North Putnam tops Warriors in home opener

Thursday, December 7, 2017

BAINBRIDGE — The North Putnam Cougars jumped out to an 11-0 lead over Covenant Christian on Wednesday night, and then held off a furious second-half rally by the Warriors to win 73-68 in boys’ varsity basketball action.

The Cougars improved to 2-1 on the young season, while Covenant fell to 1-4.

“We got off to a great start. I told these guys at halftime that they (Covenant Christian) are a really good team. They have played a tough schedule,” North Putnam head coach Collin McCartt said.

The game also featured a shootout between the Warriors’ Jordan Webb and the Cougars’ Elliot Gross. Webb scored 46 points on a variety of step-back jumpers and drives to the basket. Gross did his damage scoring 28 points, most of them inside or at the free throw line.

“We saw two of our sectional’s (Class 2A Sectional 44) best players go at it tonight. The Webb kid is good, and Elliot played really well,” McCartt said.

North scored the first 11 points of the game and led 21-7 at the end of the quarter. Gross had 12 of his 28 as the Warriors couldn’t solve his inside game. Caleb Duncan hit two three-pointers during the period. Duncan’s threes kept the Warriors from sagging into the paint, which allowed Gross to do his work. North hit an outstanding 9-of-11 from the floor in the quarter, while Covenant only managed to get three shots to fall.

Covenant Christian’s Webb took over starting in the second quarter. He only had two points in the first quarter, but put up 14 in the second. North extended its lead to 26-9, before the Warriors began to mount a comeback. Every time the Warriors started to make a run, someone answered for the Cougars. Treyton Smith hit a big three-pointer to stop one run, while Gross continued to make life miserable inside for Covenant Christian. The Warriors closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 35-26 at the break.

“They are really hard to contain. They really drive the ball well,” McCartt said.

Covenant Christian kept chipping away after halftime. Webb finally received some offensive support from a teammate. Josiah Grant scored six points for the Warriors in the quarter to supplement Webb’s 10. The Cougars continued to get the ball inside, but couldn’t convert at the free throw line in the period. North hit just 4-of-13 from the charity stripe in the quarter. Covenant had cut the lead to 47-44 on a Webb jumper with :03 left, but Smith electrified the crowd with a halfcourt buzzer-beater to close the third quarter and keep the Cougars ahead 50-44.

The fourth quarter saw the Warriors fighting back time and again, only to be repelled by North after each mini run. The Warriors would get no closer than four points during the remainder of the game. Webb scored 20 for Covenant as their full court press bothered the Cougars. North turned the ball over four times in the quarter, but kept their lead from the charity stripe. The Cougars improved their struggles in third quarter by knocking down 13-of-17 from the line in the final stanza. Smith scored nine of his 17 points in the period.

“There are a lot of easily correctable stuff to fix down the stretch. Our free throw shooting hurt us, and we threw the ball away a few times, but for us to hold on and beat a good team is food for us,” McCartt said. “Jordan Webb is about as good of a player as you will see. He is really, really good.”

Webb led Covenant Christian with 46 points, but he was the only Warrior in double figures. Gross had 28 to lead the Cougars, but North also had two others in double figures. Smith had 17 points and Andrew Pickel 13.

The Cougars won the battle of the boards 34-30 as Gross pulled down 14 caroms and Pickel added 10 giving both players a double-double.

North will travel to Sullivan on Friday to try and improve on its 1-0 Western Indiana Conference record.

COVENANT CHRISTIAN (68) – Moran 3-13 1-2 7, Webb 21-39 1-3 46, Fulbright 2-5 0-0 4, Flatt 0-2 1-2 1, Grant 3-6 2-4 8, Tinkey 1-2 0-0 2, Brackett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-68 FG, 5-11 FT, 68 TP.

NORTH PUTNAM (73) – C. Duncan 2-7 2-2 8, J. Duncan 2-3 1-2 6, Pickel 4-7 4-8 13, Smith 4-8 7-9 17, Gross 11-15 6-13 28, Davies 0-0 1-4 1, Murray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-40 FG, 21-38 FT, 73 TP.

Covenant Christian 7 19 18 24 – 68

North Putnam 21 14 15 23 – 73

3-point shooting – CC 1-11 (Moran 0-3, Webb 1-5, Grant 0-1, Tinkey 0-1, Brackett 0-1), NP 6-11 (C. Duncan 2-6, J. Duncan 1-1, Pickel 1-1, Smith 2-3 Rebounds – CC 30 (Moran 3, Webb 5, Fulbright 12, Flatt 1, Grant 1, Tinley 5, Brackett 1) NP 44 (C. Duncan 1, J. Duncan 5, Pickel 10, Smith 3, Gross 14) FG Pct. – CC 44.1, NP 57.5. FT Pct. – CC 45.5, NP 55.3. Turnovers – CC 6, NP 16.

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  • GOOOD TO SEE THE NP HOME COOKING HASNT CHANGED OVER THER YEARS 38 TO 11 FREE THROW ADVANTAGE

    -- Posted by GHS22 on Fri, Dec 8, 2017, at 7:21 AM
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