Cougars overcome deficit for road win

Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Elliot Gross

MARSHALL -- Collin McCartt prides himself on his teams always playing hard on the basketball court.

He didn’t think his Cougars did that in Saturday’s loss to South Vermillion, or in the first half at Turkey Run on Tuesday night.

As a result, the Cougars lost on Saturday and found themselves down 26-22 at halftime to the Warriors. North Putnam rejuvenated itself at halftime, however, and poured in 42 second-half points to record a 64-48 win.

“We talk about if there is going to be a staple of our program it’s how hard we play,” McCartt said. “We came out in the second half and played like we should. Treyton [Smith] came down and pressured the ball, Duke [Duff] made some plays, Corbin [Judy] was great defensively and Elliot [Gross] got back into it pretty quickly under the basket.”

Gross, who missed several days last week while on a mission trip, had only six points in the first half but more than tripled that output in the second half to finish with a game-high total of 25.

“Elliot was great defensively, too, and was out on the break every time we got tips,” McCartt said. “We were absolutely able to wear them down. It was fun to watch.”

The Warriors clearly had a defensive focus revolving around Cougar guard Preston Porter, who was held scoreless but normally reaches double figures every night.

That attention gave openings to other Cougars, however, as three others reached double figures besides Gross.

“We expected that in a way, and we talked about it,” McCartt said. “It was hard for Preston to adjust to it for a half until he had seen it. We talked about if he is the screener, he is going to be able to find the open man or get open himself.”

The Cougars also had a productive third quarter with 16 points, and McCartt thought that set the tone for the whole second half.

“Some of the things we did coming out in the third quarter offensively were very good,” he said. “Preston was able to find the open man. I challenged him at halftime, and he was able to come back and make everyone else better.”

North Putnam led 14-10 after one quarter, getting five points from both Duff and Judy.

Using a patient offensive alignment spread over the entire halfcourt and featuring numerous opportunities to create backdoor cuts, the Warriors dominated the second period and led 26-22 at the half.

“They are very good at that offense,” McCartt said. ‘They have guys who are quick enough and drive hard. You really have to find your groove defensively, where to help and when you can take some risks.

“They will make you pay the first mistake you make.”

Smith opened the second half with a free throw and Gross added five more points as North Putnam took a 28-26 lead. The Warriors went back ahead on baskets by Brock Mitchell and Nate Ferguson, but seven straight by the Cougars -- an Andrew Pickel basket, two Judy free throws and a Smith trey -- put them ahead to stay at 35-30.

Turkey Run managed to whittle the lead back down to two at the final stop, 38-36, but the Cougars opened the final period on a 12-3 run with five points from Gross and Duff and a pair of Smith free throws, and the game was over.

Duff, who has emerged as a big scoring threat over the past few games but missed a lot of time due to foul trouble, had 13 points for the Cougars while Judy added 12 and Smith had 10.

Brock Mitchell had 14 points for the Warriors, and twin brother Brady added 12 as the only players in double figures for Turkey Run.

The Cougars improved to 7-11 with the win, and have won two out of three going into this week’s county tournament.

North Putnam will meet Greencastle at 6 p.m. Thursday in the tourney opener -- moved up a day due to South Putnam’s girls being involved in the regional tourney on Saturday.

“It’s good to go into the county on a win,” said McCartt, whose team was the only one in action on Tuesday. “Winning three games is going to be tough, and if we want to win the championship it’s going to be really tough.

“It was fun to see these guys do some things we have been working on,” he added. “I think we’re going to be ready for Thursday and have some fun.”

NORTH PUTNAM (64) -- Gross 9-13 6-8 25, Porter 0-3 0-0 0, Duff 5-7 0-1 13, Smith 2-5 4-6 10, Judy 4-13 2-4 12, Webster 0-3 0-2 0, Pickel 1-3 0-0 2, Mitchel 0-0 0-0 0, Hess 0-0 0-0 0, Kendall 0-0 0-0 0, C.Duncan 0-0 0-0 0, Rude 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-49 FG, 12-18 FT, 64 TP

TURKEY RUN (48) -- Bra.Mitchell 6--9 0-3 12, Bro.Mitchell 5-14 3-4 14, Munoz 2-6 1-1 5, Leonard 2-7 1-2 6, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Thurman 1-3 0-0 2, Ferguson 3-6 1-2 7, Hartman 1-2 0-0 2, Monik 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 20-47 FG, 6-13 FT, 48 TP

North Putnam 14 8 16 26 -- 64

Turkey Run 10 16 10 12 -- 48

3-point shooting -- North Putnam 8-19 (Gross 1-1, Porter 0-2, Duff 3-5, Smith 2-3, Judy 2-6, Webster 0-2), Turkey Run 2-7 (Bro.Mitchell 1-4, Leonard 1-2, Ferguson 0-1). Turnovers -- TR 15, NP 13.

Next game -- North Putnam (7-11) plays Greencastle at 6 p.m. Thursday in the county tournament at Greencastle. Turkey Run fell to 8-8.

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