DOVER — History repeated itself as the Southmont Mounties dropped a 54-34 decision to Western Boone in the first game of a boy-girl doubleheader Friday night.
As was the case in the championship game of the Sugar Creek Classic last month a bad third quarter was the difference in the game. Southmont had erased a big first-quarter deficit and managed to get within striking distance at halftime trailing just 18-15 after trailing by double digits earlier in the half.
“We felt pretty good about getting it to 18-15 at the half and we felt like we could make a run at them in the third quarter,” Southmont coach Dustin Oakley said.
That would not happen as western Boone blitzed the Mounties (6-6, 1-4) by a tune of 24-7 to break the game wide open and send the Stars to their 21st straight win over the Mounties.
In the third quarter, it was 12 turnovers and a balanced attack that led the Stars (4-6).
“We had some people step up,” Western Boone coach Megan Alexander said. “It’s not a secret that we have some injuries and tonight we had a freshman step it up and got us going in the first half and then our seniors put it together in the second half. This was a total team effort.”
Freshman Emily Conyer scored half of her team’s 18 first-half points and then ended the game with a career-high 25. Senior Hillary Reed scored 12 of her 14 points in the third quarter to see the Stars roll to a 42-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“In the Classic it was a 9-2 run the third quarter that broke open the game and tonight they just blitzed us in the third quarter,” Oakley said. “I can’t really explain it.”
The Mounties were led in scoring by Sidney Veatch who was the lone Mountie to reach double figures with 12. Bailey Thompson came in off the bench and added six, while Hannah Thompson and Addi Charles each tallied five points.
Western Boone 54, Southmont 34
Southmont 2 13 7 12 — 34
Western Boone 10 8 24 12 — 54
Southmont (6-7, 1-4) – Veatch 5-8 2-2 12, Charles 1-5 2-4 5, Manion 0-1 0-0 0, Remley 0-1 0-1 0, Miller 2-3 0-0 4, Ward 0-1 0-0 0, B. Thompson 2-6 0-0 6, H. Thompson 2-3 0-0 5, Oppy 0-0 1-2 1, Craig 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 12-32 6-11 34.
Wester Boone (5-6, 3-3) – Conyer 6-12 8-11 25, Voil 2-2 1-2 6, Reed 6-12 1-1 14, Wilkinson 1-8 2-3 4, Bascom 2-5 1-1 5, Knoper 0-0 0-0 0, Pennington 0-0 0-0 0, Rutherford 0-3 1-2 1, Woodrum 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-43 14-20 54.
3-Point Shooting – SM 4-12 (Veatch 0-1, Charles 1-4, B. Thompson 2-4, H. Thompson 1-2, Ward 0-1); WB – 6-11 (Conyer 5-7, Reed 1-4)
Rebounds – SM 30 (Miller 6, Veatch 6, Charles 4); WB 28 (Wilkinson 6, Conyer 5, Voils 5).
Fouls – SM 19; Wb 12
Turnovers – SM 33; Wb 19
Boys Game
It took three quarters for Western Boone head coach Josh Burkett to find the right lineup but when he did it spelled the end for the Southmont Mounties as the Stars took a 55-50 decision in the nightcap of a boys-girls doubleheader Friday night.
For three quarter the Mounties (1-6, 1-2) appeared to be the better of the two teams, but then once Burkett found his right lineup the Mounties had no answer to the fourth-quarter press and were outscored 20-9 to fall to the Stars in the Sagamore Athletic showdown.
“It just took us a while to figure the right combination,” Burkett, who won his first game as a Stars’ head coach, said. “We were down six at the end of the third quarter and won by five. That’s a heck of an effort and against pretty talented Southmont team. I am very proud of our effort.”
Through the first three quarters, the Mounties seemed to have the upper hand. They shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half (12 of 20) and led 30-25 at the break. They added one point to that lead in the third quarter and led 41-35 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Then the wheels fell off as the Stars turned up the pressure.
Southmont turned the ball over 10 times in the final eight minutes including seven of the first eight possessions of the quarter. That opened the door and the Stars took advantage.
In the fourth quarter, senior Coretz Stoudemire took over. He was held well under his 20-point average but managed to score nine of his team-high 14 points in the fourth period and it was his basketball off a steal with 2:12 to play that put the Stars on top for good.
“I told the kids that I thought for three quarters we were the better team,” Southmont coach Jake Turner said. “In the fourth quarter they sped us up and we got a little out of control, we weren’t making the right decisions, we turned the ball over and we let them shoot free throws. Those were all bad things. We have to hope to learn from this. We have now had a game like this and I would like to think if we are in this situation again we will make the right plays. I remember coming over here two years ago and the roles were reversed. We had the experienced player sand they were young and we made the plays. Tonight they had the experience and they were the ones who made the plays.”
The Mounties were led by Austin Bowman who had 17 points. Logan Oppy and Luke Gregg each added eight. Gregg managed to most of his damage early as the game flow limited his minutes in the second half, but Turner said “he probably played the best game I have seen him play in two years.”
Western Boone was led by Stoudemire with 14, then came Spencer Wright with 11.
Both teams are back in action tonight as Southmont entertains North Vermillion and the Stars battle Fountain Central.
Western Boone 55, Southmont 50
Southmoont 13 17 11 9 — 50
Western Boone 14 11 10 20 —55
Southmont (1-6, 1-1) – Glancy 2-2 0-0 4, Chadd 1-4 1-2 3, Bowman 6-12 5-5 17, Oppy 2-6 3-4 8, Gregg 4-5 0-2 8, Saunders 3-3 0-1 6, NcVay 2-2 0-0 4, Long 0-4 0-0 0, Hess 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-38 9-14 50.
Western Boone (1-3, 1-1) – Stoudemire 3-11 7-8 14, McAtee 2-8 0-0 6, Freeman 1-3 0-0 2, Wright 5-11 1-2 11, Hole 2-7 4-4 8, Jones 3-4 1-3 9, Henry 2-5 0-2 5, Stepp 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 13-19 55.
3-Point Shooting – SM 1-9 (Bowman 0-2, Oppy 1-3, Long 0-4); Wb 6-19 (Stoudemire 1-6, McAtee 2-7, Wright 0-2, Hole 0-2, Jones 2-2, Henry 1-1, Stepp 0-1)
Rebounds – SM 31 Saunders 6, Greeg 6, Oppy 6, Chadd 5); WB 29 (Wright 6, Henry 5)
Fouls – SM 19 (Chadd); WB 19
Turnovers – SM 22; WB 12
