North Putnam falls in OT to Riverton Parke

Wednesday, December 20, 2017
North Putnam’s Evan Davies (12) battles for a loose ball on Monday.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

BAINBRIDGE — North Putnam led Riverton Parke 44-37 with 2:41 left in the third period on Monday night in boys’ varsity basketball action following a basket by Chris Murray.

The Panthers roared back to score the final eight points of the period, before an Andrew Pickel basket with 3.4 seconds left in regulation forced an overtime period.

The Panthers got three straight baskets from junior Jonathon Virostko in overtime, and held on for a 63-61 victory over the Cougars.

The offensive star on the night for the Cougars was senior guard Caleb Duncan, who hit 7 of 9 3-pointers for a career-high 24 points.

Pickel added 18 points for North Putnam, which lost its fourth straight game.

The Cougars needed the help of Duncan and Pickel to offset the absence of senior scoring leader Elliot Gross, who was sidelined with an ankle injury suffered last week.

North Putnam coach Collin McCartt accepted blame for the Riverton Parke comeback, which saw the visitors go on a 17-4 run straddling the third and fourth quarters.

“We were not able to contain them very well, and they had two guys [Virostko and Avery Briddick] who we knew were pretty good,” McCartt said. “They got some easy looks. We had a seven or eight-point advantage there, and they were able to close the gap because we weren’t able to stop the ball.

“I needed to make more adjustments defensively, and I wasn’t able to do that.”

McCartt was glad to see Duncan step up, and told his players they could not feel sorry for themselves because of the absence of Gross.

“Caleb had a great start for us, and he was the one who was able to get the lead for us,” he said. “These guys would tell you they expected to still come out on the other side of the score.

“They’re not going to make excuses, which is good. Obviously we would like to have everybody healthy and back. When we get everybody healthy, he will continue to get those looks.”

McCartt’s team will travel to Cascade on Friday for its last game before Christmas break.

RIVERTON PARKE (63) — Briddick 8-13 3-6 19, Virostko 11-21 1-1 24, Powell 5-8 0-1 10, Kirchoff 1-6 0-0 2, Sanders 1-3 0-0 2, Steelsmith 2-3 0-2 4, Kyle 0-1 0-0 0, Hazzard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 FG, 4-10 FT, 63 TP

NORTH PUTNAM (61) — Pickel 5-10 7-10 18, J.Duncan 2-6 0-0 5, C.Duncan 8-11 1-5 24, Smith 2-10 5-6 9, Davies 0-1 1-2 1, Murray 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 19-43 FG, 14-23 FT, 61 TP

Riverton Parke 19 8 18 11 7 — 63

North Putnam 17 13 14 12 5 — 61

3-point shooting — RP 1-7 (Briddick 0-1, Virostko 1-4, Kirchoff 0-1, Powell 0-1), NP 9-17 (Pickel 1-2, J.Duncan 1-3, C.Duncan 7-9, Smith 0-2).

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