Panther power! No. 1 NorthWood wins first IHSAA boys basketball title in program history

INDIANAPOLIS — What first appeared could be a cakewalk, turned into a thriller.

Regardless, it ended with NorthWood claiming the Class 3-A state championship.

Cade Brenner scored a game-high 28 points (23 in the first half) to help the No. 1-ranked Panthers hold off a valiant Guerin Catholic comeback to score a 66-63 overtime victory Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Coach Aaron Wolfe’s Panthers scored the first 10 points of the game, held an 18-4 lead late in the first quarter and still had as much as an 11-point lead with six minutes remaining in regulation time.

Yet, the Golden Eagles didn’t fold, fought back to force overtime and even had a shot to tie or win in the final seconds of overtime before the Panthers defense came up with a play to secure the title.

“It’s a shame someone had to lose this game,” Wolfe said. “Guerin Catholic made play after play and we were fortunate to make one more play than they did.”

Early on, it didn’t appear that would be the case.

3A state preview: Confident NorthWood knows challenge ahead playing Guerin Catholic

The Panthers (28-2) came out hot, especially Brenner. The 6-3 senior hit the first eight points of the game as NorthWood canned 8-of-12 shots in that first quarter.

NorthWood, in fact, built an 18-4 lead as the quarter wound down and had the ball in the final half-minute for the final shot. The Panthers, however, turned the ball over and Guerin (20-9) completed a three-point play to stem the tide.

The unranked Golden Eagles pulled within 35-27 at halftime and hung around into the fourth quarter.

Still, NorthWood appeared in control, especially after Ian Raasch hit two free throws with 6:01 left for a 48-37 advantage.

It wouldn’t be so easy for the Panthers, however. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kamea Chandler and Jack Cherry followed by a Ty Sanders lay-up allowed Guerin to cut the lead to 48-45. The Panthers moved back out to a 52-47 lead before Chandler converted two straight lay-ups — the second of which resulted in a three-point play to tie the game at 52-52 with 1:39 left.

NorthWood possessed the ball the rest of the quarter, with Raasch missing a shot with 22 seconds left, rebounding the miss then working the ball to Brenner for a final shot, which failed.

Brenner, meanwhile, didn’t score a point in the second half, missing all seven shots from the floor. He played all 36 minutes of the contest.

Guerin took possession in overtime and took its first and only lead of the game after a free throw by Dylan Murans.

NorthWood, however, gathered itself and scored seven straight points and never trailed again. The contest wasn’t sealed until the Golden Eagles (who had pulled within 65-63) committed a turnover with :02 left.

The overtime occurred while college coaches Mike Woodson (Indiana), John Calipari (Kentucky), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Bruce Pearl (Auburn) and Michigan’s Juwan Howard (among others) were alternately making their way to courtside seats to take in the upcoming 4A game, which featured top-ranked Indianapolis Ben Davis against No. 5 Kokomo.

“It was an incredible game to be a part of,” Wolfe said. “We would have loved to win going away or at least in regulation, but credit Guerin Catholic.”

“Our effort in the second half is what this team has been about all year,” Guerin coach Bobby Allen said. “The fight they showed gave us an opportunity to win it and NorthWood just made one more play than we did.”

Tyler Raasch, a sophomore, finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the winners, while Ian Raasch (who won the Trester Mental Attitude Award) had 13 points.

Chandler led Guerin with 22 points and Cherry netted 15.

The state title is the fourth for the NorthWood athletic program — joining two in girls basketball (1999 and 2020) and in football (2005).

“It’s really difficult to win your last game,” Wolfe said. “When you look at the journey we’ve had, it didn’t start this year, but now is the first time we can celebrate at the end of a season.”

NorthWood — Ethan Wolfe 3-5 0-0 9, Ian Raasch 4-8 5-6 13, Cade Brenner 9-20 5-6 28, Tyler Raasch 6-11 2-3 14, Brock Bontrager 1-5 0-0 2, JJ Payne 0-0 0-0 0, Keegin Stats 0-0 0-0 0. Team: 23-49 12-15 66.

Guerin Catholic — Jack Cherry 4-6 5-5 15, Robert Sorensen 2-9 4-4 8, Kamea Chandler 9-17 3-3 22, Dylan Murans 1-7 4-5 6, Bryson Cardinal 0-1 0-0 0, Lucas Parker 2-5 0-0 5, Ty Sanders 3-4 1-2 7, Kyle Shadoan 0-0 0-0 0. Team: 21-49 17-19 63.

3-pointers: NorthWood 8-18 (Brenner 5, Wolfe 3); Guerin Catholic 4-17 (Cherry 2, Chandler, Parker).

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA 3A boys basketball state title: NorthWood downs Guerin Catholic