Clovers win consolation prize, beat South 83-28

Cloverdale's Jalen Moore (10) drives hard on the fast break against South Putnam's Josh Stewart (5).(Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

When South Putnam and Cloverdale took the court at McAnally Center on Saturday, each team was looking to bounce back from a first-round loss in the Putnam County Classic. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Cloverdale was very efficient and took the decisive win 83-28.

"We came out and we were aggressive defensively," Clover coach Pat Rady said. "We were pleased at the effort. We felt that after last night, we had to be a little stronger defensively. We wanted to get the ball up the floor quicker. I was pleased with the effort tonight."

The tough night for South Putnam began early as the Eagles struggled to make plays. Turnovers were the bread and butter for Cloverdale who had 21 steals on the night.

K.J. Coleman of Cloverdale (22) goes up for one of his 3 rebounds on the game. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

Offensively it was junior Cooper Neese and senior K.J. Coleman who led the way and helped Cloverdale out to a 22-6 first-quarter lead.

The second quarter was characterized by a Clover steal and a layup by senior Marquise Moore. After going scoreless in the first, he scored 18 of his 27 points in the second.

The game wasn't very competitive in the second half, but due to tournament rules that don't aloow a player to play in the JV county tournament if that player gets even a second of varsity tournament playing time, Rady had to keep most of his varsity roster on the floor. However the scoring of Neese, Moore, Coleman, and senior Brantson Scott were not needed in the fourth as they simply moved to ball to other players that don't play as much.

Jacob Schroer (30) of South Putnam rises over the Cloverdale defense to knock in the jumper. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

"We've still got a lot to work on," Rady said. "On defense, we've got to get better as well as with our rebounds and turnovers. It's still early in the season. We've got to come in Monday and be ready to go. We've still got a lot of tough games ahead of us."

South Putnam coach Greg Dean was unavailable for comment.

At Greencastle

South Putnam 6 4 10 8 -- 28

Cloverdale 22 30 19 12 -- 83

Individual Stats

South Putnam: Menke 8 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl; Long 6 pts, 3 reb, 1 asst, 1 stl, Schroer 5 pts, 1 reb; Grundlock 4 pts, 2 reb; Clearwaters 3 pts; Burton 2 pts

Cloverdale: M Moore 27 pts, 4 reb, 5 asst, 4 stl; Neese 16 pts, 6 reb, 4 asst, 4 stl; Coleman 14 pts, 3 reb, 4 asst, 6 stl; Scott 6 pts, 7 reb, 1 stl; Fislar 6 pts, 1 stl; Duff 6 pts, 1 reb, 4 asst, 4 stl; J Moore 5 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 asst; Lotz 3 pts, 1 asst