NorthWood star guard Vinny Miranda fires a jumper over Arnold Johnson of South Bend Clay Friday night. Miranda went over 1,000 career points as the Panthers won 65-53 in the title game of the Dan Gunn Classic.
NAPPANEE – Vinny Miranda said how “blessed” he was Friday night to be able to reach a milestone moment in front of family, friends and fans on his homecourt.
NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe knows how blessed his program has been to have the star guard in it.
During a season known for blessings, the Panthers had plenty of those to be thankful for on this evening.
Miranda, the star senior guard for the Panthers, became just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points Friday night.
Miranda hit a free throw late in the game to reach the scoring milestone as Class 3-A No. 1 NorthWood beat South Bend Clay 65-53 in the championship game of the Dan Gunn Holiday Classic.
Miranda, a six-foot package of skill, smarts and toughness, scored a game-high 24 points on the evening as the Panthers improved to 8-0. NorthWood is just one of eight boys teams in the state still undefeated.
“It’s a great accomplishment to score 1,000 points, but we generally don’t measure the greatness of our guards by their points,” said coach Wolfe. “We measure guards by their wins. In that regard, Vinny has been spectacular the last four years for us.
“Vincent is a combination of skill, mental toughness and competitive spirit. Those qualities allow him to be special in big games. We have been fortunate that he has played his best when we have needed him the most.”
Miranda, who has helped the Panthers post an incredible 76-9 record with three sectional championships so far in his brilliant prep career, was congratulated by his teammates and the game was stopped so that the home crowd could acknowledge him when he reached the coveted scoring mark with 1:58 to play in the game.
“I’m just very blessed to be able to do it in front of this great community, our fans and my family and friends,” remarked Miranda, who now has 1,001 career points. “It feels good to do it on my homecourt.
Luke Zurcher had an outstanding game with 19 points.
“Our team is just so unselfish and I’ve been so fortunate to play with so many great teammates. The scoring thing is important, but winning games is very important to me. We have had a lot of guys here, including myself, who hate to lose more than we even like to win. The success of our team is the main thing.”
NorthWood never trailed in taking care of the Colonials. The hosts first five field goals of the game were from 3-point range as they built a 17-10 lead after the opening quarter. Miranda and senior Luke Zurcher, who also had an outstanding performance, each drained a pair of triples in the first period.
Clay, which drops to 4-4, rallied to pull within 18-17 three minutes into the second stanza, Wolfe smartly took a timeout and his team closed the half with a 9-0 run to lead 27-17 at intermission. The Panthers put the game away with an 11-0 run to open the second half to balloon their lead to 38-17 before the Colonials finally scored their first points after a 6:15 drought. NorthWood outscored Clay 16-6 in the pivotal third frame.
“We were able to break it open there in the third quarter,” said Miranda, one of three senior starters for the Panthers. “We’ve had a couple of games this year where we were up 10 and let teams back in it. We were aggressive in the third quarter and buried them. We pride ourself on the defensive end and we stepped it up there in that stretch.”
Miranda, who is averaging almost 21 points-per-game, is in his third year as a starter and led his team in scoring last season as the Panthers went 24-3 and lost to eventual state champion Marion in a regional final game.
Wolfe saw his team hit 10-20 shots in the second half, while Clay was just 11-29. The Panthers were also 19-22 from the free throw line as Miranda went 9-10 to lead the way.
“Tonight we needed to defend and rebound and our guys stepped up to the challenge in both of those areas,” said Wolfe. “We were able in the third quarter to move the ball better, settle down and attack the basket. That led to good shots for us and we were fortunate that they missed some shots in that stretch.”
Trey Biilinski looks to pass the ball.
Zurcher tallied 19 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. The 6-3 forward was 4-4 from the line and also had five rebounds in an excellent effort.
Junior Caleb Lung scored 11 points and junior Brad Delio six for the champions, who hit 8-15 from distance. Miranda also had six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Senior Trey Bilinski had two points and five rebounds for the Panthers. De’Andre Smart had two points and Jared Hoffman one for NorthWood.
Miranda joins a select fraternity of 1,000-point scorers at NorthWood. Ryne Lightfoot, a 2006 graduate, tops the list with 1,673 points. The 1,000-point club also includes Andy Hirschy, Skyler Titus, Todd Grove, Zach Zurcher, Jonathan Wilkinson, Ryan Bradley and Todd Sheets.
Guard Tysean Sheppard, one of 11 seniors for Clay, led the Colonials with 19 points. He was just 6-22 from the field and was scoreless in both the first and third quarters. Dylan Underwood had 14 points and David Allen 12 for Clay, which was 6-22 from 3-point range.
Clay, which had won its last two games prior to Friday night, is coached by Delray Brooks. The second-year Colonial coach was Co-Mr. Basketball in 1984 (with Troy Lewis) after scoring 2,324 points at Michigan City Rogers High School. Brooks went on to play at Indiana University and then on a Final Four team at Providence in 1987 coached by Rick Pitino.
Mishawaka defeated Edwardsburg 54-51 in the consolation game Friday night.
NorthWood hosts Wawasee in a Northern Lakes Conference game Friday night. Clay plays at South Bend St. Joseph on Jan. 12.
Vinny Miranda eyes the free throw Friday night that was his 1,000th career point.
Vinny Miranda is congratulated by De’Andre Smart after scoring his 1,000th career point.