Menu
South Putnam gets job done against Cloverdale
South Putnam’s reserves only scored four points on the night against Cloverdale in a rare midweek boys’ basketball game Tuesday night.
What the Eagle bench provided was not something the scorebook could show, however, as the hosts’ secondary unit brought an energy the starters eventually took hold of, outscoring the visitors 29-16 in the second half to claim a 49-29 win.
“We got off to a lethargic start on the night and our timing was off,” South Putnam head coach Kyle Swafford said. “Cloverdale was outplaying us to start the game and I was proud of our second group when they came in.
“I trust those guys and we put them in for a reason. We needed a spark and it wasn’t a bad thing to have our first team watching from the side because sometimes you take starting for granted or the bench for granted. Our second group got us going and in the second half, with three or four minutes left until the end, we started moving the ball well and that was in part because we played really good defense.”
“When you look at the night, our ineffectiveness at the free throw line had a lot to do with our play tonight,” Cloverdale head coach Karl Turk noted, pointing to a 3-of-13 evening at the line. “We were getting to the line but didn’t convert.
“That had an effect on our guys’ psyche because we weren’t making free throws and were frustrated on the inside, manifesting itself in different ways, maybe taking a bad shot and seeing (South Putnam) make a basket, making two points feel like four points because we missed the two we should have gotten. That parlayed itself into guys taking liberties with shot selection.”
A subdued start saw Cloverdale (0-6, 0-4 WIC) hold the lead much of the opening quarter courtesy of a Tayt Jackson three.
South Putnam (3-2, 3-1 WIC) needed five minutes to get on the board as Drew Hill finally got the hosts on the board with a Cameron Bozell three putting the Eagles up 5-3 soon after.
Noah Betz replied with a three on the other end but Jeremiah Hibbeln, the only starter still on the floor after four subs came on the floor at once, hit a jumper at the horn to give South Putnam a 7-6 lead.
Levi Johnson opened the second quarter with two free throws that were answered by a Zack Dorsett basket before Betz traded a pair of threes with Hibbeln and Hill.
Cloverdale would not score again in the half, however, as Hill was fouled on a three, notching all three attempts, and Hibbeln scored late to give the hosts a 20-14 lead at the intermission.
Griffin Garner opened the second half with a three for South Putnam though the Clovers answered with back-to-back threes from Jackson and Levi Hilton to cut the gap to 23-20.
The Eagles would outscore the visitors 10-3 the rest of the period as Hill converted a three-point play and Hibbeln scored twice around a Bozell three to give the hosts a 33-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Swafford said the defense tightened up as the second half wore on with Wyatt Switzer helping to negate both Jackson and Betz whenever he was on the floor.
“Wyatt is a really good defender as he stays low, moves his feet and can really harass people,” Swafford said. “He knows his role, which is the best because he loves the role of being a defensive nuisance on good players.
“He gets in there and makes things difficult. It’s good to have a player like that on the team.”
South Putnam would get baskets from six different players in the final period as Cloverdale’s offense struggled to deal with the energy the hosts found as the game went on, falling for a sixth-straight outing to open the year.
Hill would lead all scorers with 16 points while Hibbeln added 13 points for the Eagles. Betz scored 11 points and Jackson chipped in 10 points for the Clovers in the loss.
| Cloverdale | 6 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 29 |
| South Putnam | 7 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 49 |
Scoring
Cloverdale (4 2FG; 6 3FG; 3-13 FT) — Betz 11, Jackson 10, Hilton 5, Johnson 2, Lee 1
South Putnam (12 2FG; 7 3FG; 4-4 FT) — Hill 16, Hibbeln 13, Bozell 9, Garner 5, Branam 2, Dorsett 2, Switzer 2