North Putnam gets hard-fought overtime win against Eels 59-53

North Putnam senior Jake Haste elevates to haul in a key offensive rebound at the end of the fourth quarter. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam Cougars boys' basketball team welcomed the Eminence Eels to their home court Thursday night, getting a hard-fought win in overtime 59-53.

The Cougars have now won five straight, the last three without their starting point guard, junior Shane Beaman, who as put on the bench after dislocating his collar bone against South Putnam on Feb. 1.

NPHS seemed lost at times without Beaman on Thursday, but overcame the absence, thanks to contributions from other role players.

"We switched to the 1-3-1and that got us a little more energy. We were able to get a couple steals out of it. We had 15 steals tonight," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "I thought (junior) Ben Hazelgrove did a tremendous job on top of that 1-3-1 zone. He was really key for us in a lot of things we did.

"(Senior) Zach Green was able to handle the pressure with that also."

The Cougars started off very sour giving up 16 points on easy buckets in the paint. The hosts only scored six in the first frame.

To close the quarter Eels forward Nick Szalay put up a three-pointer and the buzzer sounded as it hit the bottom of the net, giving the Eels a 16-6 advantage.

The second quarter was the momentum swinger in the game as the Cougars got off to a very fast start.

Junior Jordan Nauert started to get hot, hitting two threes in the first minute of the second quarter to cut the lead to four. Nauert had 19 points in the game.

The Cougars went on a 16-6 run in the second quarter to tie the game at 22 with 3:10 left in the half.

With 2:25 left in the second Nauert took aim and fired away another three ball that hit to gain the lead 25-22.

The Cougars showed the best hustle of the night with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half. The Eels had gotten inside for a sure bucket to cut the lead to one, but the Cougars active hands got a piece of the ball and knocked it around for the remaining time in the half diminishing the Eels chance at a bucket.

North Putnam played the same in the third as they did in the first, scoring only six points, but this time they held the Eels to only 12.

Seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste both spent lots of time on the bench in foul trouble in the second half.

"I didn't think we played with too much energy and focus. That's what you have to worry about with a Thursday game. It's a little bit different with a Thursday game," Martindale said.

The fourth quarter was one for the books as the Cougars battled back until the very end.

Cougars were down by two.

NPHS had Haste on the bench to protect him from picking up another costly foul, but they forced the Eels to turn the ball over with 20.3 seconds left when they threw the ball out of bounds and Haste re-entered.

The Cougars drove down the court and Brewer got in the paint and tossed up a layup. It missed, but Haste was in the right spot at the right time as he grabbed the offensive rebound and laid it in with 4.6 seconds left to tie the game.

The Eels inbounded the ball and got it down court quickly but guard Brennan Ringler missed the attempted shot for the win.

The game was headed to overtime and it was to be a sure great finish.

It was just that as the Cougars were up by only one with 1:30 left and the Eels had the ball.

Bennett Hazelgrove made a great play and forced a turnover with 1:14 left. He was fouled on the strip, sending him to the line for the one-and-one. He made both free throws and gave the Cougars the three-point advantage.

The Eels couldn't get anything going on the next trip down the court either as the Cougars ended up with the ball after a missed shot.

Green was fouled with 29.4 seconds left and sank both free throws to take a 58-53 lead and ice the game.

Most of the Cougars' points in overtime came from the charity stripe as the Eels had six fouls in the five-minute overtime period.

The Eels had one last chance to cut the lead at the very end but, after a missed shot, Haste grabbed the rebound. With three Eel guards around him he held the ball straight up in the air for almost five seconds. He passed it off to Nauert who ran the remaining two seconds off the clock.

It was a big win for the Cougars, who have won five straight games and are getting hot at the right time.

"One thing about these guys is they fight and fight and fight all the way to the end. They scratch and claw and sometimes the bounces go your way," Martindale said.

Beaman is hoping to be back in time for tournament play.

"I've got to be happy for the team because we are winning, but it really stinks sitting on the bench. I want to be out there helping them win," Beaman said.

At North Putnam
Eminence 16 8 12 11 6 -- 53
North Putnam 6 21 6 14 12 -- 59