County middle school finals set for Wednesday

Ellis Lyons hit six 3-pointers for North Putnam's eighth-graders on Monday night.

Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

North Putnam sweeps Cloverdale

BAINBRIDGE — North Putnam swept a pair of Putnam County semifinal junior high basketball games on Monday night to advance to Wednesday’s championship games.

The Cougars jumped out to a 25-4 lead at halftime in the seventh-grade game and coasted to a 46-18 victory.

In the eighth-grade game, the Cougars trailed 21-14 at halftime but had a huge third quarter to pull out a 48-42 victory.

The Cougars got balanced scoring in the seventh-grade game, with eight different players denting the scoring column.

Five different players scored in the first half, led by nine from Christian Judy.

Judy added four more points in the third period, as the Cougars led 32-8 at the final stop.

Malachi Fish scored six points in the fourth period for North Putnam, tying Judy for game-high scoring honors with 14.

Levi Hilton had five points to lead the physically-outmanned Clovers.

Cloverdale’s Kyle Thomas had 11 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, as the Clovers led 12-8 at the first stop and 21-14 at intermission.

Cloverdale utilized a 2-3 zone defense in the first half, while North Putnam played man-to-man.

The Cougars switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the second half, and the desired results were achieved.

Cloverdale was forced into turnovers on the first three possessions of the half, and the Cougars cashed in by scoring the first 10 points of the half.

Zach Huff and Braden Allen took turns scoring the first five baskets, with Huff getting three hoops and Allen two.

After a trey by Cloverdale’s Nate Nees, it was time for Ellis Lyons to take over. The Cougar sharp-shooter buried three straight treys from almost the exact same spot on the court to immediately put his team up 33-24.

After a Thomas basket, Huff hit a trey at the third-quarter buzzer and the Cougars suddenly had a 36-24 lead.

Allen hit a basket and Lyons hit another trey — his fourth of six on the night — to extend the lead to 41-26.

Cloverdale then switched to a full-court press, and Thomas led a comeback. After a Brady Koosman trey, Thomas scored nine points in a 90-second span to cut the gap to 45-40 with 1:35 to play.

The Clovers could get no closer.

Seventh grade

CLOVERDALE (18) — Bridges 1 0-0 2, Kelly 0 0-0 0, Z.Thomas 0 1-4 1, Hilton 1 3-3 5, Gentry 0 0-0 0, Monnett 0 3-6 3, Collins 0 0-0 0, Betz 0 0-0 0, Hall 0 0-0 0, McGuire 1 1-4 4, Silcox 1 0-0 2, McGuire 0 1-2 1, Pannell 0 0-0 0.

NORTH PUTNAM (46) — Monnett 0 0-0 0, Folck 2 0-0 4, Judy 7 1-2 14, Fish 7 0-0 14, Morse 2 0-0 4, Claycomb 1 2-3 4, Lawler 1 0-0 3, Gibson 0 0-0 0, Roseboom 1 0-0 2, O’Neal 0 1-2 1.

Cloverdale 3 1 4 10 — 18

North Putnam 8 17 7 14 — 46

3-point goals — Judy, Lawler.

Eighth grade

CLOVERDALE (42) — Thomas 10-19 1-1 24, Bennett 1-2 0-2 2, Rambo 1-2 1-2 3, Evans 0-1 0-0 0, Nees 2 0-0 5, Koosman 3-6 0-1 8. Totals 17 FG, 2-6 FT, 42 TP

NORTH PUTNAM (48) — Allen 3-6 2-2 8, Huff 6-13 1-2 14, Lyons 6-10 1-2 19, Pickel 1-5 2-2 5, Simpson 0-1 0-0 0, Burress 0-1 0-0 0, H ensley 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 17 FG, 6-8 FT, 48 TP

Cloverdale 12 9 5 16 — 42

North Putnam 8 6 22 12 — 48

3-point goals — K.Thomas 3, Nees, Koosman 2, Huff, Lyons 6, Pickel.

Greencastle wins eighth grade semifinal, South Putnam wins seventh grade

By Gary Hazlett

For the Banner Graphic

The South Putnam Eagles’ boys’ seventh-grade basketball team jumped out early and held on to defeat the Greencastle Tiger Cubs 22-18 and advance to the championship game of the Putnam County tournament.

The Eagles will take on North Putnam on Wednesday night.

The Eagles stormed out to a 10-3 lead at the end of the quarter on the strength of six points by Brock Heavin. The Tiger Cubs managed only one field goal, a trey by Boyd Ensley. The two teams played a solid first quarter with only six turnovers combined.

