South hangs tough with Mustangs for a while

The South Putnam Eagles played a solid first half, but the defensive pressure of the Edgewood Mustangs derailed any hope of a victory for the Eagles.

Edgewood won Saturday night’s contest 75-47 to drop the Eagles to 1-10, while Edgewood improved to 7-6 on the season.

“I think between Friday night (Sullivan) and tonight we have seen two of the toughest teams on our schedule. Those two teams are really good and for a period of time we showed we can compete with them when we do the right things,” South Putnam head coach Greg Dean said.

The Eagles came out with a lot of energy and played through the post with Kain Gregory.

The six-foot-five senior had six points in the first quarter. The Eagles outrebounded the Mustangs in the period and as a result held a 12-10 lead at the first stoppage in play.

The solid Eagle play continued into the second quarter.

The Eagles hit an impressive 6-of-7 shots in the period, but the explosive Mustangs rallied to take a small lead into the locker room at 27-25.

Senior guard Steven Schnepp scored nine of his team-high 11 points in the quarter on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.

“Kain Gregory probably had his best offensive game tonight. He played well inside and we got him the ball in good position. He gave us a spark tonight,” Dean said.

Edgewood exploded to open the third quarter. Derek Farkas hit a pair of three-pointers in the first minute and the Mustangs used a 15-2 run to open the quarter. They hit 10-of-14 shots and scored 29 points in the quarter as they really picked up their defensive pressure.

They got a lot of easy shots as the Eagles turned the ball over seven times in the period. The Mustangs continued the onslaught and boosted their lead to 56-36 after three quarters of play.

“We have got to learn how to avoid that three- or four-minute stretches where we let it get away from us. Last night it was to start the third quarter. Tonight, it was to start the third quarter. We have got to do a better job of grinding out possessions and not turning the ball over,” Dean said.

The teams began to empty their respective benches with about four minutes to play.

Both teams shot the ball well from the floor. The Mustangs hit more than 60 percent (26-of-43) of their shots, while the Eagles hit 50 percent (19-of-38).

The differences in the game were the turnover margin and the free throw line.

The Mustangs hit 14-of-15 free throws, while South just hit 7-of-14. Edgewood also did a lot of damage from behind the three-point arc, hitting 9-of-18 threes including four of them in the decisive third quarter.

“We tried to make some long passes that you can’t make against good teams. When teams apply pressure, you have to make them work. The pressure will lessen the longer they have to play defense. It doesn’t mean you have to hold the ball, but you have to move the defense,” Dean said.

Edgewood’s Farkas led all scorers with 19 points, while Trevor Taylor had 17 and Coleman Sater added 12.

Schnepp led South with 11 points and Gregory added 10 for the Eagles.

South will play its final Western Indiana Conference divisional game on Friday as the Eagles travel to Northview to play the Knights.

EDGEWOOD (75) –Taylor 7-11 2-2 17, Sater 3-5 6-6 12, Kido 0-1 0-0 0, Farkas 7-11 2-3 19, Harrington 2-4 0-0 6, Curtis 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 3-5 2-2 9, Slabaugh 2-2 2-2 7, Doering 0-0 0-0 0, Georges 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 0-1 0-0 0, Huttenlocker 1-2 0-0 2, Gardiner 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-43 FG, 5-10, 14-15 FT, 75 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (47) – Schnepp 5-5 0-0 11, Blaydes 3-5 1-2 8, Wiggins 1-4 1-2 3, Smith 1-5 2-4 4, Gregory 5-9 0-1 10, Teipen 2-5 2-3 6, Leo 0-0 0-0 0, Rector 1-1 0-0 2, Goodpaster 0-1 0-0 0, Clark 0-0 1-2 1, Switzer 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 19-38 FG, 7-14 FT, 47 TP.

3-point shooting – EHS 9-18 (Taylor 1-4, Gardiner 1-1, Sater 0-1, Kido 0-1, Farkas 3-6, Harrington 2-3, Powell 1-1, Slabaugh 1-1) SP 2-5 (Schnepp 1-1, Blaydes 1-2, Smith 0-1, Gregory 0-1). Rebounds – EHS 17 (Taylor 1, Sater 7, Huttenlocker 1, Kido 1, Farkas 1, Harrington 2, Powell 2, Slabaugh 1) SP – 23 (Schnepp 4, Blaydes 2, Wiggins 3, Clark 1, Smith 1, Gregory 4, Teipen 4, Leo 2) FG Pct. – EHS 60.5, SP 50.0 FT Pct. – EHS 93.3, SP 50.0. Turnovers – EHS 7, SP 18.