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North Putnam edges past South Putnam to reclaim Bucket
BAINBRIDGE – Playing the opening game of the 2022-23 boys’ basketball season and having a 10-day break afterwards made it a level playing field for North Putnam and South Putnam Friday night.
With the Putnam County Bucket on the line, the two teams struggled to get into an offensive rhythm in the first half yet a compelling finish saw the Cougars get a three from Brayden Monnett in the final minute, along with a trio of defensive stops, to claim a 45-43 win over the Eagles.
In what could best be described as a rugged first half, both North Putnam (2-0, 1-0 WIC) and South Putnam (0-2, 0-1 WIC) struggled out of the gate after Monnett opened the scoring with a floater.
Cameron Bozell answered with a floater of his own while Isaac Pickel hit two free throws and Matt Farrington added a third to make it 5-2.
A steal and score from Monnett made it 7-2 but the points dried up from there as both defenses made life difficult for the opposing offenses, who often hurt themselves with sloppy mistakes.
A 7-4 Cougar lead at the end of the first quarter was erased on a Bozell banked three before the Eagles took their first lead of the night on back-to-back baskets from Wyatt Switzer.
Nolan Hackleman hit a three in reply while Farrington scored off a steal to make it 14-11. Hackleman would add another layup but two free throws and a basket from Jeremiah Hibbeln kept the visitors within a possession at the break trailing 17-15.
Drew Hill, who had picked up three fouls in the first quarter and sat most of the rest of the half, started the third quarter with a three and a layup, sandwiching baskets from Monnett and Brady Barber.
Hackleman hit from deep again, followed by a second from Kaden Helderman that made it 28-22, the largest gap of the entire night.
Hill converted a three-point play and Hibbeln added two free throws to make it a one-point game before threes from Helderman, Hill and Hackleman ended the period with North Putnam leading 34-30.
Both teams traded baskets at the start of the fourth quarter with a Hill three giving the Eagles a brief 37-36 lead.
Hackleman answered from range again with two Hill free throws tying the game at 39-39.
Hill took the lead back for the vistitors with a three to make it 42-39 inside the final three minutes.
Hackleman was fouled on a three of his own but only hit 1-of-3 free throws, though Barber would knock down a pair inside two minutes to tie the game at 42-42.
On the other end, Hill hit 1-of-2 at the line but Monnett would have the final say after, knocking down the winning three with :42 seconds remaining.
Helderman missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but the Eagles struggled with the final possession, having to call a time out before Hill missed an open three. A jump ball on the rebound bought the visitors one more chance but Bozell’s three was also off the mark as the Cougars held on for the win.
| South Putnam | 4 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 43 |
| North Putnam | 7 | 10 | 17 | 11 | 45 |
Scoring
South Putnam — Hill 20, Hibbeln 10 Bozell 5 Switzer 4 Garner 2 Branam 2
North Putnam — Hackleman 16, Monnett 13, Helderman 6, Barber 5, Farrington 3, Pickel 2