North Putnam falls to Southmont in opener, 68-42

Friday, November 28, 2008

ROACHDALE -- After a coaching change, learning a new coach's system can be a challenge for a team.

This proved to be the case for the North Putnam boys' basketball team in new coach Brady Armstrong's debut on Wednesday. The Cougars did some things well, but ultimately fell to Southmont 68-42.

Southmont took possession at the tip-off and took control of the ball game. In the first quarter, Southmont used fast breaks and smooth passing to take the lead over the Cougars.

The Cougars had many out of control passes that kept them from scoring enough points to take the lead.

However, Jerrett Ban was very helpful under the basket with rebounding. Mitchell Crum and Ban led the North Putnam offense with four points each in the quarter.

The Cougars trailed the Mounties 14-19 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was a quarter of fouls and errors on both sides of the court. With 2:41 left in the half, North Putnam took a timeout to regroup.

Brock Jones led the Cougars scoring with four points. But once again, Southmont was able to monopolize once again on the errors of the Cougars and continued to lead the game 31-23 at halftime.

After halftime, the Cougars came out looking more energetic than they did in the first half. Mitchell Crum once again was a key component of the offense by scoring six points.

But fouls were again a problem for the Cougars. The Mounties used free throws and a strong defensive plan to continue leading the game 48-32.

The fourth was more of the same with Southmont taking advantage of bad passes, missed rebounds, and missed scoring opportunities by North Putnam.

The Mounties were able to outscore North 20-10 in the fourth.

It was an overall good display of teamwork by both teams; but the Cougars continue to learn new coach Brady Armstrong's system.

Armstrong had nothing but positive words about the game and his team.

"I thought that our guys played well," he said. "There were certain aspects of the game that we need to improve on. Some of these things included using the glass and working on our passes and our rebounds.

The Cougars are also looking toward a time when their regular starters can take the floor.

"We did have some players that got some time on the court due to injuries and other situations that didn't allow some of our normal starters to play. But I am confident that we can come back from this loss and do well in the county tourney next weekend," Armstrong concluded.

The Cougars are in action again on Friday, Dec. 5 in the Putanm County Classic at Greencastle.

At North Putnam

Southmont 19 12 17 20 -- 68

North Putnam 14 9 9 10 -- 42

Points: Crum 18, Ban-6, Dean-5, Jones-3, Hedrick-3, Adams-2, Alcorn-2, Spencer-1, Franklin-1

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