Was it or was it not a continuation foul? NorthWood’s Cade Brenner is grabbed by Leo’s Ayden Ruble to stop Brenner’s progression to the basket in the final seconds of Leo’s 47-46 win at the New Castle Boys Basketball Regional final Saturday night. InkFreeNews photos by Mike Deak

Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

NEW CASTLE – Cade Brenner had just made the biggest shot of his prep career, and it was dramatic. Moments later, Brenner was holding his head in his hands in disgust after missing the final shot of a stunning 47-46 Leo win over NorthWood in the Class 3-A regional championship at New Castle.

With 6.2 seconds left in the game, Brenner was on his way to the ultimate glory, having dribbled the length of the court on a missed free throw by Xavier Middleton. As Brenner crossed half court, the lane opened up and he was beelining to the bucket, racing the clock to get the go-ahead bucket. Working to the three-point arc, Leo’s Ayden Ruble reached out and tugged Brenner’s jersey, but in the process, Brenner kept advancing to the basket and made a layup with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.

The play was whistled a foul by the trailing referee, and after some discussion, NorthWood was given the ball out of bounds under the Leo basket. The inbounds play from Ben Vincent to Brenner had Brenner hit the side of the hoop with his shot attempt, ending a heartbreaking final for the Panthers.

“What a hard-fought battle that our kids put on tonight to give themselves an opportunity to win the game at the end,” said NorthWood head coach Aaron Wolfe. “It was just a courageous effort. And I can’t say enough of how proud I am of this group and some of the trials and adversity that we’ve gone through to put themselves in a position with 1.3 seconds away from having a regional championship and advancing.”

Ben Vincent of NorthWood takes a shot over Leo’s Blake Davison.

NorthWood looked all but toast earlier in the fourth quarter, trailing by as much as 11 points with 6:10 to go. But NorthWood would end the game by scoring 14 of the last 18 points. The deciding point wound up being a backcut bucket by Middleton with 43 seconds left to put Leo up 47-43.

Brenner and Wiens hit three-pointers in that final stretch, Brenner’s hit with 10.6 seconds left from the corner on a double team to make a one-point game.

“I think Cade Brenner is a warrior and he was giving us everything he had,” offered Wolfe. “But anytime you play a doubleheader in a day, we were trying to find him rest when we could. The last shot he made was tremendous and then had an opportunity to win the game at the end.”

After torching NorthWood inside in the first half, the sizable duo of DJ Allen and Zack Troyer were quiet in the second half. But the two still combined for 27 points and 11 rebounds, Allen connecting on a key bucket to open the fourth quarter to put NorthWood down by double digits.

Middleton added seven points for the Lions (23-4), which advance to the semi-state to take on South Bend St. Joe, which knocked off top-ranked Hammond in overtime.

NorthWood (16-9) had Jamarr Jackson pace the team with 11 points and Brenner had end with 10 points, three assists and a pair of rebounds. Brenner had torched New Castle for 27 points in the morning game.

Vincent’s career ended in admirable style, recording eight points, four assists and three rebounds.

Welling up, coach Wolfe offered on Vincent, “I’m so proud of Ben and his competitive spirit, his leadership, his commitment to our basketball program and our players. What a responsibility this year, and to lead his team one second away from a regional championship is pretty special.”

Alea Minnich and her NorthWood gang did not agree.