HARTFORD CITY – A record-setting season came to a tough ending for the NorthWood boys basketball team Saturday night.

Fort Wayne Dwenger’s Marcus Stepp drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift his team past the Panthers 43-40 in the championship game of the Class 3-A Blackford Regional.

Dwenger, which won the regional title for the second straight year, advances to play Griffith (18-3) in the Class 3-A North Semi State at Huntington North next Saturday at 4 p.m. The Saints are now 14-13 on the season.

NorthWood finishes at 23-3, setting a program record for most wins in a season.

The Panthers rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final quarter to tie the game at 40-40 on a trey by Vinny Miranda with 1:46 left in the contest. Stepp then drained a game-winning trey of his own with just 1.7 seconds to play.

NorthWood led 13-10 after the opening period. Dwenger took a 20-19 halftime lead and led 34-29 after the third quarter.

The Panthers hit 7-16 from distance in the game, but had 12 turnovers to just four for Dwenger.

Miranda led NorthWood with 15 points. Braxton Linvi