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Eagle boys' team can get offense going
ELLETSVILLE--In its continued quest for its second win of the season, the South Putnam boys' basketball team hit the road for a second straight contest, traveling to Edgewood Saturday night.
While both teams struggled to get going in the opening minutes, the Mustang offense eventually took off while the Eagles languished behind, falling 66-26.
South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said the team did better at staying in front of players than in the previous game against Eminence but did not get out to Mustang shooters quickly enough.
"I think it was a tale of two different games defensively," Dean added. "We did a better job with the things we talked about last night, staying in front of players and containing them, but then we gave up too many second-chance opportunities and uncontested shots.
"Edgewood is a team that can really shoot it. They've got size and they're athletic."
Edgewood struggled early with fouls, wracking up nine before the first quarter ended but South Putnam could not find a way to take advantage of the upheaval before the Mustangs began to pick up the offensive slack.
The hosts scored the opening eight points before Chad Menke scored a put-back off a Jacob Schroer miss.
A quick rush of baskets saw Edgewood extend their lead to 14 while Trevor Long scored the only other basket for the Eagles in the opening quarter as the visitors trailed 16-4 after one period.
Runs of nine and 11 saw the Mustangs race out to an 39-11 halftime lead, leaving South Putnam with a mountain to climb to get back into the game.
Dean said the Eagles made adjustments from Friday but had other lapses on the defensive end Saturday.
"I thought we got better at just containing our man," Dean said. "Now, especially in the first half because I don't know how many threes we gave up, we didn't get to their shooters.
"We were late to close out and that lead to them getting some uncontested shots. We also gave up 11 offensive rebounds in the first half."
A nine-point run by Edgewood to start the third quarter dashed any chance of the Eagles getting back into the game and as the third and fourth quarters played out, substitutes poured into the game as the Mustangs picked up their third straight win.
While the team was getting good looks, shots weren't falling, though Dean said the players needed to keep taking shots to get back on track.
"We can always get better looks," Dean said. "We got Jacob Schroer and Trevor Long some good looks and we've gotten to the free throw line, but we're not knocking those shots down.
"Sometimes, you go through stints where you don't shoot the ball well and maybe we're in one of those right now, but you've got to shoot your way out of it. We've got to keep swinging, keep getting to the foul line to score with the clock stopped and shoot a better percentage.
"A big part of that is execution," Dean added. "We'll see if we can continue to get better and progress with our offensive execution."
South Putnam will take part in its second WCC game of the season Friday when the Eagles travel to Greencastle.
Dean said that the players and the coaching staff were excited by the challenge in front of them but needed to be wary of the Tiger Cubs' multi-faceted attack.
"We certainly have to know where their shooters are," Dean said. "We've got to make sure that we recognize and identify the guys that we have to identify.
"They've got some guys that are really good with the basketball, can dribble-drive, penetrate and kick it out. We've got to make sure we contain and try to dictate a little bit.
"We need to have a good week of practice," Dean added. "This is a week the kids won't have to be motivated by me or any of the coaching staff too much.
"It's a great rivalry, one that I've lived through and I'm very excited to be a part of that. I know the kids are anxious to start preparing for that game, which will be fun and we're looking forward to the opportunity to get better play our rival."
At Edgewood
South Putnam 4 7 8 7 -- 23
Edgewood 16 23 17 10 -- 66
Statistics
Scoring
South Putnam -- 10-37 FG, 0-9 3-FG, 6-13 FT -- Long 9, Menke 8, Schroer 8, Lesko 1, Burton 0, Carmichael 0, McHugh 0, Grundlock 0, Clearwaters 0, Freeman 0, Parks 0, Stewart 0
Edgewood -- 25-60 FG, 7-28 3-FG, 9-13 FT -- Cradick 16, Patton 14, Thomas 9, Ranard 9, Williamson 4, Carmichael 4, Bybee 3, Brown 3, Newman 2, Morton 2, Kolbe 0
Rebounding (Offensive)
South Putnam 15 (3); Edgewood 38 (16)
Assists
South Putnam 3; Edgewood 16
Steals
South Putnam 1; Edgewood 9
Blocks
South Putnam 2; Edgewood 0
Turnovers
South Putnam 19; Edgewood 10
Fouls
South Putnam 13; Edgewood 19
Next Game: South Putnam (1-9, 0-1 WCC) travels to Greencastle in the second game of a varsity doubleheader Friday.