Tiger Cubs down North Putnam by 24

GREENCASTLE -- A 39-point game from Greencastle sophomore forward Nick Hutcheson propelled the Tiger Cubs to a 74-50 victory over North Putnam Friday night.

Hutcheson led the way for the Tiger Cubs as he pounded the ball inside on the Cougars defense. The Greencastle coaching staff left Hutcheson in the game late in the fourth quarter, thinking he could break the school record.

The school record of 48 was out of reach though for the sophomore. With 2:15 left in the fourth quarter head coach Troy Greenlee pulled his starters with a 20-point lead.

"Nick had an outstanding game tonight, he created a lot of problems for the Cougars on the offensive end," said Greenlee. "He finished well tonight and he was in good position all night."

Hutcheson's shooting percentage for the night was 64 percent from the field. He was also 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

The only other player in double figures for the Tiger Cubs was senior Jordan Hickam with 10 points.

For the Cougars, it was a tale of two halves. The first and third quarters the Cougars matched up with the Tiger Cubs shot for shot. It was the second and fourth quarters that they were outshot 37 to 17.

"Effort wise, it was there tonight; we just had a lapse in those two quarters," said North Putnam head coach Nathan Martindale. "We had several opportunities to cut into the score we just didn't convert.

"Turnovers killed us tonight. At times their pressure gave our boys that deer in the head lights look.

"It seemed like we just weren't ready tonight."

It was that pressure defense of the Tiger Cubs that Greenlee said, the boys need to work on. Although the Tiger Cubs started out in a zone, they soon switch to man-to-man early in the second quarter.

"The defense got a little better as the game went along," said Greenlee. "Once we switched to man to man it seemed to help.

"We need to keep working on our defense, and rebounding on the offensive boards."

Leading the way for the Cougars was junior forward James Hedrick with 19 points. Hedrick was the only player for the Cougars to score in double figures.

Late in the game, junior Cody Summerlot provided a spark off the bench, scoring six points. He made his first field goal and converted four-of-four shots from the line.

Martindale said his club needs to work on taking care of the ball and limiting the number of turnovers.

"We can also do better from the free throw line," he said.

The Tiger Cubs will travel to Tri-West Saturday. With the win, they are now 5-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

North Putnam is off until Tuesday when they face off against Speedway. The Cougars are now 3-11 on the season.

At Greencastle

North Putnam 16 8 17 9 50

Greencastle 18 15 19 22 74

Individual Stats

North Putnam (50) -- Hedrick 19, Franklin 9, Summerlot 6, Adams 6, Jones 5, Stewart 2, Muse 2, Porter 1. Totals: 18-55 FG, 9-16 FT, 50 TP.

Greencastle (74) -- Hutcheson 39, Hickam 10, Moore 5, Hennett 4, Lewis 4, Huber 3, Embry 3, Stuckwisch 3, Haussin 2, Tesmer 1. Totals: 30-56 FG, 10-14 FT, 74 TP.

Next Game -- Greencastle moves to 5-7 on the season and will travel to Tri-West Saturday night. North Putnam moves to 3-11 and will play Speedway Tuesday.