South Putnam sweeps pair of WIC games from WV

SP girls back on track

After losing two tough games in a row against ranked Class 3A teams (Owen Valley and Greencastle), the South Putnam Eagle girls’ basketball team took out their frustrations on Western Indiana Conference foe West Vigo Friday night, dismantling the Vikings 73-24 to improve to 8-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

The Eagles scored the first 23 points of the game and held the Vikings scoreless in the first quarter.

Forcing 27 turnovers, the Eagle defense made life miserable for West Vigo as the Vikings only converted 9-of-38 shots from the floor. In addition to the scoreless first quarter, the Eagles only allowed two points in the third quarter.

“We talked about not playing to the level of the game,” South Putnam coach Brian Gardner said. “We needed to play tonight with the same intensity that we did in the second half of the Owen Valley game. It was evident we did that in the first quarter by getting up big and holding them to no points.”

The balanced Eagles had all five starters score in the first quarter. Lillie Stein led the way with six points.

The Eagles shot fifty percent (6-of-12) from the floor and perfect from the line (3-of-3). They also outrebounded the Vikings by a 10-2 margin in the quarter.

West Vigo didn’t get on the board until hitting a free throw with 5:50 left in the half. The Vikings were able to put 11 points on the scoreboard in the period, but the Eagles offense ratcheted it up and scored 21 points to extend their halftime lead to a comfortable 39-11 advantage.

Miranda Bieghler scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the period. The senior guard did it inside with two layups, outside with a three-pointer and from the line going a perfect 3-of-3.

“Once we got the lead, I was pleased we continued to play,” Gardner said. “It’s easy to relax and not work as hard. We did a lot of good things tonight.”

The Eagle defense didn’t let up after halftime either. South held the Vikings scoreless for the first 5:31 of the third quarter. By then the Eagles had boosted their lead to 49-11. They closed the quarter on 6-0 run and led 55-13 heading into the final period.

The Vikings missed all 14 of their field goal attempts combined for the first and third quarter.

“We talked about it at halftime. We didn’t allow an offensive rebound in the second half and we did a lot of the little things to put ourselves in a good position,” Gardner said.

The Eagles eventually extended their lead to 66-13 in the fourth period before emptying their bench and giving a lot of players a chance for minutes. South had seven players put points in the scorebook in the fourth quarter.

“We were able to allow the junior varsity players a chance to play. They came in and played hard, also,” Gardner said.

Bieghler led all scorers with 20 points. Lexi Vanihel and Stein added 16 points each. South needed to give some rest to their players as they will play again tomorrow in an early afternoon game at Cascade (3-8).

WEST VIGO (24) – Marrs 0-4 0-0 0, Scott 1-4 1-2 3, Smith 0-2 2-2 2, Elkins 0-7 0-0 0, Meehan 1-5 0-0 3, Dean 0-0 1-2 1, Likens 1-3 0-2 2, Charters 0-1 0-0 0, Stepp 5-9 0-0 11, Barnaby 0-1 0-0 0, Hawkins 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 9-38 FG, 4-8 FT, 24 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (73) – Bratcher 2-5 0-0 5, Bieghler 8-13 3-5 20, Vanihel 5-6 4-4 16, Capps 3-3 3-3 9, Stein 5-17 4-5 16, Nichols 0-1 0-0 0, Hill 1-5 0-0 2, Custis 0-2 0-0 0, Proctor 0-0 0-0 0, Egold 1-2 0-0 3, Burdge 1-1 0-0 2, A. Steffy 0-1 0-0 0, D. Steffy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 FG, 14-17 FT, 73 TP.

3-point shooting – WV 2-15 (Marrs 0-2, Scott 0-1, Barnaby 0-1, Hawkins 0-1, Elkins 0-6, Meehan 1-1, Stepp 1-3), SP 7-22 (Bieghler 1-2, Bratcher 1-3, Egold 1-2, Vanihel 2-3, Stein 2-10, D. Steffy 0-1, Custis 0-1) REB – WV 25 (Scott 3, Elkins 3, Meehan 8, Dean 2, Likens 3, Charters 2, Stepp 2), SP 35 (Bieghler 4, Bratcher 4, Vanihel 9, Burdge 3, Capps 1, Stein 5, Nichols 2, Hill 2, Custis 3, Procter 2) FG Pct. – WV 23.7, SP 45.6. FT Pct. – WV 50.0, SP 82.4. Turnovers – WV 27, SP 14.

