zeltwanger chipped in with eight.
Schultheis finished with 17 points, Jackson 15 and 6-1 sophomore Robert Mischler 10 for the Knights.
Jackson has really quick hands and he was responsible for forcing several of the 17 turnovers NorthWood committed.
“Jackson didn’t have a good night on offense,” Barwick said. “NorthWood’s defense didn’t let him attack the basket the way he has been.”
NorthWood was a 32-31 JV winner. Junior Brandon Snodgrass scored 10 points, sophomore Nate Wagner six and sophomore Coy Brown five for the winners. Freshman Vince Ravotto had 12 points and Kyle Luczkowski nine for Marian.
The Marian JV is coached by 1975 Goshen High School graduate Ed Stacker.
