ROACHDALE — North Montgomery picked up a rough and tumble road win with a 45-44 victory over North Putnam.
A Jaron Bradford layup, on a pass from the top of the key by Alex Wallace, was the winning bucket, coming with 19.4 seconds left in the game.
The Cougars, who had battled back from a 10-point deficit in the second half, had a half-court shot for the win, but the ball got too much iron.
The win moves the Chargers to 11-9 on the season, and gave the coaches plenty of keys to victory.
“We showed a lot of toughness,” Chargers coach Chad Arnold said. “We gave up the lead, but we kept our composure, and played excellent basketball on both ends of the floor down the stretch. We played great defense all night and we crashed the boards, which has been a problem area for us at times.”
With two regulars out due to injury, the Chargers also had to work their rotations differently.
“We had Keifer Carmean step into a starting spot” Arnold said of the senior, “and he did a good job inside. Kolton Scrimager also really stepped up.”
Carmean would finish with 10 points and rebounds, while Scrimager hauled in six boards of his own.
With fouls few and far between, the game became a physical affair.
“It was a real challenge for us,” Cougars coach Vince Brooks said. “I was an assistant at Lebanon and I know how big, strong and physical North is. They are a gritty team, and with so few fouls, it got pretty physical. I thought once we adjusted, we responded well.”
The Chargers jumped out to a first-quarter lead and were up eight at the half. After a quick first bucket in the third quarter, they were up 34-24, and looked to be in control.
The Cougars had different plans, and by attacking the rim, got back to within two (39-37) at the end of the period.
They continued their streak, starting the fourth on a 5-2 run to take the lead.
The teams traded leads six times in the last quarter. The Chargers would hit a bucket, the Cougars would cash in from the line.
The last basket by Bradford settled the score.
Bradford, who would finish with seven points, also drew the defensive assignment of stopping Cougars’ leading scorer Mason Brooks, who brought a 20.2 scoring and 10.1 rebounding average in.
“Bradford stayed attached to Brooks all night,” Arnold said. “He did a phenomenal job. He made it really hard for Brooks all night.”
Brooks would finish with only three field goals and five free throws for his 11 points. He did grab a game-best 16 rebounds.
“North (Montgomery) is the best defensive team we have played,” Brooks said. “They took us out of our offense. We have been averaging 63 points a game. We like to drive and then kick out for a three, but we were getting so close to the rim we were trying to finish, and with the game so physical, we weren’t finishing.”
The Cougars got 10 points each from Zach Huff and Aaron Pickel. Their shooting struggled, as they were 15-of-54 from the field and 6-of-27 from long range. They finished 8-of-9 from the line, had 37 rebounds and eight turnovers.
The Chargers were led in scoring by Wallace with 12 points, followed by Preston Shaw with 11 and Carmean with 10.
The visitors were 21-of-51 from the field and 3-of-9 from long range, choosing to stay closer to the rim all night. They missed all five free throw attempts and had 38 rebounds and 11 turnovers. Shaw finished his double-double with 11 boards.
Both teams are in the home stretch of the regular season.
The Cougars have only a road game at Indian Creek on Feb. 28 left, while the Chargers are at Tri-West Friday to close out the Sagamore Conference season, and then host Greencastle on Feb. 28.
“These games help us,” Brooks said, referring to recent games with Greencastle and the Chargers. “Parke Heritage is in our sectional, and they are a big, physical team as well.”
“I’m just so proud of these guys,” Arnold said. “North Putnam is a really good, really young team. “We showed a lot of toughness and composure tonight.”
NORTH MONTGOMERY 45 NORTH PUTNAM 44
North Montgomery 15 17 7 6 — 45
North Putnam 9 15 13 7 — 44
North Montgomery (11-9): Bradford 3-9 0-1 7, Kobel 1-2 0-0 2, Shaw 5-13 0-1 11, Wallace 6-13 0-0 12, Carmean 5-11 0-3 10, Kelly 1-3 0-0 3, Scrimager 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 0-5 45.
North Putnam (11-11): Huff 3-9 2-2 10, Huffman 2-9 0-0 5, Pickel 4-12 1-1 10, Brooks 3-17 5-6 11, Spencer 1-3 0-0 2, Lyons 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 15-54 8-9 44.
3-Pt FGS: North Montgomery 3-8 (Bradford 1-1, Wallace 0-2, Shaw 1-3, Kelly 1-2); North Putnam 6-27 (Huff 2-6, Lyons 2-3, Huffman 1-5, Pickel 1-4, Brooks 0-8, Spencer 0-1).
Rebounds: North Montgomery 38 (Shaw 11, Scrimager 6, Carmean 6); North Putnam 37 (Brooks 16, Lyons 6, Huffman 6).
Turnovers: North Montgomery 11; North Putnam 8.
JV
The varsity game was the second one-point thriller of the night, as the Chargers won the JV game 46-45 in overtime on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Jakob Kirsch.
The Chargers had trailed by four points with 20 seconds left in the extra period, but a three pointer got them to within one, setting up Kirsch’s heroics.
Nick Norman led the visitors with 16 points, and Brayden Martin added 11.
Matt McHargue led the Cougars with 19 points, while Malachi Fish had 14.