Fanning’s 24 leads boys

The South Putnam Eagles boys’ basketball team won what coach Greg Dean called a grinder Friday night against the West Vigo Vikings.

The Eagles prevailed 56-45 in a Western Indiana Conference matchup that wasn’t always pretty, but was efficient both offensively and defensively.

South improved to 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in WIC western division play.

The Eagles shot 46 percent (17-of-37) from the field and hit six more free throws (16-of-28) than the Vikings attempted (6-of-10) to pick up the victory.

The Eagles overcame a one-point halftime deficit with balanced offense and some key free throws down the stretch by Thomas Fanning.

“That’s when we play our best. When we are methodical -- some people call it slow -- but it is maximizing possessions and using our weapons on the offensive end. We ground one out tonight,” South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

The two teams battled evenly in the first quarter. Neither team led by more than three points in the period.

Dalton Scott keyed the Eagles with two three-pointers and six points in the quarter as South grabbed a big edge on the boards, picking up 12 caroms to just seven by the Vikings. The Eagles finished the first period up 13-10.

The Eagles jumped ahead in the second quarter. South led the entire quarter until the final two seconds. The Eagles extended their lead to seven midway through the period, but the Vikings battled back and went ahead as Collin Salyers was fouled with :02 left in the half attempting a three-pointer. Salyers hit all three of the free throws to give West Vigo a 26-25 halftime lead.

The Eagles struggled to score in the quarter, only hitting 3-of-12 shots from the floor.

“You’ve got to play in games like this. We’ve struggled to put teams away up to this point. To be down at halftime and come back and then even extend the lead was good for us,” Dean said.

The Eagles used a 13-4 run to start the third period to put themselves back on top. The efficient Eagles hit 7-of-8 shots in the quarter and limited the Vikings to just two rebounds and seven points in the period.

Scott had another good quarter, adding seven more points. The Eagle defense keyed the run as West Vigo only hit 2-of-8 from the field. South entered the final period up 41-33, its biggest lead up to that point.

“Kain Gregory came off the bench and played really well defensively,” Dean said.

West Vigo scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 41-39, but the Eagles wouldn’t allow the Vikings to get any closer.

Fanning stopped the run with the first two of his eight free throws in the quarter. The junior guard scored 10 of his team-high 24 points in the final period to boost the Eagles.

“Thomas (Fanning) from the line was huge. I think he went 10-of-10 tonight. The way he handled the ball and ran the team was key for us,” Dean said.

The Eagles needed Fanning to be perfect because as a team they only hit 11-of-19 from the line in the period. Despite some struggles from the line, South gradually pulled away leading by as many as 10 points before settling on the final score of 56-47.

“Outside of a few turnovers, we handled the ball pretty well offensively and managed the game well,” Dean said. “Had we made a few more free throws it would have been a different ballgame.”

Salyers led all scorers with 28 points but was the only Viking in double figures. Fanning led the Eagles with 24 points. Scott finished with 14 points and Allen Plunkett added 10 for South.

“We had three guys in double figures. When we can do that, it is big for us,” Dean said.

The Eagles are now off until after Christmas. They will try and improve on their 4-3 record when they play in the Monrovia tournament on Dec. 29..

WEST VIGO (45) – Stoner 1-6 0-0 2, Dickerson 3-4 1-3 7, Hannahs 3-8 0-1 7, Yates 0-3 0-0 0, Salyers 9-20 5-5 28, Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Burgess 0-1 0-0 0, Andrews 1-5 0-1 3, Minton 0-0 0-0 0, Joy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 FG, 6-10 FT, 47 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (56) – Fanning 6-11 10-10 24, Arnold 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 5-10 1-2 14, Plunkett 3-7 4-10 10, Schnepp 0-3 0-0 0, Watson 1-2 1-4 4, Gregory 1-1 0-0 2, Lesko 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 17-37 FG, 16-28 FT, 56 TP.

3-point shooting – WV 7-26 (Stoner 0-4, Hannahs 1-5, Salyers 5-12, Roberts 0-1, Andrews 1-4) SP 6-17 (Fanning 2-6, Arnold 0-1, Scott 3-5, Watson 1-1, Plunkett 0-4). Rebounds – WV 21 (Stoner 2, Dickerson 2, Hannahs 4, Yates 3, Salyers 3, Andrews 3, Minton 1) SP 37 (Lesko 3, Fanning 2, Plunkett 13, Scott 5, Schnepp 3, Gregory 3) FG Pct. – WV 35.4, SP 45.9. FT Pct. – WV 60.0, SP 57.1. Turnovers – WV 9, SP 12.