Eagles fall on the road 57-39

NEW MARKET -- For all practical purposes Saturday night's basketball game between South Putnam and Southmont was over in the first quarter.

The Eagles (1-3) were never able to fully recover from a disastrous opening quarter in a 57-39 loss to the Mounties (3-3).

So just how bad was the first quarter?

South Putnam was held scoreless from the floor and if it hadn't have been for a free throw from freshman Allen Plunkett with 3:34 to play in the first quarter the Eagles would have been shut out. The Mounties had no trouble scoring in the first quarter and they put up 22 points to lead 22-1.

"That was a pretty bad first quarter," South Putnam coach Greg Dean said. "We couldn't shoot. We didn't take care of the basketball and we got into a lot of foul trouble."

Southmont came out in a 1-3-1 trapping defense which has caused the Eagles fits all season and Saturday was no different. It led to 10 first-quarter turnovers and 17 in the first half.

"It didn't surprise us when they threw that at us," Dean said. "We are having trouble with it and until we figure out how to break it everyone is going to use it against us."

The Eagles also were a bit foul happy in the first half and sent the Mounties to the foul line 17 times and the hosts converted on 13 of those to take a 37-17 lead into the break.

The second half the Eagles were able to hold their own and actually outscored Southmont 22-20.

"I can't say enough about the kids we had out there in the second half," Dean said. "They gave it they all and they busted their tails. I was very proud of them."

The most notable was senior Jordan Parks who led the team with 12 points. He got help from Blake Clearwater who scored six in the second half and Wes Lasko who added three.

Plunkett did not play in the second half after it appeared he injured his knee late in the first half. He scored four points before sitting out the second half.

"We are learning," Dean said. "We just have to continue to get better. If we can get the effort we got in the second half we can turn the corner."

The Eagles will battle county rival Cloverdale on Wednesday.

At Southmont

South Putnam 1 16 13 9 - 39

Southmont 22 15 8 12 - 57

SCORING

South Putnam (1-3): Stewart 1-3 0-0 2, Rutter 1-3 0-0 2, McHugh 1-3 2-3 5, Scott 1-4 0-0 3, Plunkett 1-3 2-4 4, Grindlock 1-4 0-0 2, Fanning 0-1 0-0 0, Parks 4-10 4-9 12, Clearwater 2-3 0-0 6, Lesko 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 13-35 9-18 39.

Southmont (3-3): Todd 2-6 1-1 6, Chadd 7-16 0-0 16, Traverse 2-4 0-0 5, Budd 2-3 1-2 5, Swick 4-6 11-14 19, Gregg 0-2 0-0 0, Farabee 1-2 0-0 2, Wermer 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 20-44 13-17 57.

3-Point shooting: South Putnam 4-9 (Rutter 0-1, McHugh 1-2, Scott 1-2, Grindlock 0-1, Clearwater 2-2, Plunkett 0-1); Southmont 4-14 (Todd 1-4, Chadd 2-6, Traverse 1-1, Gregg 0-2, Wermer 0-1).

Rebounds: South Putnam 23 (Lesko 3, Parks 3, McHugh 3); Southmont 36 (Swick 6, Budd 5, Chadd 5< Todd 5).

Fouls: South Putnam 19; Southmont 16

Technical Foul: South Putnam coach

Turnovers: South Putnam 22; Southmont 21