Greencastle slashes through North Montgomery to end regular season

Greencastle's Judah Amis (left) and Cody Evans (right) pin down North Montgomery's Noah Hopkins and force a difficult pass during Friday night's regular season finale. The Tiger Cubs, in back-to-back games, held teams to the two lowest point totals of the season, helping to pick up a 52-32 win over the Chargers.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

LINDEN – The difference three days can make has been noted throughout history.

On the floor at North Montgomery Friday night, a Charger team that stonewalled North Putnam found Greencastle too hot to handle as Sam Gooch scored 25 points in a 52-32 win in the regular-season finale for the Tiger Cub boys’ basketball team.

“North Montgomery is a solid team that defends really well and plays really hard, as was evident by the North Putnam game,” Greencastle head coach Bryce Rector said. “We completely controlled the game from the start. We lost control for a few seconds in the third quarter, called a quick timeout and got back in control.

“One of our keys was getting paint touches. We thought they would help a lot and could get some stuff out of it. Credit to our guys for executing that.”

Gooch and Cody Evans scored the first two baskets of the night before Jarrod Kirsch hit a three in reply.

Anthony Adams and Taygan McRoberts hit back-to-back threes to stretch the lead to 10-3 and Nathan Sutherlin added a basket to get all five starters on the board before the quarter’s end.

A late three from Cameron Enlow pulled the Chargers to within four at 12-8 before the end of the opening period while a Colten Arnold three to start the second quarter trimmed the gap to one at 12-11.

Evans and Kirsch traded off threes in the following moments before the Tiger Cubs took control of the contest.

A series of drives to the rim from Evans and Gooch were followed by a McRoberts three as the lead jumped to 24-14.

Gooch added a floater and a putback before halftime as the one-point lead became a 14-point gap at 28-14.

“Sam played really well tonight. When he has his legs underneath him, he’s really difficult to guard,” Rector said about the sophomore. “He had a stretch where he was sick and he didn’t look like the same player for a few games.

“He made some good plays and when he plays like that, it makes it easier for other guys as they get some open shots and the game flows well.”

Gooch’s ability to beat North Montgomery defenders off the dribble prevented the hosts from bringing the lead down to single digits the rest of the night as the sophomore matched his jersey number with 10 points in the third quarter.

Greencastle’s lead briefly slipped to 11 after an Enlow three made it 30-19 but Evans hit a three in reply and every Charger point the rest of the quarter was answered by Gooch, leaving the Tiger Cubs with a 41-26 lead after three quarters of play.

Gooch started the fourth quarter with a three-point play and an 8-0 run following a Kirsch jumper iced the contest as Sutherlin and Evans scored on drives while Gooch added a layup off a steal and two free throws as the lead reached its high point at 52-28, eventually settling in at 52-32 for the final.

Offensively, Greencastle was brutally efficient, shooting at a 64 percent clip at 16-of-21 inside the arc and 5-of-12 outside it, while winning the boards battle 19-11. The Tiger Cubs also held the Chargers to the second-fewest points on the season, only bettered by the 28 points the team gave up to Owen Valley in its prior outing.

Evans scored 14 points to back Gooch while McRoberts scored six points. Kirsch led North Montgomery with 11 points.

Greencastle turns its attention to South Putnam and the IHSAA Boys’ Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 at McAnally Center on Wednesday.

“We had our hands full with South, who gave us everything we wanted at the (Putnam County Classic),” Rector said, having beaten the Eagles 69-54 on Feb. 8. “Getting (Drew) Hill back is going to help them; with him missing, it’s made things a little more difficult for them, which has been evident in the last few games.

“We’re going to have to be ready to play. Hill is good, (Cameron) Bozell torched us in the last game, they’ve got other guys who play hard and they’re going to give us everything we want. We’re going to have to be ready to roll in McAnally and see what the week brings.”

Scoring

Greencastle (16-21 2FG; 5-12 3FG; 5-7 FT) —Gooch 25, Evans 14, McRoberts 6, Sutherlin 4, Adams 3

North Montgomery (5-14 2FG; 6-20 3FG; 4-8 FT) — Kirsch 11, Harwood 7, Enlow 6, Arnold 3, Hopkins 3, Meadows 2

Statistics