NEW MARKET -- Southmont boys basketball knew they had to play better after their season opening 46-36 loss to North Putnam on Tuesday. The Mounties were back in action on Saturday night for their home opener as they hosted the Sheridan Blackhawks. From the opening tip South attacked the basket and was getting good looks left and right. The Mounties held a 16-10 lead after the opening quarter and were able to continue to build their lead as they cruised to a bounce back 57-43 win.
South turned a 31-23 halftime lead into a 45-28 after three quarters as their defense clamped down to allow the team to pull away.
“Tuesday was rough on us,” Southmont coach Jake Turner said. “We had some early adversity that we had deal with and I’m really proud of the way we pulled together and responded tonight. I’m still very positive after this first week. We’re only going to get better because our young guys are going to get more experience.”
Carson Chadd led all scorers in the game with 18 points in the win. Trip Ward added 15 and drilled three threes. EJ Brewer rounded out the double figure scoring for the Mounties with 10. Lucas Oppy added six, Vince Reimondo five, and Kyler McCandless ended with three. South as a team shot 51% (19-377) for the game and were aggressive at getting to the free-throw line and converting going 14-19 (74%).
Chadd as he did against North Putnam (14 points) continued to be the aggressor and be the one to lead the Mountie offense. Turner noted how he’s loved what he’s seen from his senior big man in the first two games.
“Carson has played really well so far,” Turner said. “In year’s past he’s kind of deferred to the other guys because he’s a willing passer and an unselfish player. Now he’s showing the type of player he was in his younger years where he’s our number one option. Overall I thought everyone contributed tonight. We still have some things to work on but hopefully we use this and continue to trend upward.”
Caleb Wright led the way for Sheridan (1-1) with 16 points and four made threes. The Mounties did shut him down in the second half only allowing him to score three points. Carson Aleman added 10. Tyler Garner ended with eight, Trent DeCraene five, and Parker Williams notched four.
Turner who prides himself and his team on the defensive side of the ball noted how his defense stepped up after a small halftime adjustment.
“We were scoring fine, the problem was we weren’t getting enough stops,” he said. “We made an adjustment and the guys did a good job of responding on the fly. Playing good defense is sometimes about what shots are you willing to give up. We did a much better job on Wright because there were times in that first half where we lost him.”
The win for the Mounties marks their first of the season as their record improves to 1-1. They now have the week off before they will host county and conference rival the North Montgomery Chargers on Friday. Turner knows, as county matchups typically are, will be a physical game when the two county rivals square off on Friday.
“First off I have a ton of respect for Coach (Chad) Arnold,” Turner said of the Chargers coach. “He’s a friend and we both have helped each other as coaches. One thing I do know about his teams is they are going to be disciplined and guard well. They have tough kids with experience and they’ll be ready to go. I know that we’re going to come out and play hard as Carson and EJ set that example for us. That will trickle down to the young guys. It’s going to come down who executes better and it’ll be fun, physical game.”
The county rivalry game between the Mounties and Chargers can be heard on WIMC Thunder 103.9 as Jared McMurry and Billy R will have the call. JR_Sports will also have updates on Twitter.
