NEW MARKET — Southmont shot the ball well, and North Montgomery simply did not in a 67-30 Mountie victory on Friday in boys’ basketball.
The Mounties (1-1, 1-0 SAC) connected on 26-of-48 shots from the field for a 56% clip in the win, led by Carson Chadd’s 20 points.
“I thought for the most part the guys played pretty hard,” Southmont coach Jake Turner said. “Still some things to clean up and that weren’t good enough in my book, but I did think we competed and our guys rebounded well for the most part and competed for loose balls.”
The cleanup crew comes in the turnover department as the Mounties had 17 miscues, but a 32-14 rebounding advantage coupled with hot shooting led to the widest margin of victory for Southmont over North Montgomery (0-3, 0-1 SAC) in 87 all-time meetings.
“I was proud of the guys in a lot of things we did tonight, but they’re (Southmont) a big team,” Chargers second year coach Chad Arnold said. “We let guys cut into the lane too much and then you’ve got to box out. When we did get good stops they got the rebound, so it’s tough. They’re a good basketball team.”
Cam King came off the bench and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for the Mounties to finish in double figures with 10 points, but the rest of Southmont’s buckets came in the paint.
“I think we drive the ball well,” Turner said. “North did a good job of rotating over and taking some charges, but I’m pleased with that. We work on our driving, and our Euro-step, and spin moves and hips through consistently throughout practice, so it’s good to see some of that stuff carry over in a game.”
Avery Saunders also reached double-figures for the Mounties with 15, connecting on many easy buckets at the rim. Logan Oppy chipped in eight and Austin Bowman six.
Southmont led 37-18 at the half, before the Mounties’ defense buckled down in the second half, holding North Montgomery to just two third period points. The Chargers went 7:53 without a point and nearly 10 minutes in the second half without a field goal. North Montgomery shot just 12-of-41 on the night and 2-of-22 from deep. The 30-point total is the lowest ever for North Montgomery against Southmont. And the Mounties have now won seven of the last eight against the Chargers.
Logan Kelly led North Montgomery with nine points, while Kolton Scrimager added eight.
North Montgomery welcomes Harrison tonight, while Southmont will entertain Greencastle.
