South Putnam edges Riverton Parke for season's third win

South Putnam overcame a second quarter dry spell and a pesky Riverton Parke squad to claim its third win of the season, 60-52, Saturday night.

The Eagles carried over much of the aggressiveness they displayed in the waning minutes of a drubbing at the hands of WCC foe Cloverdale Friday to propel them to the victory.

A nip-and-tuck first quarter ended with South on top, 16-14, thanks to seven points from Cameron Chestnut.

A scoring lull in the second allowed the Panthers to take the advantage, but South Putnam recovered and held a slim one-point halftime advantage, 29-28.

A strong defensive effort and nearly a mistake-free third quarter enabled the Eagles to distance themselves from Riverton, as the Eagles put up 17 points and led, 46-38, entering the final eight minutes.

Riverton Parke's David Frink put on an offensive display in the fourth quarter, scoring all of the Panthers 14 points en route to his game-high 20, but South was able to keep pace by knocking down its free throws, including 6-6 from Nathan Welty, who led South Putnam with 17 points.

Eagle coach Brian Gardner was encouraged by his club's effort: "It's always good to get a win," said Gardner,"From last night to tonight, when it mattered, we did the right things. We finished when we had opportunities."

Gardner was also quick to praise a couple of his players for helping his team through the potentially damaging stretch of play his team endured in the second quarter. "For us. Conor Frame and Ryan Welty made sure we got out of our funk."

South moves to 3-12 on the season. They travel to North Putnam for their final conference game of the season Friday night at 7:30 p.m.