Eagles peak at right time with 68-45 victory

South Putnam appears to be peaking at the right time. The Eagles are 5-2 over their last seven games and exploded for their second-highest scoring game of the season Tuesday night in a 68-45 victory over the visiting Riverton Parke Panthers.

Getting a balanced offense and an active defense, the Eagles topped the 60-point mark for only the third time the season. South put up 77 on Eminence Dec. 2 and 63 at Rockville on Feb. 1.

Allen Plunkett paced the Eagles with 18 points, Dalton Scott had 13, Thomas Fanning 11 and six other South players broke into the scoring column as well.

“I thought our kids really came out and played hard tonight and did a lot of good things. I thought defensively we were really solid,” South Putnam coach Greg Dean said.

“We tried to preach process a little bit. It doesn’t matter if you get a lot of wins early, you’ve got to be ready to go in February and March. We’re trying to peak at the right time. I think we’re getting better. We’re still trying to work the process every day in practice and continue to do the right things.”

Defense was the key to South Putnam’s success against Riverton Parke. The Eagles forced the Panthers into 16 turnovers and eight of those were steals. Wes Lesko, South Putnam’s only senior, Scott and Kain Gregory each had two steals and Plunkett and Fanning one each.

“I would say that is the most deflections we’ve got all year and that’s something we’ve been talking about, getting our hands on balls. We are blessed with length and I think we used that length tonight,” Dean said.

The Eagles bounced back quickly from a slow start, going from a 10-5 deficit to a 23-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. Riverton Parke, shooting 38 percent for the game, hit 7-of-10 shots in the opening quarter, but cooled to a 3-13 under the Eagles’ pressure in the second period.

South Putnam hit 17-of-31 from the floor in the first half while pulling out to a 43-23 lead. Eight different Eagles scored during the huge first half. Riverton Parke never got closer than 16 points the second half.

Using his 6-foot-5 height advantage, Plunkett scored four straight baskets inside to give South Putnam a 52-30 lead in the third quarter.

“When we were in the half-court I thought we went inside pretty well,” Dean said.

Gregory netted two free throws and a field goal to send the Eagles into the final quarter with a 56-32 lead. The Eagles’ lead hit a game-high 29 points on buckets by Austin Arnold in the fourth quarter.

With a first-round sectional bye, South Putnam now has over a week to prepare to play the winner of the Cloverdale-Monrovia game on March 2.

RIVERTON PARKE (45) — Briddick 3-5 3-3 9, Virostko 2-6 0-0 4, Harrison 2-5 2-2 6, Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Hazzard 3-8 1-1 7, Kirchoff 3-6 0-0 7, Lawson 1-3 0-0 2, Steelsmith 0-2 2-4 2, Hopton 2-4 2-2 6, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Myers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 FG, 12-18 FT, 45 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (68) -- Plunkett 8-14 1-1 18, Watson 1-1 0-0 2, Lesko 2-10 1-3 5, Scott 5-15 0-3 13, Fanning 4-5 2-2 11, Arnold 4-6 0-0 8, Gregory 2-2 2-2 6, Schnepp 1-3 1-2 3, VanSickle 0-0 0-0 0, Heavin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-57 FG, 7-13 FT, 68 TP.

Riverton Parke 17 6 9 13 — 45

South Putnam 23 20 13 12 — 68

3Pt. FG — RP 1-10 (Kirchoff 1-3, Briddick 0-1, Lawson 0-1, Sanders 0-1, Hazzard 0-1, Virostko 0-2), SP 5-12 (Scott 3-6, Fanning 1-1, Plunkett 1-2, Lesko 0-1, Schnepp 0-2). Total fouls — RP 16, SP 16. Turnovers: RP 16, SP 8. Rebounds — RP 30 (Virostko 7), SP 33 (Plunkett 8, Lesko 5). Steals — RP 1 (Virostko), SP 8 (Lesko, Scott, Gregory 2, Plunkett, Fanning 1).

Next game — South Putnam (11-12) will play the winner of the Cloverdale-Monrovia game March 2 in Class 2A Sectional 44 at South Putnam. Riverton Parke (8-14) wraps up the regular season Friday at home against Clay City.