NEW MARKET – Southmont and North Putnam split a pair of high school basketball games on Wednesday night, with the Mounties using strong free throw shooting down the stretch to win the girls’ game 42-37 and the Cougars hitting an unconscious 15-of-30 shots from 3-point range in the boys’ game on their way to a 66-56 win.
In the opener, the Mounties held a 6-4 lead at the first stop despite eight turnovers which limited their scoring opportunities. Addison Charles had a trey and Sydney Veatch added a basket and a free throw for the homer team.
North Putnam got going in the second period, scoring the first six points to assume a 10-6 lead. The teams then traded baskets, and the Mounties scored the final seven points of the half in the final 3;26 to take a 15-12 halftime lead. Veatch had a basket and a free throw to start the run, while Charles added another trey and Natalie Manion had a free throw.
The third period was mostly Cougars, as the visitors scored more points (15) than in the first two quarters combined (12). Dana Tennis had a trey and a pair of free throws to lead North Putnam in the quarter. Sophomore center Isabelle Miller got untracked for Southmont, scoring all three of her baskets in the period.
North Putnam continued to inch its lead upward, with a free throw followed by a basket from sophomore Brie Miller with 4:55 left putting the Cougars up 35-27.
The visitors would manage just four more points the rest of the way, however, while Southmont was just getting started.
Veatch had another “and one” to start a 10-0 stretch that gave Southmont the lead for good, and later added another basket during the run. Manion chipped in with a pair of free throws, and Bailey Thompson added a trey for a 37-33 Southmont lead with 2:53 left.
After a Miller basket for North Putnam, a hectic flurry over the final 1:26 of the game saw Southmont get numerous offensive rebounds after either shot attempts or free throws and hit 10 of 15 free throws in the period to clinch the win.
Southmont improved its record to 4-3 with the win, breaking a two-game losing streak. Veatch led the Mounties with 15 points, while Charles added 10.
Cougars out-shoot Mounties
In the nightcap, a sluggish first quarter saw the Mounties hold an 8-7 lead at the first stop on an Austin Bowman trey late in the quarter.
The Mounties used a strong start to the second quarter to take a 19-13 lead with 5:03 left in the first half. Avery Saunders had a pair of baskets in the stretch and Logan Oppy added a trey.
North Putnam began finding the mark, scoring eight straight points to take a 21-19 lead. Bowman tied the game on a put-back with 28.1 seconds left in the half, before North Putnam’s Mason Brooks put his team ahead to stay at 23-21 on a layup with 1.9 seconds left in the half.
Nothing the Cougars did in the first half would lead onlookers to be prepared for what would happen in the third period, however.
An Aaron Huffman trey started the onslaught, and after a pair of Aaron Pickel free throws the Cougars really started bombing away. Zach Huff hit one, and Brooks – the son of North Putnam’s first-year head coach – sandwiched a pair of treys around a short jumper for a 39-28 lead.
A trey from Pickel, another from Brooks, yet another from Dane Spencer and two more from Ellis Lyons exploded the North Putnam lead to 54-38 at the final stop. In all, the Cougars hit 9 of 10 treys in the quarter – with six different players getting in on the act – and racked up a total of 31 points in the period.
Predictably, the Cougars only hit 1 of their first 8 shots in the final period and the Mounties staged a comeback. Carson Chadd had a two and a three to start a 7-0 run, which Oppy ended with a pair of free throws.
Huff hit another trey for a 57-45 lead but the Mounties whittled it down to 61-53 on a Saunders free throw with 2:01 left.
Southmont would get only a late Oppy trey as the Cougars were able to beat the Mountie press and seal the victory.
Oppy led Southmont with 18 points, while Chadd and Bowman each added nine.
The Mounties will next play a girls’/boys’ doubleheader on Tuesday at Parke Heritage, another sectional opponent.
Girls’ game
NORTH PUTNAM (3-3): Willis 3-13 0-2 6, Miller 4-13 2-7 10, Tennis 2-6 3-4 9, Sims 0-9 2-2 2, Osburn 0-3 0-0 0, Davies 1-5 2-4 5, Gibson 0-2 0-0 0, Christy 2-7 0-0 5. Totals 12-58 FG, 9-20 FT, 37 TP
SOUTHMONT (4-3) – Miller 3-7 2-4 8, Veatch 6-16 3-4 15, Frederick 0-2 0-3 0, Charles 2-10 4-4 10, Manion 1-6 3-4 5, H.Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Craig 0-1 1-2 1, Oppy 0-1 0-0 0, Remley 0-0 0-0 0, B.Thompson 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 13-46 FG, 14-21 FT, 42 TP
North Putnam 4 8 15 10 -- 37
Southmont 6 9 8 19 -- 42
3-point shooting – North Putnam 4-13 (Willis 0-1, Tennis 2-5, Davis 1-3, Christy 1-2), Southmont 3-17 (Miller 0-2, Veatch 0-2, Charles 2-6, Manion 0-2, H.Thompson 0-1, Oppy 0-1, B.Thompson 1-2). Turnovers – North Putnam 17, Southmont 20.
Boys’ game
NORTH PUTNAM (1-0) Brooks 10-23 5-7 30, Huff 3-6 0-0 9, Pickel 2-9 2-2 8, Lyons 3-4 0-0 8, Spencer 2-3 0-0 6, Huffman 2-5 0-1 5, Batchelor 0-0 0-0 0, Warren 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 0-0 0-0 0, McHargue 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 FG, 7-10 FT, 66 TP
SOUTHMONT (0-2) – Glancy 1-4 2-2 4, Bowman 4-9 0-0 9, Chadd 4-11 0-0 9, Oppy 6-10 3-3 18, Gregg 3-4 1-5 7, Saunders 2-6 2-4 6, McVay 0-1 0-0 0, Korhorn 1-1 0-0 3, Hess 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 FG, 8-14 FT, 56 TP
North Putnam 7 16 31 12 -- 66
Southmont 8 13 17 18 -- 56
3-point shooting – North Putnam 15-30 (Brooks 5-12, Huff 3-4, Pickel 2-5, Lyons 2-3, Spencer 2-3, Huffman 1-3), Southmont 6-18 (Glancy 0-1, Bowman 1-3, Chadd 1-5, Oppy 3-7, Korhan 1-1). Turnovers – Southmont 13, North Putnam 14.
