NorthWood holds off Elkhart 43-36 in Panther Pit home finale

NorthWood survived a late collapse and held off Elkhart 43-36 at the Panther Pit Friday to finish its regular-season finale and improve to 13-11. With a 43-36 win, the hosts return to the win column and enter the postseason with momentum.

A second quarter 20-point lead followed up by a near 11-minute scoring drought is a funky mixture that NorthWood used to win its regular season finale. The Panthers built the big cushion in the second quarter, then weathered the prolonged scoring lull before regrouping late in the second half.

Brogan Ferrell provided one of the key plays in NorthWood’s recovery. Brogan Ferrell scored on second-chance possessions that began with Caleb Vincent misfiring on a three followed by Mason Pearson soaring for the rebound and feeding it to Ferrell underneath for the score. Entering the final eight-minute period, the Panthers clung to a 32-25 lead and closed out the game while converting at the line; they were 8-of-11 at the line.

Elkhart kept pressure on in the second half and refused to quit, characterized in the box as a feisty Elkhart (11-11) team that never quit despite being put into a large hole on the road early. NorthWood’s head coach Wolfe pointed to the program’s style and composure after the game: “I think every team’s got an identity and I think our identity this year has been that we’re going to play every possession and that usually they’re going to be closer contested games,” Wolfe said. “Our guys have shown great poise in those games. I think they fully understand that at the beginning of the game is probably not a great time to be ahead; we’re trying to be ahead at the end. They do a nice job right now of staying poised when other teams make runs.” Wolfe added a frank assessment of the shooting and the opponent’s adjustment: “I think the shots we made in the first half we did not make in the second.” Wolfe said. “I would have to go back and look on film. I was pretty happy with the threes we took. I thought our guys did a nice job. Give Elkhart credit, they defensive rebounded really well in the second half.”

The win extended NorthWood’s dominance since Elkhart consolidated; NorthWood is now an unblemished 6-0 in the series. Previous 6 Games: 02/27/26 - Home | 43-36 W; 02/28/25 - Away | 55-20 W; 02/23/24 - Home | 52-40 W; 02/24/23 - Away | 61-30 W; 02/25/22 - Home | 56-38 W; 02/26/21 - Away | 56-51 W. NorthWood's found some homefield redemption this week after a overtime loss to Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian on Friday. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Lions: they've now won six in a row. NorthWood's win bumped their record up to 13-11. As for Elkhart, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-11.

NorthWood will take its 13-11 mark and the late-game resilience into postseason play; Elkhart finishes the regular season 11-11 after the road loss and will look to regroup heading into its postseason schedule.