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SOUTHMONT BOYS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL: Cougars roll past Panthers for finals spot
NEW MARKET – The North Putnam Cougars methodically and systematically did their job on Friday night at Southmont High School. The Cougars offensively and defensively made the plays needed to advance past the Riverton Parke Panthers 65-52 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Sectional 44.
The Cougars started the game well, trailing only twice on the night, both times early in the game, and pulled away with a solid offensive game highlighted by Nolan Hackleman’s 23 points, keeping the Panthers under control despite Derron Hazzard’s 32 points for Riverton Parke.
The Panthers would finish their season at 10-15, while the Cougars improved to 16-9 and will take on the Parke Heritage Wolves on Saturday for the championship.
“I was really proud of how we came out and played tonight. Our focus was really good,” North Putnam head coach Vince Brooks said.
The two teams battled early with North Putnam taking an 8-7 lead on a Hackleman three-pointer as the Cougars called a quick timeout.
Brayden Monnett and Matt Farrington nailed treys coming out of the timeout to give the Cougars a 14-7 lead as they finished the quarter up 16-9 and would never look back.
“We really did a good job of controlling the tempo early. That was big for us,” Brooks said.
North would use that control and efficient basketball to slowly build a double-digit lead in the second period.
Monnett and Brady Barber would combine to give the Cougars a 22-13 lead midway through the quarter, then Hackleman would score eight-straight points to give North a 30-15 lead late in the stanza as they would then close the half with a 33-20 lead.
“A healthy Nolan Hackleman is really good. Most people see the stats of a game and think certain things, but I get to see it every day in practice. He (Hackleman) is really good,” Brooks said.
The Panthers would not allow the Cougars to get away from them in third period. North would struggle to keep Hazzard out of the paint and the senior guard scored 11 points in the period to keep the game within reach, but the balanced Cougar offense and toughness did not allow the Hazzard run to cut the lead by much.
Hazzard would hit a jumper at the buzzer to cut the Cougar lead to 45-33, but that was as close as they would get as the fourth quarter started.
“We played good defense most of the night. We gave up a few layups, but they had to work for those and we still kept the pace of the game where we wanted it,” Brooks said.
North’s efficiency was on display in the final quarter. The Cougars hit all five of their shots from the field and knocked down 10-of-14 free throws as they were able to what they do best by spreading the floor and forcing the opponent to chase them.
Hackleman finished strong in the quarter with nine points to guide the Cougars to the 65-52 victory.
Hazzard led all scorers with 32 points but was the only Panther in double figures. Hackleman led North with 23 points but received support from Brady Barber with 11 and Monnett with 10 points.
The Cougars won the battle of energy by outrebounding the Panthers 28-20 and turned the ball over fewer times, committing only 13 miscues to Riverton’s 17.
“We do not take lightly the chance to play for a sectional title. We know how hard it is to get here and compete for a title,” Brooks said.
| North Putnam | 16 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 65 |
| Riverton Parke | 9 | 11 | 13 | 19 | 52 |
NORTH PUTNAM (65) – Monnett 4-8 0-0 10, Helderman 3-9 1-2 8, Barber 1-5 9-1 11, Hackleman 8-10 5-6 23, Windmiller 2-3 0-0 4, Farrington 2-5 1-3 6, Pickel 0-0 3-4 3, Augusta 0-0 0-0 0, Woodall 0-0 0-0 0, Kramer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 FG, 19-26 FT, 65 TP.
RIVERTON PARKE (52) – Mullins 0-3 4-8 4, Robins 1-2 0-0 3, Br. Todd 1-4 2-2 4, Hazzard 13-22 2-3 32, Hines 2-5 0-0 5, Hopton 2-6 0-0 4, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Be. Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Barton 0-0 0-0 0, MacDonald 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 FG, 8-13 FT, 52 TP.
3-point shooting – NP 6-19 (Monnett 2-6, Helderman 1-6, Barber 0-2, Hackleman 2-4, Farrington 1-1), RP 6-21 (Mullins 0-2, Robins 1-2, Br. Todd 0-2, Hazzard 4-8, Hines 1-4, Hopton 0-3). Rebounds – NP 28 (Monnett 4, Helderman 2, Barber 5, Windmiller 4, Farrington 6, Pickel 4) RP – 20 (Robins 4, Br. Todd 2, Hazzard 7, Hines 5) FG Pct. – NP 41.7, RP 45.2. FT Pct. – NP 73.1, RP 61.5. Turnovers – NP 13, RP 17.