Eagles lose heartbreaker in double overtime to Cascade, 46-44

GREENCASTLE -- Late-game heroics from Cascade were too much for the South Putnam JV boys' basketball team Wednesday afternoon. The host Eagles fell to the Cadets 46-44 in the final of the Eagle JV Holiday Tournament.

After trailing by six early in the third quarter, South crawled back into it, taking a four-point lead in the late going.

However, they could not put it away, missing key free throws and giving the Cadets one last chance. Hayden Suter hit a half-court buzzer beater to send the game to overtime, tied at 34-a''.

It was more of the same in the first overtime, the Eagles were up 37-34 late, but a three-pointer with 10 seconds left sent the game to a second overtime.

The Cadets took control in the second extra period, building a lead of as many as five before weathering a final Eagle surge to win 46-44.

South Putnam Coach Chris Jones said he could sum up the Eagle struggles in just two words.

"Free throws," Jones said. "We missed big free throws in regulation and overtime that would have sealed it. The half courts shot wouldn't have mattered."

Jones gave his team a lot of credit in other areas, though, saying they played hard and were able to execute unfamiliar plays on the fly.

The Eagles also made a nice second half comeback after the Cadets built a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. They began to execute on defense, which led to good things on the offensive end.

"Our kids did a good job of responding about the 4 minute mark," Jones said. "Anytime you can get a stop defensively, it helps your offense. We calmed down on offense."

Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 12 points, followed by Logan Bell with 11.

At Central Elementary School

Eagle JV Holiday Tournament

Cascade 8 12 7 7 3 9 -- 46

S. Putnam 8 11 6 9 3 7 -- 44

Cascade -- Bridges 12, Canaday 12, Lautenschlager 10, Suter 5, Bajwa 4, Bobadilla 3

South Putnam -- Arnold 12, Pell 11, Briones 5, Franklin 5, Knoy 4, Eickhoff 4, Gronneburg 3