South Putnam boys' basketball can't bounce back

After falling behind by 14 after one quarter of play, the Eagles' boys' basketball team found stability by halftime and trailed by seven after three quarters of play, only to run out of steam and fall to the Mounties 63-40.

South Putnam coach Greg Dean noted that the team came back well after a disappointing home defeat the previous evening.

"I thought the way we bounced back from last night was good," Dean said. "We came to practice and film session in a good frame of mind today and we benefited from that.

"I thought our energy was good and the kids were excited to play. They were anxious to get back on the horse and I think it showed today because we played a little bit tougher tonight.

"We did some things better and for 26 or 27 minutes of basketball, we were pretty good," Dean added. "There were some short periods where we let it slip away a little bit and made some mistakes."

The Monties wasted little time in asserting themselves into the game, scoring the opening seven points of the game and the last five of the quarter to build up an 18-4 lead after a period of play.

While Southmont was settled in its play, South Putnam changed the line-up several times until the combination of Jacob Schorer, Jacob Carmichael, Chad Menke, Trevor Long and Blake Clearwaters took the court at the same time.

Dean said that the combination found a way to get back into the game.

"A little bit of it was because of the way Southmont was guarding us," Dean noted. "Some of the pressure and things they were doing fit the line-up.

"We went with a freshman in Blake Clearwaters who is athletic and at his best when he can be aggressive. That fit him a little bit.

"The line-up that we threw in there in the second quarter stabilized us," Dean added. "They fought back and it was a momentum thing more than anything.

"If that line-up was not broken, then we didn't want to fix it. I thought they did a nice job and while they made some mistakes along the way, they were consistent for the most part."

Foul trouble for the Mounties saw the visitors disrupted the visitors' momentum, as the hosts closed the first half with an 8-0 run that cut the lead down to 27-19.

Schroer and Menke helped the South Putnam offense match Southmont stride for stride in the third quarter, scoring 13 of the Eagles' 15 points in the frame trimming the lead down to 41-34 entering the final period of play.

Dean felt that Schroer, who finished with a game-high 19 points, stepped up into the role that the coach envisioned for the senior.

"We got a big game out of Jacob Schroer" Dean said. "I thought he was aggressive, did a lot of nice things and did a lot of the things we need from him."

Just as the game looked headed for an exciting finish, Southmont introduced a half-court trap that flummoxed the Eagles, allowing the visitors to rattle off a 19-0 run that took the game away from the hosts.

Dean said that the team needed to respond to the situation better in future games.

"In the fourth quarter, when they threw the trap at us, there were three or four possessions in a row where we weren't patient, we didn't attack it well and we tried to make some long passes," Dean said. "Initially, we didn't do a very good job."

With the loss, South Putnam moves to 1-6 on the year and returns to action when Rockville arrives on Friday.

"I think they need to understand that a lot of the things we've been working on can be successful," Dean said. "We threw some stats at them, such as we missed 10 lay-ups in the first half. If you can fix some of those things and finish a little better, there's a lot to be positive about."

At South Putnam

Southmont 18 9 14 22 -- 63

South Putnam 4 15 15 6 -- 40

Statistics