Cougars go 1-2 at Monrovia Holiday Classic

MONROVIA – North Putnam’s final three games of the 2022 calendar came at Monrovia Tuesday and Wednesday as the Cougars took part in the Monrovia Holiday Classic.

The team went 1-2 over the course of the two-day event, falling to A No. 14 Greenwood Christian 55-49 and lost in the fifth-place game to Purdue Poly Englewood 69-50, defeating Rising Sun 68-51 in the consolation bracket.

Whereas the offense had slow starts in the two losses, North Putnam got out of the traps early against the Shiners, taking a 21-5 lead after a quarter of play.

The Cougars jumped out to a 10-0 lead after a Brady Barber free throw, three from Nolan Hackleman, two baskets from Brayden Monnett and a feed inside to Jaylen Windmiller.

Dylan Martin broke the run with a three to get Rising Sun on the scoreboard though North Putnam kept up the offensive pressure as Isaac Pickel scored twice inside, Windmiller added another basket and Monnett scored on a steal before Kaden Helderman ended the period with a three for a 16-point lead.

The Shiners kept things from getting out of hand by speeding up their passing, getting an early three-point play from Nate Graver and a three from Brody Morris.

North Putnam answered from beyond the arc as Monnett and Helderman both hit twice from deep while Barber added a fifth three in the quarter late on.

Martin would add another three-point play late in the quarter while Brady Works hit twice from deep, the latter keeping the Cougars from taking a 20-point lead into the halftime break, though still a handy 17-point lead at 43-26, having shot 17-of-26 from the field in the first half, including 10-13 from inside the three-point arc.

North Putnam continued to work the ball inside, using the height advantage of Windmiller and Pickel for three baskets while using each big as part of the passing game that kept Rising Sun on the run.

The Shiners would get the lead down to 15 briefly at 51-36 after a three from Martin but back-to-back threes from Monnett and Hackleman to close the quarter stretched the lead out to its largest at 57-36.

Rising Sun started the fourth quarter with two baskets from Martin and a three from Works that forced a timeout with the lead cut down to 57-43.

Another Works three made it 59-46 before Pickel scored on the inside and Monnett knocked down two free throws to calm any nerves the Cougars had.

North Putnam finished the game shooting 75 percent from two, hitting 18-of-24 shots inside the arc and was 9-opf-22 from three, including of 7-of-13 in the first half.

Monnett led all scorers with 21 points and was one of four Cougars in double-figures as Pickel scored 12 points, Hackleman added 11 points and Helderman chipped in 10 points.

North Putnam returns to action Jan. 6 at West Vigo.

Scoring

North Putnam (18-24 3FG; 9-22 3FG; 5-8 FT) — Monnett 21, Pickel 12, Hackleman 11, Helderman 10, Windmiller 8, Barber 6

Rising Sun (12-28 2FG; 8-24 3FG; 3-3 FT) — Works 16, Martin 15, Merica 7, Graver 5,Morris 3, Elliot 3, Clark 2

Statistics