Eagles pick up first victory, 55-40

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The South Putnam Eagles hosted the Turkey Run Warriors in their home opener Tuesday night in boys’ high school basketball, using a balanced offense and stingy defense to gain their first win of the season, 55-40.

The Eagles held the Warriors to under 30 percent shooting from the field and got scoring contributions from eight of the 11 players who entered the game.

The Eagles mixed up their defenses and consistently challenged shots all night long.

The two teams battled pretty evenly in the first quarter. The Eagles came out on top in the quarter 15-10.

Thomas Fanning

With the Warriors playing a box and one against Allen Plunkett, other Eagles came out firing and picked up the slack. Dalton Scott scored seven of his 14 points in the first quarter, while Thomas Fanning hit two 3-pointers to lead the way for South.

“We hit some shots early. We still need to be a little more patient offensively,” South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

The Eagles really turned the game around in the second quarter. Their defensive intensity picked up and they limited the Warriors to 1-of-10 shooting from the field and outscored them 15-2 in the quarter.

Turkey Run committed eight turnovers in the period. The only Warrior score came on buzzer beater to end the half.

“We trapped and pressed some and switched it up. We tried to pick our spots. I thought when we did some of our zone stuff, we were at our best. That really got us our lead,” Dean said.

Dalton Scott

Plunkett led the way offensively for the Eagles in the second quarter. The six-foot- five sophomore scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the stanza. He was efficient hitting four-of-five from the field and his only free throw. The Eagles went to the break with a commanding 30-12 lead.

South was able to maintain its lead in the third quarter. The Eagles got to the line and converted as they hit all five of their free throws and their three field goals were all inside the paint. South led 41-24 heading into the final period.

“We did some good things offensively. We have to keep being aggressive going to the rim. Even if we are not getting the calls,” Dean said.

The Warriors began to press in the fourth quarter. They forced the Eagles into eight turnovers in the final quarter, but were never able to close the gap to less than 13 points. South managed to maintain the lead and improve its record to 1-1 on the young season.

The Eagles put six players in the scoring column in the fourth quarter. That typified the Eagle offense on the night, according to coach Dean.

“We had quite a few kids score tonight. That really takes the pressure off of Allen [Plunkett] and frees him up. The more contributions you get, the better you are,” Dean said.

Plunkett led all scorers with 18 points, while Scott added 14 for the Eagles. Brock Mitchell led the Warriors with 16 points.

The Eagles will try and pick up their first Western Indiana Conference win on Friday night when they travel to county rival North Putnam.

TURKEY RUN (40) – Brady Mitchell 4-11 1-4 9, Brock Mitchell 4-15 7-8 16, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Ferguson 1-7 3-4 5, Munoz 4-6 0-0 8, Leonard 1-6 0-0 2, Bonomo 0-0 0-0 0, Thurman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-47 FG, 11-16 FT, 40 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (55) – Schnepp 0-0 0-1 0, Fanning 2-5 2-2 8, Plunkett 8-16 1-3 18, Arnold 2-4 0-0 4, Scott 6-12 1-1 14, Watson 0-1 2-3 2, Zeffel 1-2 3-4 5, Lesko 0-0 2-2 2, VanSickle 0-0 0-0 0, Heavin 0-0 0-0 0, Blue 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-41 FG, 11-16 FT, 55 TP.

Turkey Run 10 2 12 16 – 40

South Putnam 15 15 11 14 – 55

3-point shooting – TR 1-11 (Brock Mitchell 1-5, Jones 0-1, Ferguson 0-2, Leonard 0-3), SP 4-10 (Fanning 2-3, Plunkett 1-3, Scott 1-2, Watson 0-1, Zeffel 0-1). Rebounds – TR 30 (Brady Mitchell 9, Brock Mitchell 2, Ferguson 4, Munoz 7, Leonard 1, Bonomo 1, Thurman 1) SP – 26 (Schnepp 4, Fanning 1, Plunkett 8, Arnold 2, Scott 3, Lesko 1, Heavin 1, Blue 1) FG Pct. – TR 29.8, SP 48.8. FT Pct. – TR 68.8, SP 68.8. Turnovers – TR 21, SP 20.

JV game — SP 39, TR 22

Next game — South Putnam (1-1) plays at North Putnam on Friday. Turkey Run is now 0-2.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: