Cloverdale, Greencastle take home Putnam County Middle School boys' basketball titles

In a game that came down to the final seconds, Cloverdale rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit and held off Greencastle 38-36 to win the seventh grade title at the Putnam County Middle School boys' basketball tournament.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

CLOVERDALE – Cloverdale and Greencastle came away with Putnam County titles Wednesday night as the Clovers defeated the Tiger Cubs to win the seventh-grade title and the purple and grey defeated North Putnam to win the eighth grade title.

Seventh Grade

Cloverdale 38, Greencastle 36

A game with vast swings began with the hosts racing out to a 10-3 lead in 2:33 as Charles Maybaum and Ethan Pettit scored early baskets while Dylan Withers hit a pair of threes, forcing a Tiger Cub timeout.

From that point onward, however, Greencastle did not allow a Cloverdale point the rest of the half, getting two baskets from Charlie Knuth to close the gap to 10-7 after a quarter of play.

Will Gooch scored a basket and free throw to tie the game at 10-10 before trading baskets with Knauff to take an 18-10 lead.

Dylan Waugh scored on a putback and Knuth finished the half with a basket to give the Tiger Cubs a 22-10 lead at the intermission.

The Clovers came out swinging to start the second half as Withers scored to break a 10-minute scoreless streak before Maybaum hit back-to-back threes to close the gap to 22-18.

“I talked a little bit from the heart at halftime,” Cloverdale coach Josh Stewart said. “Being a South Putnam kid and playing in these tournaments, I said everyone wants to beat Greencastle in these games.

“We wanted them to focus in, play with heart give it all they had and we’d be in good shape. We needed to win the first three minutes of the third quarter and we got back in it.”

Kainan Beasley broke the 8-0 run but a putback basket from Liam Kelley and another Withers basket made it a two-point game at 24-22.

Max Simmerman scored off a block with Maybaum scoring the final points of the third quarter to leave Greencastle clinging to a 26-24 lead.

Kelley tied the game at 26-26 before Maybaum hit a three and Justin Mattingly scored on the inside to give the hosts a 31-26 lead.

Knuth broke the 7-0 run , adding a pair of free throws to make it 32-30 before Maybaum hit another three to stretch the lead back out to five.

Pettit made it a six-point game at 37-31 before Knuth converted a three-point play and scored another basket 32 seconds to play.

Pettit hit 1-of-2 at the line before Withers stole the ball with 10 seconds left but couldn’t add to the lead.

Withers snatched another steal but Gooch stole the ball back but, with two defenders approaching, was unable to get a shot away and was called for traveling as Cloverdale won the seventh-grade title.

“We had some ups and downs against North Putnam as well but our offense was able to carry us through that game,” Stewart said. “Tonight, our big focus was on defense.

“When it got a little heated, we focused on (Greencastle’s) key guys and I’m so proud of the way these guys played tonight. It’s been an up and down season for these guys, winning a lot of the games we should, even if some were closer than I anticipated.

“We’ve battled some adversity but, day in and day out, the guys have worked hard, bought in to what the coaches have been teaching them and we couldn’t be more proud of how the guys showed out in the county tournament with what we’ve been working on.”

Scoring

Greencastle (15-39 2FG; 0-14 3FG; 6-15 FT) — Knuth 20, Gooch 10, Beasley 2, Waugh 2, Simmerman 2

Cloverdale (9-15 2FG; 6-14 3FG; 2-14 FT) — Maybaum 16, Withers 10, Pettit 5, Kelley 5, Mattingly 2

Statistics

Eighth Grade

Greencastle 39, North Putnam 24

Gavin Tyson and Nash Dobbs proved to be a 1-2 combo that the Cougars could not handle as the duo combined for 36 of the Tiger Cubs’ 39 points in the win.

“It was a fun game,” Greencastle coach Parker Aul said. “I’ve told them no matter the talent level, county games are always going to be tough.

“We told the guys at halftime to expect a run from (North Putnam) and it came. Our guys hit some shots and played well in the end.”

Tyson scored eight of Greencastle’s 10 first-quarter points with Dobbs providing the other basket as the Tiger Cubs jumped out to a 10-2 lead after a quarter of play, Kellen Windmiller scoring the North Putnam basket in the quarter.

The lead reached 12-2 when Weston Houser hit a three, adding a basket off a block while Xavier Miller scored inside to trim the gap to 14-9.

Griffin Goodpaster hit a three in reply while Dobbs added the final basket of the half as Greencastle led 19-9 at the break.

“I give a lot of credit to out guys as they’ve bought in to the roles we’ve asked them to play,” Aul said about the squad with only three players scoring on the night. “All the way up through high school, you’re going to have a leading scorer, a leading rebounder, a guy that dives on the floor etc. and we have all that on the eighth grade team.

“They showed that tonight. Some guys did struggle from three and around the rim but they all played with great energy and effort, which panned out for us.”

North Putnam started the second half on a 10-1 run to bring the deficit down to a point, starting with a Sam Wendt three before Houser scored seven-straight points to make it 20-19.

Tyson scored the next four points while Dobbs added a basket and a free throw to stretch the lead back out to 10 at 29-19.

Clayton Payne hit a jumper and Houser scored to end the third quarter to make it 31-22 but the Cougars would only score one basket in the final quarter while Dobbs and Tyson added two free throws and a basket each to seal the win.

“At the beginning of the year, it was rough for the guys,” Aul said. “We faced a lot of press but the kids have kept battling and play hard.

“That’s all I can ask for a coach. They’re going to be ready for next year, whether it’s on the freshmen team, JV or even varsity.”

Scoring

Greencastle (13-26 2FG: 1-13 3FG; 10-15 FT) — Tyson 22, Dobbs 14, Goodpaster 3

North Putnam (7-21 2FG; 3-20 2FG; 1-4 FT) — Houser 13, Wendt 5, Windmiller 2, Miller 2, Payne 2

Statistics