Neither team could get much going in the second quarter. The teams combined for just seven points in the period as the Eagles led 15-5 at halftime. The two teams struggled offensively as they just hit a total three baskets and turned the ball over 14 times. The Eagles hit 5-of-9 field goals and managed to get a cushion they would need.

Greencastle started the second half with a burst. The Tiger Cubs Cole Hutcheson led the way with five of his game-high nine points in the period. Greencastle cut the lead to 15-11 as the Eagles failed to register a point in the quarter.

The two teams battled in the final stanza. Greencastle cut into the Eagle lead and trailed just 18-16 with 2:13 left, but couldn’t take advantage of some missed free throws by the Eagles. South hit just 3-of-13 from the charity stripe in the quarter.

Heavin led the Eagles with seven points, while Cayden Witt scored five. Hutcheson led the Tiger Cubs with nine points and Ensley chipped in with four.

SOUTH PUTNAM (22) – Branam 0-2 0-4 0, Heavin 3-6 1-2 7, Switzer 1-2 0-4 2, Crickmore 0-1 1-2 1, Witt 2-3 1-7 5, Garner 2-5 0-0 4, Harcourt 0-0 0-0 0, Bunch 1-2 1-2 3, Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-21 FG, 4-21 FT, 22 TP.

GREENCASTLE (18) – Kirby 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Boggess 1-9 1-3 3, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Hutcheson 4-14 1-2 9, Ensley 1-3 1-2 4, Beachamp 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0, Ward 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 8-33 FG, 3-9 FT, 18 TP.

South Putnam 10 5 0 7 – 22

Greencastle 3 2 6 7 – 18

3-point shooting – SP 0-1 (Garner 0-1) GHS 1-9 (Kirby 0-1, Ward 0-1, Ensley 1-2, Hutcheson 0-5). Rebounds – SP 22 (Branam 2, Heavin 5, Switzer 7, Crickmore 3, Witt 1, Garner 1, Bunch 1, Young 1) GHS – 27 (Kirby 1, Ward 1, Taylor 2, Boggess 9, Hutcheson 10, Ensley 1, Beauchamp 1, Hamilton 1) FG Pct. SP 42.9, GHS 24.2. FT Pct. – SP 19.0, GHS 33.3. Turnovers – SP 19, GHS 20.

• Eighth grade — The Greencastle Tiger Cubs pounded the boards to defeat the South Putnam Eagles 38-26, as they outrebounded the Eagles 37-23 and held off a big third-quarter Eagle run to advance to the championship game against North Putnam on Wednesday night.

The Tiger Cubs scored the first six points of the game and jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first period. The Eagles hit the final shot of the quarter to close the gap to 11-5 heading into the second quarter of action.

The Tiger Cubs repeatedly got second chances on the boards and made the Eagles pay. Evan Alexander scored six of his game-high 17 points to pace Greencastle.

The second quarter seemed to be mirror image of the first. Greencastle again got second chances, put this time they found Corbin Edwards for a pair of three-pointers and increased their lead to 23-9 heading into the intermission.

Alexander led the way for the Tiger Cubs with 17 points and Hammond added 11. Jahiem Scott pulled down 16 rebounds for Greencastle. Smith led the Eagles with nine points and Matthew Goodpaster added seven for South Putnam.

SOUTH PUTNAM (26) – Hayden 1-4 0-0 2, Hernandez 0-1 0-2 0, Lynch 2-6 0-0 4, Robinson 2-3 0-0 4, Smith 4-17 1-2 9, Goodpaster 3-7 1-3 7, VanRensselaer 0-1 0-0 0, Cash 0-0 0-0 0, Beadles 0-0 0-0 0, Dorsett 0-0 0-0 0, Battin 0-0 0-0 0, Zook 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-39 FG, 2-7 FT, 26 TP.

GREENCASTLE (38) – Edwards 3-8 0-0 9, Hammond 3-6 4-5 11, Scott 0-6 1-2 1, Alexander 7-16 3-8 17, Hernandez Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Barcus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 FG, 8-15 FT, 38 TP.

3-point shooting – SP 0-6 (Hayden 0-1, Robinson 0-1, Smith 0-4) GHS 4-17 (Edwards 3-7, Hammond 1-2, Alexander 0-5, Miller 0-2) Rebounds – SP 23 (Hayden 5, Robinson 3, Smith 8, Goodpaster 6, VanRensselaer 1) GHS – 37 (Edwards 3, Hammond 3, Scott 16, Alexander 9, Hernandez Jr. 3, Hassler 1 FG Pct. SP 30.8, GHS 32.5. FT Pct. – SP 28.6, GHS 53.3. Turnovers – SP 21, GHS 21.