Cougars give Sparkplugs a scare

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam Cougars boys' basketball team hosted the West Central Conference leading Speedway Sparkplugs Monday night.

North Putnam knew it would have its hands full with the athletic, taller Sparkplugs, who were entering the game with an unblemished, 5-0 record in the WCC.

Also, Griffen Dahlstrom, a key player in the Cougar lineup, would not play in the game, resting an injured leg.

North Putnam played their best game of the season, but Speedway defeated the Cougars, 59-44.

The Cougars matched the Sparkplugs shot-for-shot in the first quarter, with Scott Hunt, Jerrett Ban, Mitchell Crum and Kyle Adams scoring in the period, while North Putnam's solid defense forced five Speedway turnovers in the period.

The score was 12-12 at the start of the second quarter.

Brock Jones and Tim Wiltermood joined their teammates in the scorebook in the second period; however, Speedway was able to pull away from North Putnam in the final four minutes of the first half. The Sparkplugs were able to get hot shooting from the floor, giving the visitors a 28-21 lead at halftime.

The Cougars battled back in the third quarter, closing the gap to five points at 30-25 with 5:45 left in the period, but the Sparkplugs stretched their lead to 13 points during the rest of the stanza, with the quarter ending in a score of 47-34.

Once again, North Putnam battled back in the final period, narrowing the gap to eight points, at 49-41, with 3:50 left in the game, but Speedway outscored the Cougars 10-4 during the remainder of the game.

The game was much closer than the final score indicated, as North Putnam's aggressive man-to-man defense caused problems for Speedway thoughout the game, allowing Crum, Kyle Alcorn, Ban, Hunt, and Adams to steal seven Sparkplug passes.

The difference in the game turned out to be shooting percentages from the field, 46 percent for Speedway versus 38 percent for North Putnam, enabling the visitors to hit nine more field goals than the home team. The taller Sparkplugs out-rebounded the Cougars, 25-19.

"Our kids are fighters," commented North Putnam coach Brady Armstrong after the game. "They just don't back down from anybody.

"I have to give Speedway credit. That's the best I've seen them this year in terms of patience on their motion offense," he continued. "They did a great job of holding the basketball and you have to give their coach credit; he did a great job."

"The extra time off before our next game against Tri-West will allow us work on some things, and for Griffen to heal," added Armstrong.

North Putnam was led in scoring by Crum with 10 points.

Wiltermood followed with nine, Ban and Hunt added eight each, and Adams and Jones closed out the Cougar scoring with five points each.

Ban led the Cougars in rebounds with a game-high seven boards, followed by Hunt with three, and Crum and Alcorn with two caroms each. The quad of Ban, Hunt, Dean and Adams each had a blocked shot, Crum and Hunt had game-high two assists each, followed by Alcorn who passed for one. Alcorn and Adams also had a game-high two steals each, with Crum, Ban and Hunt each grabbing a Speedway pass.

In the freshman game, North Putnam defeated Speedway, 21-20.

Kolten Everts led the Cougars' in scoring with 15 points, and Jacob Muse closed out the Cougar scoring with six points.

The Cougars (3-13, 2-3 WCC) are off until next Tuesday, Feb. 17, when they travel to Lizton to play possible sectional foe, Tri-West. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m.

At North Putnam

North Putnam 12 9 13 11 -- 45

Speedway 12 16 19 12 -- 59

North Putnam (3-13, 2-3 WCC)

Wiltermood 3-3 3-5 9, Crum 3-10 3-4 10, Alcorn 0-1 0-0 0, Ban 3-6 2-2 8, Hunt 2-8 4-4 8, Dean 0-2 0-0 0, Adams 2-3 1-1 5, Jones 2-4 0-0 5, Hedrick 0-2 0-0 0, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Enders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 FG, 13-16 FT, 45 TP.

Speedway (8-7, 6-0 WCC)

Duman 0-0 0-0 0, Rosebrough 0-0 2-2 2, West 0-0 0-0 0, Dial 0-0 0-0 0, Linville 1-2 2-2 5, Eggert 2-6 0-0 4, Daghe 1-4 2-2 4, Avance 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson 3-7 1-1 8, Hubbard 7-12 0-0 14, Coates 6-11 0-0 12, Lewis 3-7 2-2 8. Totals 24-52 FG, 9-9 FT, 59 TP.

3-pt. FG -- NP 2-12 (Crum 1-4, Alcorn 0-1, Hunt 0-1, Dean 0-2, Jones 1-2, Hedrick 0-2), S 2-11 (Linville 1-2, Daghe 0-3, Jackson 1-3, Hubbard 0-2, Coates 0-1). Rebounds -- NP 19 (Wiltermood 1, Crum 2, Alcorn 2, Ban 7, Hunt 3, Dean 1, Adams 1, Jones 1, Enders 1), S 25 (Duman 2, Linville 1, Eggert 3, Daghe 3, Avance 3, Jackson 2, Hubbard 3, Coates 6, Lewis 2). Blocks -- NP 4 (Ban 1, Hunt 1, Dean 1, Adams 1), S 4 (Linville 1, Coates 1, Lewis 2). Assists -- NP 5 (Crum 2, Alcorn 1, Hunt 2), S 7 (Eggert 1, Daghe 2, Avance 1, Hubbard 2, Lewis 1). Steals -- NP 7 (Crum 1, Alcorn 2, Ban 1, Hunt 1, Adams 2), S 6 (Linville 1, Eggert 2, Hubbard 1, Lewis 2). Total fouls -- NP 11, S 14. Fouled out -- none. Turnovers -- NP 13, S 14.

Next game -- The Cougars (3-13, 2-3 WCC) are off until next Tuesday, February 17, when they travel to Lizton to play possible Sectional foe, Tri-West. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m.