PUTNAM COUNTY CLASSIC: Eagles use 23-point third quarter to separate from Clovers

With the South Putnam student sectional willing him on, Wyatt Mullin sinks a three during the third quarter of the opening game of the Putnam County Classic against Cloverdale Thursday night. Mullin finished with 10 points for the Eagles in a 55-40 win over the Clovers as the Eagles advanced to the Classic final Friday night.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Halftime of a high school basketball game can be important.

Thursday night it was never so evident as the South Putnam Eagles exploded in the third quarter to blow open a tight game and defeat the Cloverdale Clovers 55-40 in the opening game of the Putnam County Classic.

South used a team brand of basketball with seven players scoring four or more points combined with a 23-point third quarter to take home the victory and earn a spot in the championship game Friday night.

The Eagles used a physical brand of play in outrebounding the Clovers 37-23 on the night as well to improve to 10-5 on the season. The loss dropped the Clovers to 1-18 as they will compete in the consolation game on Friday.

“We finally got going. Confidence is a big thing. We made a couple of nice passes, hit some shots and that really got us going,” South Putnam head coach Kyle Swafford said.

Cloverdale was able to control the pace early. The Clovers slowed the game down and had a 7-6 lead with under three minutes to play in the first quarter.

“We did a nice job early on. We had the game where we wanted it. We had some good looks, but didn’t make them,” Cloverdale head coach Karl Turk said.

Eagle senior Jeremiah Hibbeln went down with an apparent knee injury which changed the complexion of the game. The Eagles scored the next six points as Drew Hill sparked it with a steal and a layup. The Eagles would finish the quarter with a 12-9 lead.

“We kind of came together and woke up. It’s hard when you see someone (Hibbeln) go down like that. It is tough for anyone, but that is their brother,” Swafford said.

Cloverdale continued to keep the game slowed down and twice cut the lead to two points in a low-scoring second quarter. Levi Johnson hit a layup with 2:45 left in half, but Cameron Bozell hit a three-pointer a few seconds later and neither team would score in the final two minutes as the Eagles led at halftime 19-15.

Tayt Jackson had eight points for the Clovers at the half and controlled the pace of the game as the Clovers had it slowed down.

“Tayt was excellent tonight. We had a talk with him on Monday about being a leader. That is tough for a sophomore and I thought he really responded,” Turk said.

South used a 16-3 run to open the third period. The Eagles hit 9-of-13 shots in the quarter as a they got a big lift from a couple of players not usually known for their scoring.

Wyatt Mullin drilled his second trey of the quarter to force a timeout and Griffin Garner had four points to complement his five first-quarter rebounds. The Eagles led 35-18 at that timeout before the Clovers were able to close the gap a little.

“Griffin and Wyatt really stepped up for us. They had great games and came through like we needed,” Swafford said.

Noah Betz scored five quick points following the timeout, but Garner and Mullin answered and the Eagles led 42-26 heading into the fourth quarter.

“You have to give South Putnam credit. They hit shots in that third quarter. We didn’t play well, but some of that was them hitting shots,” Turk said.

The Eagles extended their lead to 52-28 early in the final period as the play got a little sloppy, but the Eagles were able to close it out despite the Clovers scoring the final eight points of the game to set the final margin at 55-40.

“I really applaud our effort tonight. We had some struggles early, but we really bounced back and we will come back tomorrow and see how we do,” Swafford said as his Eagles shot 51 percent (23-of-45) on the night, while limiting the Clovers to just 26 percent (12-of-46).

Cloverdale was led by Jackson’s 17 points and Betz added 15. South Putnam’s Hill had 14 points for the Eagles and Mullin added 10 for the Eagles.

South will take on North Putnam in the championship game, while the Clovers will battle Greencastle in the opening consolation game on Friday night.

SOUTH PUTNAM (55) – Hill 6-13 1-3 14, Bozell 3-3 0-0 9, Branam 3-7 1-1 7, Garner 2-4 1-2 5, Hibbeln 2-3 0-0 4, Mullin 4-9 0-0 10, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Dorsett 3-5 0-0 6, McDaniel 0-0 0-1 0, Sillery 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 FG, 3-7 FT, 55 TP.

CLOVERDALE (40) – Jackson 5-14 4-5 17, Hilton 0-6 0-0 0, Monnett 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 3-7 0-0 6, Betz 3-13 8-11 15, McGuire 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Ramsay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-46 FG, 12-16 FT, 40 TP.

3-point shooting – SP 6-13 (Hill 1-2, Bozell 3-3, Garner 0-1, Hibbeln 0-1, Mullin 2-6), CHS 4-16 (Jackson 3-6, Monnett 0-1, Betz 1-7, Johnson 0-2). Rebounds – SP 37 (Hill 4, Bozell 5, Branam 5, Garner 6, Mullin 2, Hibbeln 1, Jones 3, Dorsett 5, Harris 1) CHS – 23 (Jackson 3, Hilton 3, Lee 5, Betz 7, McGuire 1) FG Pct. – SP 51.1, CHS 26.1. FT Pct. – SP 42.9, CHS 75.0. Turnovers – SP 15, CHS 12.