Eagles fall to Patriots, 52-39

Saturday, February 22, 2014
South Putnam senior Derek Chestnut gets into defensive position Friday night against Owen Valley. Chestnut is one of three seniors coach Troy Burgess praised on Senior Night for their effort and attitude. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

A strong zone defense kept South Putnam boys' basketball in the game with Owen Valley Friday night, but a cold-shooting night never allowed them to get over the hump.

The Eagles (4-14, 0-5 WCC) fell to the Patriots (12-8, 6-0 WIC) on Senior Night, 52-39.

With three of their four wins for the season coming since Feb. 1, the Eagles have been playing some of their best basketball of the season in recent weeks.

Coach Troy Burgess said he thought that continued on Friday, but his team needed a little more to beat the Western Indiana Conference champions.

"I think we are playing better ball. We've gotten better and we're steadily improving," Burgess said. "That's a good Owen Valley team. They went through their conference undefeated, which is a tough conference."

However, the Eagles were hurt by 15 turnovers and their 36-percent shooting.

"I was proud of our kids. I thought we battled the whole game," Burgess said. "A big difference is we had a few more turnovers than we'd like. I had us for 15 and we'd like to keep that around 10. And we missed some shots tonight that we've been making -- some 8-, 10-, 12-footers, some 2-3-footers."

In the first quarter, it looked like the game might get out of hand quickly. Senior Trey Moore scored the Eagles' first seven points and had them within two at 9-7 before Owen Valley ended the quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 20-5 lead after eight minutes.

A defensive adjustment made the second quarter a different story.

"We went to our zone and we've gotten better at that the last two or three games," Burgess said. "We were able to force them to maybe take some shots they didn't want to, and they weren't knocking them down. The way to beat a zone is to be able to shoot the ball well. They had some looks and missed some shots. I thought that kept us in it there in the first half."

With the Patriots missing their shots, the Eagles sunk a few and clawed back in the game.

Sophomore Jimmy Rutter hit a pair of buckets for four points, while senior Derek Chestnut and junior Jake Schroer each hit 3-pointers.

A free throw and a bucket by Moore got the Eagles within two at 22-20 with 26 seconds to go in the half.

Unfortunately, the Patriots' Ethan Sparks hit a buzzer-beating three, giving the visitors a 25-20 lead at the break and some semblance of momentum even after a five-point quarter.

The Eagle shooters went cold again in the third, as Owen Valley rebuilt its lead to 12 points after three quarters, with Evan Wood hitting a buzzer beater this time.

The teams mainly traded buckets in the fourth, with the Patriots coming away with a 13-point victory.

"When you're not making shots, it makes it tough," Burgess said. "We know we've got to keep games in the 40s and 50s, and we held them to 52 points. We just didn't knock down some shots we've been knocking down and that's the difference in the ballgame."

The Patriots had three double-figure scorers, with Matt Mahoney coming off the bench for 13, and Wood and Cameron King each adding 11.

Even in defeat, Moore had another of his consistently good nights, finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

On the occasion of their last home game, Burgess took a few moments to speak about his three seniors, Moore, Chestnut and Sawyer Arnold, who missed the year with a knee injury, but has still been with the team at every practice and game.

"I get sick every day watching Sawyer sit over on the side and watch," Burgess said. "What a great individual ... what he's meant to South Putnam, to our football program, our basketball program and what he's meant to me personally. It's unbelievable."

In Chestnut, the coach sees a young man whose hard work is paying off.

"Derek Chestnut -- I can't say enough about how he's worked himself into a basketball player this year," Burgess said. "He was primarily a JV player last year and Derek worked this summer and really came in this offseason and did some things. He's been a solid leader for us all year long. I've really enjoyed it."

As for Moore, Burgess knows he has one of the county's most talented players toiling for a team that has not had much success.

"What do you say about Trey? This is not the way Trey wanted his senior year to go, but we've had some things happen like losing Sawyer," Burgess said. "But Trey's never got his head down. He goes out, he takes care of business. Everybody in the gym knows when he catches the ball, he's going to try and score. And he still is able to do it. He doesn't get frustrated."

As a whole, Burgess knows the program is saying goodbye to three quality young men at season's end.

"Probably the biggest thing with all three of them, and especially Derek and Trey because they've played, is their attitude has been terrific," Burgess said. "They've been great leaders. It would be very easy for a senior to get frustrated with the young guys when you're not winning and they haven't. It just means a lot to me."

The Eagles conclude their regular season today with a 7:30 p.m. matchup at North Vermillion.

Trey Moore puts up two of his 20 points Friday.



At South Putnam
Owen Valley 20 5 11 16 -- 52
South Putnam 7 13 4 15 -- 39
Owen Valley:
M Mahoney 6-9 0-0 13, Wood 5-9 0-0 11, C King 5-9 0-0 11, Sparks 4-6 0-0 9, N King 3-76 2-2 8, Hege 0-2 0-0 0, Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Shouse 0-0 0-1 0, B Mahoney 0-0 0-0 0, Woodruff 0-0 0-0 0, Daffron 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-43 FG, 2-3 FT, 52 points.
South Putnam:
Moore 8-19 4-7 19, Schroer 3-9 0-0 8, Long 2-6 0-1 4, Rutter 2-2 0-0 4, Chestnut 1-3 0-0 3, McHugh 0-4 0-0 0, Lorian 0-1 0-0 0, Masters 0-0 0-0 0, Carmichael 0-0 0-0 0, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Menke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-44 FG, 4-8 FT, 39 points.
3-pt FG:
OV 4-11 (Sparks 1-2, Wood 1-2, C King 1-3, M Mahoney 1-2, N King 0-1, Hege 0-1), SP 3-12 (Schroer 2-7, Chestnut 1-2, McHugh 0-1, Moore 0-1, Lorian 0-1). Turnovers: OV 8, SP 15. Fouls: OV 17, SP 11.

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