Eagle boys fall to West Vigo

The South Putnam Eagle boys' basketball team ran into a deep, talented, athletic West Vigo Viking team on Friday night. The Vikings beat the Eagles 77-48 in the second game of a girls and boys doubleheader in Western Indiana Conference play.

The Vikings exploded out of the gate and ran out to a 10-1 lead in the first three and half minutes before the Eagles called timeout to try and slow West Vigo down. The timeout didn't make much of a difference as the Vikings sprinted to a 25-5 first quarter lead. Six-foot-nine junior Austin Sappingfield scored 10 of his 12 points in the opening period to lead the way. The Vikings also scored nine of their points on second-chance opportunities.

"We just kept letting them get that three off in the corner. When we did do something well defensively, we allowed them to get offensive rebounds and putbacks. You give a team like that with their size and athleticism second and third chances they are not going to miss." South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

The Eagles didn't fare much better in the second quarter. The Vikings continued to roll and South couldn't get much of an offense going. Allen Plunkett opened the quarter with a deep three for the Eagles, but West Vigo scored the next ten straight points to open a 35-8 lead during the period. The Eagles couldn't consistently get shots as the Vikings forced the Eagles into 16 first-half turnovers.

The Vikings kept up the pressure and finished the quarter with an 11-2 run to set the halftime score at 46-11.

"We turned the ball over too much. When you take those possessions away from yourself and give them to a team like that, it hurts," Dean said.

The Eagles did regroup at halftime. The Eagles scored 17 third quarter points and showed some life offensively. They still couldn't contain the talented Vikings, but did cut into the score some and trailed 65-28 at the end of the third quarter.

"I thought our effort was a lot better in the second half. In the first half we didn't do what we needed offensively or defensively. In the second half our intensity and energy was better. We got the ball into the paint and attacked the basket," Dean said.

The Eagles did outscore the Vikings in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. The Eagles fell to 1-5 on the season.

The Eagles were led by Allen Plunkett with 14 points and Dalton Scott had nine for South. West Vigo's Ty Lautenschlager paced the Vikings with 17 points, Corey Vickers scored 14, and Sappingfield chipped in 12.

The Eagles travel to Rockville tomorrow night to take on the Rox.

South Putnam 5 6 17 20 -- 48

West Vigo 25 21 24 12 - 77

Fanning 1 3-4 2 6, Stewart 3 0-0 1 6, Clearwaters 0 0-0 0 0, Grundlock 1 0-0 4 2, Rutter 0 0-0 1 0, McHugh 3 0-0 0 7, Scott 3 2-6 3 9, Plunkett 4 5-6 4 14, Lesko 1 2-2 3 4

Three pointers (McHugh 1, Plunkett 1, Scott 1, Fanning 1)

Kirby 2 0-0 0 5, Schaffer 2 0-1 2 5, J. Lautenschlager 1 5-6 2 8, Hudson 2 0-1 3 4, Tanoos 2 0-2 3 5, Stoner 0 2-2 0 2, McGrew 0 3-4 0 3, Page 1 0-0 2 2, Sappingfield 5 0-0 1 12, Vicker 5 0-0 1 14, T. Lautenschlager 8 1-1 4 17.

Three pointers (Kirby 1, Schaffer 1, J. Lautenschlager 1, Tanoos 1, Sappingfield 4, Vickers 4)