North Putnam powers through slow start to take down South Putnam

Scoring depth and balance made a big difference in the nightcap of the Putnam County Classic as the North Putnam Cougars overcame a hot start by the South Putnam Eagles to advance to the championship game with a 63-49 hard-fought victory.

The Cougars put three players in double figures with two more just behind and exploded for 24 points in the third quarter to pick up their 14th win of the season against just two losses. The Eagles dropped to 4-13 on the season.

The Cougars struggled to get out in transition due to South’s deliberate style of offense and rugged defense, but they were still able to get shots from behind the arc as a key difference was North getting 27 attempts from behind the line and knocking down nine of them. The Eagles were able to keep the game at a slow pace in the first half but wore down in the second half.

“We have quick shots that we like to take and quick shots that we don’t. It is sometimes hard to tell if you’re watching, but our kids know and we took a few of the bad ones early in the game,” North Putnam head coach Vince Brooks said.

South jumped out to an early lead behind Drew Hill. The sophomore guard would can a couple of three-pointers and add another field goal for eight of the Eagles’ 12 points in the first quarter. North would get up just eight shots in the quarter as the Eagles would hold it to just seven first period points.

“We got off to a really good start. We played well and were able to get the game going the way we wanted. We had some foul trouble and just could not sustain it,” South Putnam head coach Matt Pickerill said as Hill and point guard Austen Branam sat a good portion of the second quarter with foul trouble. The Eagles seemed intent on avenging the 88-45 loss to the Cougars on December 3rd.

“In that first game, I think we played about as well as we could and they (South) played about as bad as they have. It was different tonight,” Brooks said.

The Cougars opened the second period with a 12-4 run to take a lead midway through the quarter. The Eagles’ Eli Smith scored on a layup to open the second quarter, but Zach Huff would answer with a three-ball and Aaron Pickel would score five quick points while Matt McHargue would tack on a couple of layups and the Cougars seemed to be in control at 21-16.

South Putnam would not go away as it scored on a Smith hook shot and ended the scoring in the first half with a Seth Hammond trey as the teams went to the locker room with Cougars on top 23-21.

“They (South) came out and played well and really hard. At times they played harder than we did. They made it tough for us,” Brooks said.

North took control early in the third quarter. The Cougars started knocking down shots from everywhere. They were able to methodically boost the lead as Huff gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead with a three-pointer with 5:26 left in the quarter. South rallied a little and wsd able to reduce the deficit to 37-31 with a Smith three, but North went on a mini-run that ended with a Brayden Monnett three-pointer in the final seconds to give it a 47-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We are looking for consistency. I thought we came out well but we got a little tired later. It is tough on your legs when you are taking a lot of long possessions on offense,” Pickerill said.

North was able to extend the lead early in the final stanza. The Cougars used an 11-2 run to open the quarter and took a 20-point lead at 58-38 on a McHargue old-fashioned three-point play.

The tired legs of the Eagles showed up as they struggled to maintain the offensive pace. The Cougars would slow it down over the final four minutes of the final quarter, but the Eagles could not generate enough offense to cut into the lead. North would hold on and take the victory, 63-49.

“We started settling down and were able to get some of our game going. We stepped up and knocked down some shots and that really helped us,” Brooks said.

Smith led all scorers with 23 points but was the only South Putnam player in double figures. The balance of the Cougars paid dividends as Huff led the way with 15 points while McHargue knocked in 13 points and Pickel added 11 points.

The Cougars will take on the Cloverdale Clovers on Friday night in the championship game, while the Eagles will open against the host Greencastle Tiger Cubs in the consolation game of the Putnam County Classic.

NORTH PUTNAM (63) – Huff 5-8 2-2 15, Hackleman 3-4 0-0 7, Lyons 2-12 0-0 6, McHargue 5-6 3-4 13, Pickel 5-10 1-1 11, Monnett 2-4 2-2 8, Hensley 1-3 0-0 3, Buescher 0-0 0-0 0, Hutto 0-0 0-0 0, Fish 0-0 0-0 0, Windmiller 0-1 0-0 0, Farrington 0-0 0-0 0, Garriott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 FG, 8-9 FT,63 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (49) – Hammond 1-2 0-0 3, Witt 0-2 2-6 2, Branam 2-6 2-2 6, Hill 3-5 0-0 8, Smith 8-19 6-7 23, Garner 2-6 1-2 5, Beadles 1-1 0-0 2, Cash 0-0 0-0 0, Mullin 0-0 0-0 0, Sillery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-41 FG, 11-17 FT, 49 TP.

3-point shooting – NP 9-27 (Huff 3-5, Hacklman 1-1, Lyons 2-10, Pickel 0-5, Monnett 2-4, Hensley 1-2) SP 4-12 (Hammond 1-2, Witt 0-1, Branam 0-1, Hill 2-3, Smith 1-3, Garner 0-2). Rebounds – NP 30 (Huff 4, Hackleman 2, Lyons 2, McHargue 5, Pickel 9, Fish 1, Monnett 3, Hutto 1, Hensley 3) SP – 22 (Hammond 5, Witt 2, Branam 2, Smith 6, Garner 3, Beadles 2) FG Pct. – NP 47.9, SP 41.5. FT Pct. – NP 88.9, SP 64.7. Turnovers – NP 12, SP 10.