Eagles clobber Cadets, march to sectional final

Senior Justin Bumgardner (11) squares up to the Cascade defense before sinking a jumpshot in the first quarter on Friday. Bumgardner finished with a game-high 21 points in the sectional semifinal win for South Putnam. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The South Putnam boy's basketball team opened up play in Sectional 44 on Friday night, advancing to the championship game with a win against the Cascade Cadets 67-56.

South Putnam started fast going on an 8-0 run in the first four minutes of the game and maintained the advantage throughout.

The Eagles rode the momentum of a fast start to a 15-10 first-quarter lead.

"We did a good job of getting out of the gate strong," South Putnam coach Troy Burgess said.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Cadets nine to five in the frame, but South Putnam turned the ball over six times allowing the Cadets to go on a 10-7 run to close the lead to 5.

The second quarter was much of the same as the Eagles started the quarter on a 10-0 run in the first four minutes, pounding the ball inside to seniors Justin Bumgardner and Ryan Chestnut.

Bumgardner finished with a game-high 21 points, and junior Trey Moore added 17.

The run pushed the Eagles' lead to 15 and they outscored the Cadets 18-7 in the quarter to extend the lead to 33-17 at the half. It was a low total for Cascade, which came in averaging nearly 48 points per game.

"We did a great job on the defensive end," Burgess said.

The game progressed quickly through the third quarter as both teams scored less than 15 points.

Beginning in the third was when both teams started to get into foul trouble. South Putnam had six while Cascade had five fouls.

The Eagles overcame fouls called in volume on both teams, as two players for each teams fouled out in the fourth quarter.

The final quarter is when the game really got interesting for the Eagles.

The Cadets most disruptive defensive player, senior Daljot Bajwa, fouled out with 3:30 left in the game. He was followed to the bench by senior Colin Smith, who picked up his fifth with 2:45 left in the game.

For the Eagles, junior Sawyer Arnold and Chestnut fouled out inside the 1:10 mark but the South Putnam already had it wrapped up and went on to victory.

Defense in the game was big for the Eagles as they held the top two scorers for the Cadets to 19 total points.

"Logan (Pell) did a great job of guarding (junior Hayden) Suter," Burgess said. "Pell really took it upon himself and led the defense."

Suter scored just 10 points. Senior Eric Bobadilla led the Cadets with 17.

The Eagles will take on Speedway tonight, which beat Covenant Christian in Friday's other semifinal game, 61-34. Saturday's contest, beginning at 7:30, will decide who is crowned Sectional 44 champion.

South Putnam will need to play a solid game against the Sparkplugs (18-4) in order to get the win.

"We need to work on protecting the ball and improving the defense," Burgess said.

Senior Ryan Chestnut (50) takes an over-the-shoulder pass from senior Logan Pell in the first quarter on Friday, beating defender Jake Canaday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

IHSAA Sectional 44
Semifinal at South Putnam
Cascade 10 7 13 26 -- 56
South Putnam 15 18 12 22 -- 67