Mounties spoil Cougars' home opener

Wednesday, November 26, 2014
North Putnam sophomore Jordan Bean pulls down a rebound against Southmont on Wednesday. (Banner Graphic/JOHNATHON GOODE)

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam boys' basketball team opened its season on its home floor against the visiting Southmont Mounties on Wednesday. The Mounties used their height advantage to down the Cougars, 52-40.

"We are a little bit backwards of where most teams are. I think we are a lot further ahead defensively than offensively right now," new North Putnam head coach Collin McCartt said.

The Cougars (0-1) had no returning players that saw significant minutes last year except for one, senior Michael Roberts, who led the team on the night with a double-double. Roberts paced all scorers with 21 points and he led the Cougars with 10 rebounds.

North Putnam got out to a good start, leading 9-4 midway through the first quarter, but that was the largest lead in the game for the Cougars, as Southmont went on a 9-0 run to take the lead and pushed the halftime edge to 21-13.

NPHS scored 18 points in the third quarter and started to claw back but then Southmont's switch flipped and they started draining 3-pointers. Senior Mitchel Dehne made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Southmont a 44-31 lead at the end of the third and take any momentum away from the Cougars.

"They got loose for a few threes and that is what we were worrying about," McCartt said. "That was the difference in the game, when they started knocking down threes."

After losing six seniors last year and not having senior Brandon Hall due to injury, the Cougars were a little shaky in their first game with a new lineup, new coach and only three upperclassmen.

"A lot of people are going to say that we are young but we are not going to make excuses for that. To me, they were the guys I was given and I think we have some good tools and we will get better with time," McCartt said.

The Mounties' height was the story of the game as they kept pounding the ball inside and getting easy buckets since the Cougars' tallest player is just six-foot-three.

With a new lineup, besides Roberts, the Cougars settled for shots along the perimeter and shot just 17-for-53 while making 5-of-21 3-point shots.

"We missed some very easy shots in the first half. We got down and then we started to do things we normally would not do," McCartt said.

This game was a tune-up game for the Cougars as they get closer to tournament time with their young core. If the Cougars get Hall back and the young players settle in, especially freshman point guard Treyton Smith, they could become a potent offense with a defense that could cause trouble come March.

"If we keep getting better defensively and we make some strides offensively I think we can compete and be where we want to be toward the end of the season," McCartt said.

The Cougars return to the floor on Friday, Dec. 5 for the Putnam County Classic at Greencastle.

At North Putnam
Southmont 7 14 23 8 -- 52
North Putnam 9 4 18 9 -- 40
Southmont (52):
Chadd 5-11 3-5 15, Swick 4-10 2-2 10, Budd 4-5 0-0 8, Whalen 3-8 1-3 8, Dehne 2-2 0-0 5, Todd 1-2 2-2 5, Gregg 0-1 0-0 0. Total: 19-36 (6-12) 8-12, 52.
North Putnam (40):
Roberts 10-27 0-0 21, A. Judy 2-9 1-2 7, Bean 2-4 0-2 5, Jeter 2-4 0-0 4, Smith 1-6 0-0 3, C. Judy 0-3 0-0 0. Total: 17-53 (5-21) 1-4, 40.
Rebounds (offensive)
SMHS (36-13):
Swick 14-3, Chadd 7-3, Todd 4-2, Budd 4-1, Jent 3-2, Whalen 2-2.
NPHS (26-12): Roberts 10-4, Bean 5-3, C. Judy 4-2, A. Judy 2-0, Smith 1-0.
Turnovers: S 13, N 5. Fouls: S 10, N 13.

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