SOUTHMONT BOYS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL: Cougars win slow-boil second meeting against Mounties

North Putnam's Matt Farrington gets a hand on a ball for one of back-to-back steals, leading to a layup and a trip to the free throw line, Wednesday night against the hosts at the Southmont Sectional. The Cougars and Mounties played a deliberate outing but the visitors needed a final shot to go astray from the home team to advance with a 31-29 win.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

NEW MARKET - In a game the resembled one from the movie “Hoosiers”, the North Putnam boys’ basketball team was able to escape with a 31-29 victory over the Southmont Mounties in the first round of the Southmont sectional Wednesday night.

Ball possession and stingy defense was the name of the game from the tip.

Both teams, who are no strangers to each other in the postseason, played very tight defense and good offensive looks were hard to come by.

The Cougars held a slim 6-4 lead late in the opening quarter when Brayden Monnett got a steal and took it coast-to-coast for the score as the first quarter came to a close.

Scoring was still at a premium in the second. The warm air outside did not lead to hot shooting in the gym. A pair of foul shots from Brady Barber made it a six-point game and a three from Nolan Hackleman gave the Cougars their largest lead of the half at seven.

Southmont would settle down and close the period on a 9-2 run, including five points from Trip Ward, to tie it up at 15-15 before the half.

“I have a lot of respect for what (Southmont head coach Jake) Turner does with his teams defensively. Sometimes it’s very difficult to score and tonight was one of those nights. Cougar head coach Vince Brooks said.

The pace seemed to quicken after the break. Part way in, North Putnam began to pressure and caused three quick Mountie turnovers. With six-straight points, the Cougars had stretched the lead out to nine.

Southmont’s cold shooting continued to cause it problems, though a late score from Carson Chadd made it 28-21 North Putnam going into the final session.

The Cougars went into a slowdown game to try and run the clock down. No one would score until the 5:31 mark when the Mounties’ Vince Reimondo hit a three.

The Cougars were able to hold off Southmont until late in the quarter. The Mounties were forced to start fouling, but the Cougars hit only 1-of-6 foul shots. Reimondo hit another trifecta, EJ Brewer made a bucket and all of a sudden, it was a two-point game with just 32 seconds left.

Southmont had one last chance at it but its last shot went off the rim and the tip attempt failed to go down as the Cougars would move on in the tournament.

“Credit to Southmont, they hit some big shots to get back in the game. We just had to fight through. Southmont is a very good team. I’m just really proud of our guys; in those crunch moments our guys seem to thrive.” added coach Brooks.

The Cougars advance to Friday night’s second semifinal against Riverton Parke.

North Putnam picked up its 15th win of the season. Hackleman led the way with 13 points, leading all scorers.

Team Stats

Individual Scoring

(NP) Hackleman 13, Monnett 6, Farrington 5, Barber 3, Pickel 2, Windmiller 2; (S) Raimondo 8, Hubble 6, Ward 5, Brewer 4, Chadd 4, McCandless 2