North Putnam runs away from Riverton Parke on the road

MECCA - Things started slow, but finished fast as the North Putnam Cougars had four players in double figures and nine total scored in an 82-57 victory on the road over the Parke Heritage Panthers Saturday night. They scored 70 points in the final three quarters to explode to victory.

It was a rough start to the game, as the upstart Panthers got a couple unexpected threes from Nick MacDonald and Ben Todd. The three win Panthers were up quickly 8-2. The Cougars got to work getting six from Kaden Helderman to retake the lead at 12-11. North left some points on the table though, making only two of six foul shots and hitting only two of seven three point attempts. They still had the lead though going to the second.

The Cougars really attacked the basket in the second quarter, getting a lot of good looks and fed the ball inside to Isaac Pickel. Pickel scored 13 points himself in the quarter, including two monster slams. Pierson Robbins almost singlehandedly kept the Panthers in the game, scoring 12 of his own, including two threes. North shot a blistering 11-of-16 in the quarter to edge out to a nine point halftime lead.

The Cougars kept really getting to the rim in the second half as well, with Nolan Hackleman getting a lot of the opportunities now, scoring 10 in the third quarter. Robins continued his hot shooting, hitting three more three balls and scoring 11 more. North did a great job though of not giving them extra looks, dominating the rebound margin. They slowly built a 57-44 advantage going to the final quarter.

The game blew wide open in the fourth as the Cougars continued to shoot the ball extremely well and put the game out of reach. North went deep into their bench as many of the junior varsity players got to see time. In a neat moment, younger brother Chase Barber fed big brother Brady Barber for a nice bucket. Jayce Monnett hit a three to close out the scoring and will get ready for their finale on Tuesday.

“Robins did a great job. He almost seemed unstoppable. We had to send multiple players to him. We finally figured it out. Isaac was great for us tonight. He was poised, strong and had great decision making. I was really proud of him.” mentioned Cougar coach Vince Brooks.

The Cougars had four in double figures tonight led by Pickel’s 22. Hackleman added 18, Helderman 13 and Brady Barber with twelve. They also doubled up the Panthers on the boards 32-16 with three players with at least five rebounds. Hackleman led the way with eight. They are now 14-8 on the season and have senior night Tuesday against North Montgomery. Then it’s time to get ready for the postseason.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (NP) Pickel 22, Hackleman 18, Helderman 13, B. Barber 12, Bro. Woodall 7, Farrington 4, Monnett 3, Bra. Woodall 2, Starr 1; (RP) Robins 28, Sanders 10, Sutton 5, Be. Todd 3, MacDonald 3, Bl. Todd 2, Vester 2, Robertson 1

Rebounding - (NP) Hackleman 8, Pickel 6, Helderman 5, Bro. Woodall 3, B. Barber 3, Augusta 2, C. Barber 2, Starr 1, Monnett 1; (RP) Robins 7, nine with 1