North Putnam explodes in fourth quarter to down Owen Valley

North Putnam's Kaden Helderman provided an offensive punch in the first half for the Cougars, scoring nine of his team-high 15 points early on, as the hosts struggled for three quarters to get their offense going until a 22-point fourth quarter powered them past Owen Valley 43-30.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

BAINBRIDGE – Going into the fourth quarter of Friday night’s boys’ basketball game, North Putnam found itself trailing Owen Valley by a point in a game that had only seen 43 total point scored through three quarters.

The Cougars would find 43 to be the winning number but only after scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter in a 43-30 win over the Patriots to celebrate homecoming.

“We try to place fast offensively and defensively; sometimes we don’t play quite as fast as we’d like,” North Putnam head coach Vince Brooks said. “It was an ugly, scrappy game as our shooting wasn’t great tonight.

“When you’re shooting isn’t where you expect it to be, you have to do some other things to make up for it and unfortunately, offensive rebounding wasn’t part of what we did to make up for it. They are a team that plays hard and sometimes you’ve got to stay the course.

“We’re proud of the guys as they eventually wore (Owen Valley) down and got some good opportunities late,” Brooks added.

Owen Valley gave off signals it would look to slow the game down significantly but North Putnam still got several baskets to fall in the opening quarter.

Kaden Helderman opened the game with a three that was answered by Kaden Hamilton before Nolan Hackleman added a free throw and three for a 7-3 lead.

Joe Ross hit a three on the other end for the Patriots while Brady Barber hit a free throw and scored off a steal to make it 10-6.

Two free throws from Derrek Atkinson were answered by a second Helderman three as the Cougars led 13-8 after eight minutes of play.

The visitors started the second quarter with a 90-second possession that ended in a turnover while Helderman hit his third three of the night in 15 seconds to make it 16-8.

Owen Valley continued to slow play down considerably and the continued long possessions began to wear on North Putnam as the hosts’ offense became rushed and lost its edge.

Atkinson added four points in the period with Barber and Matt Farrington hitting a free throw each as the Cougars led 18-12 at halftime.

“Our shooting did not feel good tonight,” Brooks noted as the Cougars shot 29 percent from the field (5-of-17) in the first half and 37 percent (15-of-41) for the game. “Sometimes, emotions don’t accurately communicate the game and sometimes later, you look at the box score and things aren’t as bad as you think they are.

“There were just times it felt like we couldn’t buy a bucket. We got some good looks at the rim and open looks from three that just weren’t falling down. That said, we’re proud of the resiliency of the guys to just keep sticking with it.”

The halftime team talks did little to improve play as it took nearly half the third quarter for the first points of the period to arrive.

Atkinson hit a three to halve the deficit and, after an Isaac Pickel free throw, the Patriots scored the next seven points to first tie and then take the lead.

Ross scored first on a drive before Hamilton hit a floater to tie the game at 19-19, the latter adding a three to give Owen Valley its first lead of the night at 22-19.

Jaylen Windmiller missed out on a three-point play on the next possession and North Putnam found itself trailing 22-21 after three quarters of play.

The Cougars had utilized a halfcourt trap during the second and third quarters, often close to getting steals in those periods, and finally snared the Patriots in the fourth quarter.

Helderman kicked off the final eight minutes with a three while Hackleman and Barber scored off steals, all within the first 60 seconds, to retake the lead at 28-22.

“We were able to capitalize on the strength of our athleticism,” Brooks said about the defense in the fourth quarter. “To play that way for two quarters, sometimes you don’t reap the benefits of that play until late in the third or in the fourth quarter. That happened tonight.

“Getting (Owen Valley) to hurry up in its offense and forcing it to sprint back in transition is a super important part of the game. Forcing them to run is the strength of our team.”

Ross hit a free throw but the hosts had found their flow and added eight more points as Barber hit a three while Helderman and Hackleman scored at the rim to make it a double-digit lead at 35-23.

Atkinson hit two free throws and added a basket but a Nolan Augusta three ensured there was no momentum to be found as North Putnam kept the pressure on to close out a win on homecoming.

Scoring

Owen Valley (6-11 2FG; 4-20 3FG; 6-7 FT) — Atkinson 16, Hamilton 8, Ross 6

North Putnam (8-20 2FG; 7-21 3FG; 6-13 FT) — Helderman 15, Hackleman 10, Barber 9, Windmiller 5, Augusta 3, Farrington 1, Pickel 1

Statistics