Eagles play tough, fall to Mustangs

Monday, January 8, 2018

The South Putnam Eagles boys’ basketball team was as cold as the weather outside on Saturday night against the Edgewood Mustangs.

The Eagles shot just 28 percent (11-of-37) from the field as they fell to the Mustangs 47-35 at home. The Eagles fell to 6-6 on the season.

“Our effort level from Friday night (loss at Sullivan) to tonight was considerably better. We missed a ton of open looks. I told the kids in the second half, this could be a two- or four-point game if we made our layups,” South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

The Mustangs came into the game with a 10-3 record and had won six in row, including the Wabash Valley Tournament over the holidays.

The Eagles battled them evenly through the final three quarters, but still couldn’t catch the talented Edgewood squad.

“We played a really tough team to a 10-12 point ballgame. We put ourselves in good position at times, but we couldn’t convert open shots,” Dean said.

The Mustangs looked like they were going to run away with the game early.

Behind Trevor Taylor’s 11 points, Edgewood jumped out to a 19-6 first-quarter lead. The Eagles only hit two field goals in the quarter, both three-pointers. Dalton Scott and Allen Plunkett nailed shots for the Eagles as the Mustangs rolled up the big lead.

“I thought our kids responded well after the first quarter,” Dean said.

The Eagles kept pace with Edgewood in the second quarter.

The Eagle defense finally was able to put together some stops. Edgewood’s offensive output was cut more than half by the Eagle defense as the Mustangs only scored nine second-quarter points.

Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t take advantage as they managed eight points of their own. Again, the three-point shot kept South in the game as the only two field goals for the Eagles were from behind the arc. Scott and Plunkett hit another pair and the Eagles went to the locker room down 28-14.

“I think some of the shots we missed tonight will fall as we continue through the season. Our defense was better. We were flying around and getting to our spots. I thought we did some things well in our zone,” Dean said.

Throughout the second half, the Eagles managed to stay within striking distance, but they could never cut the lead to less than the final 12-point margin.

South continued to use the three-point shot to its advantage, as the Eagles hit another four shots from downtown in the second half.

South hit just 11 field goals on the night, but eight of them were three-pointers.

“We shot poorly, I don’t know exactly what, from two-point area, but we got some good looks on three-pointers. We got some good shots going inside-out and on ball reversals,” Dean said.

Edgewood’s Taylor led all scorers with 20 points and Chayton Howard added nine points for the Mustangs. Plunkett had 12 points to lead the Eagles and Scott added 11.

The Eagles will travel to Northview in a Western Indiana Conference game on Friday. The Eagles are part of a four-way tie for third place in the conference at 1-2.

“If we keep playing this hard, we will be okay. If our effort level is the same we will compete and do pretty well,” Dean said.

EDGEWOOD (47) – Kido 1-2 0-2 3, Banister 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor 8-20 1-2 20, Howard 1-6 6-8 9, Norris 4-6 0-3 8, Harrington 0-2 0-0 0, Collier 1-1 0-0 2, Cowden 0-1 0-0 0, Tate 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 17-42 FG, 7-15 FT, 47 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (35) – Fanning 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 1-3 0-0 3, Scott 3-9 2-2 11, Plunkett 4-13 2-2 12, Lesko 0-3 1-2 1, Arnold 1-4 0-0 2, Schnepp 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 11-37 FG, 5-6 FT, 35 TP.

Edgewood 19 9 12 7 – 47

South Putnam 6 8 11 10 – 35

3-point shooting – EHS 6-18 (Kido 1-2, Taylor 3-9, Howard 1-4, Harrington 0-1, Cowden 0-1, Tate 1-1), SP 8-22 (Fanning 1-3, Watson 1-3, Scott 3-7, Plunkett 2-7, Arnold 0-1, Schnepp 1-1). Rebounds – EHS 32 (Kido 3, Banister 2, Taylor 5, Howard 6, Norris 7, Harrington 1, Collier 2, Cowden 1, Tate 2) SP – 26 (Fanning 2, Scott 1, Plunkett 5, Lesko 6, Arnold 6, Schnepp 2) FG Pct. – EHS 40.5, SP 28.2. FT Pct. – EHS 46.7, SP 83.3. Turnovers – EHS 9, SP 12.

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