PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: NorthWood dispatches Westview after slow start

Dec. 9—NAPPANEE — Things didn't start out as expected for the NorthWood Panthers at The Pit Thursday night.

Facing an undersized Westview, the Panthers were pestered by a scrappy Warriors group that come out ready to play.

However, after falling behind 11-3 and going scoreless for nearly five and-a-half minutes in the first quarter, NorthWood began to use its size and physicality to its advantage.

The Panthers would go on a 24-5 run to bring an 11-point lead into the locker room before eventually putting the game away in the second half, winning 59-31 on their home floor over the Warriors.

"Westview did a good job of running their offense and hitting timely shots early," NorthWood head coach Aaron Wolfe said. "And defensively, they were really scrappy. ... I thought they started very strong.

"I think it took us a while to kind of crack the code (offensively), and I thought our guys did a much better job of attacking as the game went on. And eventually, we were able to find some areas that we could exploit."

NorthWood (4-1) started the contest with a big shot following a '3' from junior Ethan Wolfe on the team's first offensive possession. From there, though, the Panthers would be held scoreless for the next 5:30 of game time.

Westview (2-2) played an opportunistic style of defense early, causing some turnovers and not allowing NorthWood to get second opportunities at the basket.

While the Panthers struggled to score offensively, the Warriors went on an 11-0 run on the other end behind five points from senior Brady Yoder, three points from junior Wiley Minix and three points from senior Jethro Hostetler.

"We showed up ready to play, and that's as much as you can ask for on the road," Westview head coach Chandler Prible said. "We kind of wanted to throw that first punch, and I thought we did a good job doing that."

NorthWood eventually stopped the bleeding, scoring with 2:15 to go in the opening quarter after a basket from senior JJ Payne in the post.

From there, the Panthers went on an 11-0 run of their own, taking a 14-11 advantage following a bucket at the rim by sophomore Tyler Raasch with 6:40 left in the second quarter.

Westview stayed engaged over the following three minutes of play, tying the game at 16 behind a three-pointer by Yoder with four minutes to go before half.

Unfortunately for Prible and his group, NorthWood's size eventually wore down the Warriors from that point on.

NorthWood buckled down defensively and began playing inside-out on the offensive side of the ball.

The Panthers would build a 27-16 lead at halftime on an 11-0 run during the final four minutes of the first half, with Brenner was responsible for eight of those points.

"When we have to fight that hard defensively because they can just throw the ball into the post, it can take a little fire out of you," Prible said. "It's hard for guys like Wiley Minix to have to fight so hard on the defensive end before running off screens on the other end for 32 minutes. That's just a tough deal."

In the third quarter, the Panthers got off to a fast start and left little doubt about how the contest would end.

NorthWood opened the second half with a 12-2 run — powered by eight points from senior Brock Bontrager — to grow its lead to 39-18 midway through the third.

That lead would only continue to swell as the end of the game drew closer, with the Panthers outscoring the Warriors 20-13 the rest of the way to win by 28.

"I thought we had a really great third quarter," said Aaron Wolfe of his team after outscoring Westview 17-7 in the third. "We started passing the ball much better during that time, and we started finishing more plays."

The Panthers were led by Brenner, who finished with 16 points. Senior Ian Raasch had 11 points and seven rebounds, while his brother Tyler Raasch finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"Ian Raasch was really good (Thursday)," Aaron Wolfe said. "He's becoming more disciplined and played well defensively against Brady Yoder. His play against Yoder really helped us start to extend Westview's offensive possessions (in the second half)."

Westview was led by Yoder, who finished with 12 points. Minix had six points and junior Wade Springer added five.

Both teams are back in action Saturday, as NorthWood plays at Fairfield, while Westview hosts Central Noble.

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.