North Putnam neutralizes Covenant Christian early to pick up 11th win of the season

BAINBRIDGE – The North Putnam Cougars defended their home court both literally and figuratively on Saturday afternoon in a boys’ high school basketball contest.

The Cougars limited the Covenant Christian Warriors to just nine first-half points and forced them into 25 percent (13-of-51) shooting as they sent the Warriors back home with a 49-39 loss.

Covenant shot just 3-of-24 in the first half as the Cougars built a big lead. North then weathered a rally by the Warriors in the second half, kept its composure and staved Covenant off.

The Cougar defense propelled them to an 11-8 record, while the Warriors dropped to 7-10.

“I am really proud of how hard our kids worked and the effort they put forth. I just could not ask for more,” North Putnam’s head coach Vince Brooks said of his team’s defensive play.

The Cougars dominated the play in the first quarter behind their defense.

Isaac Pickel hit a jumper, followed by an acrobatic layup by Nolan Hackleman and a Kaden Helderman three-pointer, forcing a Covenant timeout leading 7-0.

The Cougars went up 9-0 before a Mell Grandberry three-pointer finally got the Warriors on the board with 1:04 left to play in the first period as the Cougars held the 9-3 lead heading into the second quarter.

“Isaac and Jaylen (Windmiller) did a great job defending inside. We did some things we don’t normally do; the effort was there, the intelligence was there,” Brooks said.

The second quarter was almost a repeat of the first. The Cougars opened with a 8-1 run, highlighted by Helderman getting loose for a pair of three-pointers.

North built a 20-9 lead and Hackleman boosted the margin again with a late and-one to give the Cougars a 23-9 lead at the intermission.

“That is what (Helderman) does. He hits shots for us,” Brooks said of his junior guard.

Covenant made a push in the third quarter as the Cougars went cold from the field.

The Warriors got eight third-period points from Nef Ferrell, but the Cougars picked up a big three-pointer from Nolan Augusta and Hackleman hit two late free throws to keep the North lead at six points, 31-25, heading into the final quarter.

“It got a little helter-skelter there later. Helter-skelter kind of favors us a lot of times; we made a few mistakes, but we also kept our composure and handled it well after a while,” Brooks said of the heavy pressure the Warriors put on in the third quarter.

North’s composure showed up more reliably in the fourth period. North boosted its lead back to 10 points at 35-25 on back-to-back layups by Hackleman and Pickel.

The Cougars would not allow the Warriors to get closer than six points the rest of the game, making plays when they had to, including the kind of plays that are not always noticed.

Hackleman picked up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw to extend a possession. In a pickle, Brady Barber used his intelligence to bounce the ball off a Warrior to prevent a turnover with the Cougars out of timeouts.

“I don’t like not having any timeouts late, but we had to use them earlier. I usually go home with three or four of them (timeouts) in my pocket. That (Barber play) was a smart play. He has been playing well, rebounding well for his size,” Brooks said.

The Cougars would knock down 10 free throws in the final quarter to set the margin of victory at 49-39.Covenant Christian was led in scoring by Farrell with 12 points and Paxton Bacon with 11. Hackleman poured in 20 to lead the Cougars with Helderman adding 14.

North Putnam will play next in the Putnam County Classic against Cloverdale on Feb. 8.

COVENANT CHRISTIAN (39) – Laughlin 1-5 0-0 2, Bacon 3-9 2-2 11, Farrell 4-9 2-2 12, N. Crane 0-0 0-0 0, M. Crane 1-7 0-0 2, Midla 1-5 2-4 4, Grandberry 2-6 0-2 5, Woehr 0-5 0-0 0, Maloney 0-2 0-0 0, Hopson 1-2 0-0 3, Munoz 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-51 FG, 6-10 FT, 39 TP.

NORTH PUTNAM (49) – Helderman 4-7 2-2 14, Farrington 0-0 1-4 1, Barber 1-3 0-2 2, Pickel 2-4 1-2 5, Hackleman 5-14 10-11 20, Windmiller 1-1 2-2 4, Augusta 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 14-32 FG, 16-23FT, 49 TP.

3-point shooting –CC 7-29 (Laughlin 0-2, Hopson 1-2, Bacon 3-8, Farrell 2-5, M. Crane 0-3, Midla 0-3, Grandberry 1-3, Woehr 0-3), NP 5-15 (Helderman 4-7 Barber 0-1, Pickel 0-1, Hackleman 0-3, Augusta 1-3) Rebounds –CC 25 (Laughlin 4, Hopson 1, Bacon 1, Farrell 4, N. Crane 3, M. Crane 1, Midla 2, Grandberry 5, Woehr 2), NP – 35 (Helderman 6, Farrington 3, Barber 7, Pickel 6, Hackleman 6, Windmiller 1, Augusta 1) FG Pct. – CC 25.5, NP 43.8. FT Pct. – CC 60.0, NP 69.6. Turnovers – CC 6, NP 12.