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Northview boys hold off Cougars
BRAZIL — The Northview Knights got into the win column for the first time this year on Friday night with an efficient shooting performance to pull away for a 63-39 Western Indiana Conference win in boys’ basketball against North Putnam.
The Knights hit all nine field goal attempts in the fourth quarter to break away from a short-handed Cougar squad that was missing leading scorer Elliot Gross in the second half.
Gross, coming off of a 28-point, 15-rebound effort in a win over Covenant Christian on Dec. 6, missed North Putnam’s last contest with an ankle injury and appeared to re-aggravate it in the first half. He would sit out the final two quarters as Northview turned a 29-20 halftime lead into a double-digit victory.
Northview coach Michael Byrum was pleased to see his squad parlay strong practice efforts into the team’s first win.
“The last two weeks we have had our most consistent practices. I am very proud of the boys. We work so hard and (the win) is well deserved,” Byrum said.
The Knights got off to a strong start in the opening period as North Putnam struggled to find its shot over the first eight minutes.
Senior Brigham Booe warmed up late in the quarter to hit a pair of 3-pointers and tallied 12 of his 18 points in the period. Freshman Caleb Swearingen added five points as Northview led 21-12 at the first stop. The Cougars were able to get the ball into the post to 6-6 junior Andrew Pickel for two early hoops before the Knights limited him over the final minutes.
“When you have a young team confidence is so fragile,” Byrum said. “It was huge for us to get off to a good start. When you have that confidence, that rim gets bigger.”
After a quick start to the contest, both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, shooting a combined 6-of-25 from the field. The Cougars matched Northview’s eight points in the quarter as Caleb Duncan hit a 3-pointer along with Treyton Smith.
Northview opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Cade Bryan and Swearingen followed a Cougar turnover with another shot from beyond the arc. Jarett Combs scored on a drive as Northview built a 37-20 lead before a free throw by the Cougars’ Chris Murray.
With Gross sidelined, the Cougars looked for other contributors as Caleb Duncan hit a 3-pointer and Pickel scored the final five points of the third quarter to get North Putnam within 42-29.
Northview was able to deliver the decisive blow in the final period, hitting all nine field goal attempts they took paced by seven points from Combs and six from Bryan. North Putnam wasn’t able to match the Knights scoring depth in the second half as Northview placed four players in double figures.
Pickel led the Cougars with 13 points while Booe scored 18 points and added 12 rebounds to lead Northview as Combs contributed 15 points.
Northview improves to 1-3 overall, 1-2 in the WIC and travels to Bloomington North tonight. The Cougars are now 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference and host Riverton Parke on Monday.
NORTHVIEW (63) — Swearingen 4-9 2-2 13, Booe 8-20 0-0 18, Osborn 0-4 2-2 2, Bryan 5-10 0-0 11, Combs 7-8 0-1 15, Howald 0-2 0-0 0, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 2-2 0-0 4, Benton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-56 4-5 63.
NORTH PUTNAM (39) — C. Duncan 2-9 0-0 6, Smith 2-5 0-1 5, J. Duncan 1-6 1-2 4, Pickel 6-13 1-2 13, Gross 2-6 0-0 4, Murray 2-6 3-4 7, Davies 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 15-48 5-9 39.
Northview 21 8 13 21 — 63
North Putnam 12 8 9 10 — 39
3-point field goals — Nv 6-18 (Swearingen 3-5, Booe 2-10, Combs 1-1, Osborn 0-1, Howald 0-1), NP 4-14 (C. Duncan 2-5, Smith 1-3, J. Duncan 1-3, Pickel 0-3). Total Fouls — Nv 15, NP 11. Fouled out — NP (C. Duncan). Total Rebounds — Nv 38 (Booe 12, Bryan 9), NP 26 (Pickel 8). Turnovers — Nv 10, NP 14.