SPHS wins for seniors

Wednesday, February 24, 2016
South Putnam seniors Jimmy Rutter, Trevor Long, Grady McHugh, Josh Stewart, Daniel Grundlock and Jordan Parks celebrate a victory in the final game of the regular season. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

The South Putnam boys' basketball team put on a good show in its final home game of the season, taking the lead early in the first quarter against Riverton Parke and never letting it go in a 59-40 win Tuesday.

The Panthers did their best to spoil Senior Night for the Eagles but a strong fourth quarter put the game out of reach.

"Coming into this game were basically like it's our last straw so let's go out and give it what we got," SPHS' Trevor Long said. "I feel like that's exactly what we did. It was a positive outcome. That was really cool."

The Eagles started their regular season-ending game on a good note with five of their six seniors starting with one subbing in to finish the quarter. The seniors went up 11-4 in the first before the Panthers began to fight back, ending the quarter 13-9 Eagles.

"I thought (the seniors) had a little bit of emotion," Eagle coach Greg Dean. "That's something we've needed. They came out. I thought they had a little bit of fire. Up and down the line, all of our kids did a good job of executing the game plan tonight."

The execution had positive results for the Eagles as most of the buckets came off drawn-0up plays. Josh Stewart and Grady McHugh put up threes in the first, Jimmy Rutter added a bucket and Trevor Long was effective inside scoring five.

Into the second quarter the Eagles maintained their lead with solid defense and rebounding that led to set plays on the offensive end. Allen Plunkett knocked down a three after coming into the game helping SPHS to 10 points and holding RPHS to eight. McHugh did his part making sure that when the Panthers missed they didn't get a second shot. McHugh finished with a game-high seven boards.

"I thought we did a good job of playing defense off the ball," Dean said. "Help side stuff was good. We were jumping to the ball and getting to the midline. I thought the way we moved was a good thing and it kept working."

The scoring picked up as the second half got under way with Riverton Parke putting out its best quarter offensively with 16 points. The Panthers began turning the ball over less frequently but still couldn't stop the Eagles who answered every run that Riverton Park went one.

"We had to play hard," Stewart said. "We had to battle this week in practice. But we definitely played like a team tonight. The seniors and freshmen worked really well and the freshmen wanted to go out and win for the seniors."

When the Panthers went to a full-court press in the fourth, South Putnam was not fazed and the Eagles put up its best quarter while holding Riverton Parke to its least effective quarter.

The Eagles got the Panthers in the penalty and took advantage knocking down 11-14 foul shots in the finale. The visitors began fouling with three minutes left in the game but to no avail. Riverton Parke (1-20) only shot 5-of-11 from the line for the game and SPHS pushed the lead to 20 taking a 19-7 fourth-quarter advantage.

When this season ends the Eagles (4-18) will be losing six seniors and will have a new face as the freshmen and sophomores become a more significant part of the team.

"It's been about leaving it out there on the floor," senior Daniel Grundlock said. "Obviously we've got a lot of seniors and then freshman. So we've got to keep building them up, keep inspiring them and keep teaching them the way."

In coach Dean's second year at the school, he saw his team struggle at times but always bring the effort to the floor.

"It's a great group of kids," Dean said. "You always want kids that its great to be around. I enjoy being around those guys every day. That's nice. Sometime you have six sometimes you won't have any. When you have seniors that can lead for the young kids, it's a great situation. I like the group we have. They are great kids."

Dean said he is giving the boys a day off since they drew the sectional bye and then they will hit the practice hard Thursday in preparation for North Putnam or Cloverdale in the Southmont sectional on March 4.

"Going into the sectional this gives us positive thoughts," Long said. "Coming off of a win, we've got a pretty decent break here before our next game. It gives us time to get a lot of work done and prepare for Cloverdale or North Putnam.

At South Putnam

R. Parke 9 8 16 7 -- 40

S. Putnam 13 10 17 19 -- 59

Eagle Scoring

17-40 20-29 59 (Long 5-7 7-10 17, Plunkett 4-10 5-7 14, Stewart 3-5 2-2 10, McHugh 3-6 8, Rutter 2-4 1-2 5, Fanning 0-1 2-2 2, Scott 0-2 2-4 2, Grundlock 0-2 1-2 1

Three-point shots: 5-13 (Stewart 2-4, McHugh 2-2, Plunkett 1-4) Reb: McHugh 7, Plunkett 4, Grundlock 3, Long 3, Parks 3, Stewart 2, Rutter 1, Scott 1, Fanning 1, Asst: Plunkett 2, Stewart 2, Scott 1, Rutter 1, Grundlock 1, McHugh 1, Long Stl: Grundlock 2, McHugh 1, Parks 1, Scott 1

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