Cougar boys rout Turkey Run

BAINBRIDGE — The North Putnam Cougars hosted the Turkey Run Warriors and were not very hospitable on Tuesday night. The Cougars forced 27 turnovers and beat the Warriors 69-38 in a non-conference high school basketball game.

The Cougars dominated the game defensively and offensively. In addition to the turnovers, North shot 57 (29-of-51) percent from the field, including 10 of their first 12 shots. This allowed the Cougars to get off to quick start and lead the game wire to wire. North improved its record to 7-11 on the season, while Turkey Run fell 4-13.

“I thought we came out with a lot of energy. We executed against their zone pretty well and were able to pressure the ball,” North coach Collin McCartt said.

North forced the Warriors into turnovers on their first four possessions before the Warriors were able to get a shot off, North led 8-0 before Turkey Run was able to get a shot up. After the initial run, North continued to extend its lead as the Warriors turned the ball over a total of eight times in the period, while the Cougars seemed to hit everything they put up. They were 10-of-12 in the quarter before missing their last two shots, one a late, deep three at the buzzer.

Andrew Pickel led the way with nine points in the period. Treyton Smith had seven and Elliot Gross added five as the Cougars led 24-8 at the first break.

“We didn’t let their post guy get the ball inside, our ball pressure was really good,” McCart said.

The second quarter was basically a repeat of the first. Multiple Warrior turnovers and a lot of Cougar points. North was extremely balanced in the quarter. Five players scored as the Cougars were able to extend their lead to 41-16 at the intermission. The Cougars hit an efficient 17-of-28 shots in the first half. They made as many shots as the Warriors attempted. Turkey Run only got up 17 shots and made seven of them.

Pickel and Gross combined for 18 points in the half, but the key was defense. The Cougars pressured the ball all over the floor and turned the Warriors over 17 times in the first half alone.

“I thought we did a good job of having active hands. We got a lot of tips tonight and that is important for us,” McCartt said.

North left little doubt of the outcome in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cougars went on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter. Gross opened the half with a couple of layups, followed by a Smith trey and a Pickel layup. That gave the Cougars a 52-19 lead and the game was essentially over. North’s defensive pressure was still giving the Warriors fits as the Cougars forced another six turnovers. North only turned the ball over twice in the quarter as it was able to stretch the lead to 60-26 heading into the final stanza.

“One thing we have been doing well lately is taking care of the ball. In our last few games we haven’t turned the ball over very much,” McCartt said.

Both squads emptied their bench in the fourth quarter. The Warriors did outscore the Cougars 12-9 in the final period, but the Cougars were more interested in running out the clock than scoring.

The Warriors were led by Jaylen Crull who netted 14 points off the bench and Connor Davis added 12 inside points. North Putnam was able to place three players in double figures on a night of balanced scoring. Smith led the with 17 points, Pickel scored 16 and Gross chipped in with 13 points.

The Cougars will take on defending Putnam County champion Cloverdale on Thursday night in the first semifinal game of the Putnam County Classic. The Cougars were the only team to play this week prior to the tourney.

“With the girls’ sectional the schedule is what it is. The good thing is we have played all the county teams, so preparation won’t be as difficult,” McCartt said.

TURKEY RUN (38) – Lynk 0-2 0-0 0, Thurman 0-2 2-2 2, Ferguson 3-7 0-0 6, Davis 6-11 0-0 12, Leonard 1-6 1-2 3, Hartman 0-0 0-0 0, Crull 6-9 2-6 14, Monik 0-2 1-2 1, Petrillo 0-0 0-0 0, Cheatham 0-0 0-0 0, Simpson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-41 FG, 6-12 FT, 38 TP.

NORTH PUTNAM (69) – C. Duncan 2-8 0-0 5, Smith 6-11 4-7 17, J. Duncan 2-3 0-0 5, Pickel 7-12 1-2 16, Gross 6-7 1-2 13, Davies 3-3 0-1 6, Murray 3-5 1-1 7, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Chandler 0-1 0-0 0, Pope 0-0 0-1 0, Huffman 0-0 0-0 0, Sabens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-51 FG, 7-14 FT, 69 TP.

Turkey Run 8 8 10 12 — 38

North Putnam 24 17 19 9 — 69

3-Point Shooting — TR 0-8 (Thompson 0-1, Ferguson 0-1, Davis 0-2, Leonard 0-3, Simpson 0-1) NP 4-16 (C. Duncan 1-6, Smith 1-4, J. Duncan 1-1, Pickel 1-3, Murray 0-1, Chandler 0-1). Rebounds – TR 25 (Thompson 1, Ferguson 6, Davis 8, Simpson 1, Crull 2, Monik 3) NP – 24 (C. Duncan 2, Smith 6, J. Duncan 2, Pickel 4, Gross 3, Murray 4, Smith 1) FG Pct. – TR 39.0, NP 56.9. FT Pct. – TR 50.0, NP 50.0. Turnovers TR 27, NP 12.