Strong second half propels South Putnam past Cascade

Down 10 points after the first quarter, things did not look good early for the South Putnam boys’ basketball team.

With the team in foul trouble, Jeremiah Hibbeln stepped up to score 17 first-half points and the defense locked down the rest of the night as the Eagles went on to a 65-59 non-conference victory over the Cascade Cadets.

The Cadets came out firing from downtown, draining four early three-pointers, two by Drake Dodson, to take a quick 12-3 lead.

Four quick turnovers by the Eagles did not help the cause. South also got itself in early foul trouble. Zach Dorsett and Drew Hill had to sit for long periods of the first half. Cascade slowly pulled away throughout the first, taking a 19-9 lead into the second period.

Hibbeln became a one-man wrecking crew, exploding for 15 second-quarter points to bring South back into the game.

With 3:40 to go in the half, Wyatt Mullin scored to cut the Cadet lead to two. Jonas Johnson came off the bench for Cascade to create a spark, scoring six in the final minutes to keep South at bay 34-29.

With Hill getting into rhythm, South continued to climb. A three from Cameron Bozell gave the Eagles their first lead of the game. The Eagles, after committing five turnovers in the opening quarter, turned it over only three more times, making the most of each possession as another three from Bozell made it a five-point game going to the fourth quarter.

The Eagles extended their advantage early in the period. Hibbeln got back on the board with a nice spin move but injured his knee on the play and would not return.

Austen Branam scored back to back buckets to put the hosts up nine. The lead got to as big as 14 before Cascade made one final push in the final two minutes, Nick Parsons hit three from behind the arc and they would add one more trifecta, but it would not be enough as the Eagles held on for the win.

With the win the Eagles move to 6-5 on the season. Two more non-conference games are on the slate for later this week. Friday night the Eagles will travel to Eminence and back home Saturday to face Dugger Union.

Hibbeln, though sitting out almost the final quarter, finished with 19 points and Hill added 18. Branam also was in double figures with 10 points. Hill completed a double-double grabbing 11 rebounds. The Eagles did a tremendous job on the glass, doubling up Cascade 26-13.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (SP) Hibbeln 19, Hill 18, Branam 10, Mullin 7, Bozell 7, Dorsett 3; (C) Parsons 14, Weigle 9, Sanders 9, Johnson 8, Tharp 7, Dodson 6 Savini 4, Hege 2

Rebounding - (SP) Hill 11, Hibbeln 3, Switzer 3, Mullin 3, Branam 2, Bozell 2, Dorsett 1; (Ca) Weigle 5, Parsons 3, Sanders 2, Tharp 2