SP's Arnold explodes for 28, Eagles run past Clovers 74-67

South Putnam junior Trey Moore splits the Cloverdale defense to get to the basket for a layup in the first quarter. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

South Putnam unveiled a new-look offense Friday against Cloverdale and snapped a four-game skid with a 74-67 win to move to 6-7 on the season.

The loss drops the Clovers to 3-12.

The Eagles never trailed in the contest and posted a whopping 27 points in the first quarter. Junior Sawyer Arnold scored 10 points to pace the Eagles in the opening period and helped them grab a 27-12 edge after one quarter of play.

"I was really proud of our kids," South Putnam head coach Troy Burgess said. "We just started this week, we tried something new. We picked the tempo up a little bit to see if we can get the ball up the court and get some looks for our guys." 


The Clovers chipped away at the lead in the second quarter, but South Putnam still managed to hold a 41-31 lead going into halftime. The Eagles shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half and looked well on their way to an easy win.

But as anyone who has followed Cloverdale head coach Pat Rady's career knows, a staple of his teams is a never-give-up attitude and that was on full display as the second half opened.

Cloverdale junior Kade Schroer caught fire in the third quarter, knocking down four three-pointers for 12 point as the Clovers cut the Eagles' lead to seven at 55-48 going into the fourth quarter.

South Putnam's offense slowed its tempo in the second half and Cloverdale took full advantage. Senior Brody Pfaff converted on a three-point play to cut the lead to four points at 57-53 early in the final period.

The Clovers moved even closer when junior Kedrick Collet hit a field goal to cut the lead three points a few minutes later. But South Putnam's opening quarter advantage proved to be too much to overcome in the end.

Down the stretch, South Putnam converted on its free throws and held on for a hard-fought win.

Arnold led all scorers with 28 points, with junior teammate Trey Moore adding 12 and seniors Ryan Chestnut and Justin Bumgardner adding nine points each.

For the Clovers, Schroer led the way with 22 points, followed by junior Zach Dorman with 14 and sophomore Brantson Scott with 11.

Following the contest Burgess praised Rady, his staff and his ball club for a job well done.

"I tell you what, everybody knows coach Rady does a great job. Him and his son (Patrick) do a tremendous job and they are so good at finding your weaknesses and attacking them," Burgess said. "That's years of experience and man, his kids played hard. Schroer -- there's not a spot in the gym he can't make it from. And his bigs (Zach Dorman and Scott) jump out and shoot well. I'm very impressed with that Cloverdale team.

"That's not a three-win team. They are very good. They play hard and play with a lot of class. My hats off to Cloverdale."

Rady commented that he was proud of his team's effort on the night and said what it needs to do from this point on to be successful.

"I'm very proud of our players," Rady said. "I was as proud of these guys tonight as any time this year and it was a great effort. I can't fault the desire our players showed tonight. The fans and student body was here, so that was very pleasing and we appreciate it.

"Now we just have to get to work and try to keep improving."

South Putnam will travel to Riverton Parke tonight, while the Clovers will host South Vermillion tonight. Both contests are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman (42) cuts down the baseline to put in a reverse layup in front of South Putnam's Clayton Vittetow. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

At South Putnam
Cloverdale 12 19 17 19 -- 67
South Putnam 27 14 14 19 -- 74