South Putnam hangs on in 50-point finish to beat Northview

TUFF or tough is a word that many teams use, but South Putnam embodied that word Friday night in picking up a 73-67 Western Indiana Conference victory against the Northview Knights at the “Eagles Nest”.

South was able to will its way to win with balanced scoring and big plays to offset Drew Cook’s 35 points.

The Eagles hit 53 percent of their shots on the night as they started fast and turned back the Knights repeatedly, surviving a frantic and emotional fourth quarter to pick up the key victory.

The Eagles are now 5-5 overall and 5-3 in the WIC, while the Knights are 4-7 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.

“We were tough in a lot of different ways. We were close in the Sullivan and Parke Heritage games and didn’t make the plays. We made those plays tonight. It boils down to being really, really tough and that is who we are,” South Putnam head coach Kyle Swafford said.

The Eagles would get off to a great start as Drew Hill scored two quick buckets, scoring seven of his 16 points in the first quarter, as the Eagles took a 7-0 lead early.

Northview would rally to tie the score at 9-9 on two Cook free throws, but the Eagles would get Wyatt Switzer to close the quarter with three points and stake a 12-9 lead that they would never relinquish.

“We dug ourselves a hole. When you play competitive teams like (South Putnam) is, you can’t do that,” Northview head coach Michael Byrum said.

The two teams played an even first part of the second quarter. South got a small run as it took an 18-15 lead and boosted it to 30-18 as Austen Branam had an old-fashioned three-point play and Wyatt Mullin came off the bench to knock down a trey.

The Knights would get a couple of late buckets by Cook to cut the lead to 32-24 in South’s favor at the intermission. Cook had 10 points in the period and kept the Knights in the game.

“We can’t be a one-man show. We have to have others step up. (Cook) has been great for us his entire career and will continue to be,” Byrum said of his senior star.

The Eagles would maintain their lead in the third quarter as Hill and Jeremiah Hibbeln overcame foul trouble to spark South’s offense and boost the lead to 44-32, not allowing the Knights to cut into the deficit in the third period until freshman Avery Perry knocked down a three-pointer with :02 left to set the score at 49-41 South heading into that final stanza.

“Coming off a not very good performance against Edgewood and coming into a game against a tough opponent like Northview, we needed to be strong. We had a good week of practice and it showed,” Swafford said.

The Knights began to rally in the fourth quarter. Northview immediately cut the lead to 49-48 on a Cook trey, but the Eagles would not be denied.

Zach Dorsett kept getting loose for buckets and even though the Knights would stay within three-to-five points from the Eagles, South would get a couple of offensive rebounds on free throws to maintain the lead.

Hibbeln and Dorsett kept offensive possessions alive on missed free throws and the Eagles were able maintain a 63-60 lead until a Hill three-pointer boosted the lead back to 66-60 with just under two minutes to play.

The Knights would get no closer than three points from there as the emotional game saw some rough play lead to double technical fouls on the two team.

South was able to close out the game and set the final score at 73-67 with the two teams combining for 50 points in the final period.

“We missed the back end of a couple of free throws and got points out of it. The guys are relentless and we got ourselves in position to be successful,” Swafford said.

Northview’s Cook led all scorers with 35 points, while the Eagles were led by Hibbeln with 17, Hill with 16 and Dorsett with 15 points in a balanced attack that saw seven players score five or more points.

“They are a really humble group that doesn’t care who the spotlight shines on. We share the ball and want to be successful,” Swafford said.

The Eagles will host Cascade on Tuesday for their next contest.

NORTHVIEW (67) –Cook 11-23 12-13 35, Goff 3-6 1-1 8, Roembke 2-10 0-0 5, Fowler 2-4 0-0 4, Farris 0-4 0-1 0, Cottee 1-4 2-2 4, Buell 1-3 0-0 2, Perry 3-8 1-2 9, Bell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 FG, 16-19 FT, 67 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (73) – Hill 5-12 3-5 16, Branam 3-6 2-3 8, Bozell 2-4 2-2 7, Dorsett 7-8 1-3 15, Hibbeln 6-13 5-8 17, Switzer 2-3 1-2 5, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Mullin 1-1 2-2 5. Totals 26-49 FG, 16-25 FT, 73 TP.

3-point shooting – NV 5-21 (Cook 1-4, Goff 1-4, Roembke 1-8, Perry 2-5), SP 5-14 (Hill 3-7, Branam 0-1, Bozell 1-3, Hibbeln 0-2, Mullin 1-1) Rebounds – NV 34 (Cook 5, Goff 6, Roembke 3, Fowler 3, Farris 2, Cottee 1, Buell 1, Perry 4) SP – 29 (Hill 1, Branam 2, Bozell 5, Dorsett 2, Hibbeln 10, Switzer 3, Mullin 1) FG Pct. – NV 37.1, SP 53.1. FT Pct. – NV 84.2, SP 64.0. Turnovers – NV 17, SP 20.