TERRE HAUTE —
Effort was not the problem for either boys high school basketball team Friday night in Hulman Center.
Underdog Terre Haute South took Terre Haute North out of its offensive game almost immediately with a ferocious defensive performance, only to learn that the Patriots play a little defense themselves. When South couldn’t make shots against the North defenders, the result was a 57-49 win for the Patriots.
“We just did enough to hold on,” said coach Todd Woelfle of the Patriots afterward. “Give South credit; they played extremely hard.”
The Braves had nearly overcome an early 14-2 deficit against the Patriots a month ago in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic, and they did that by playing the same way they started the game Friday — outhustling the Patriots and contesting everything.
The result was an early 9-3 lead for South on Friday, although North tied the score by the end of the first quarter when Ross Sponsler and Steven Davis added 3-pointers to the one Matt O’Leary had hit earlier.
North adjusted to the pace and style of the game in the second quarter and took over on the backboards. The lead still changed hands five times in the period, Kevaris Gregory giving South its last lead with 1:58 left before halftime only to have the Patriots get the last five points for a 23-19 advantage.
The Patriots never trailed again, but the Braves wouldn’t go away. It was still a four-point game at 46-42 with less than two minutes to go, but North put scores back to back — a layup by Sponsler and two free throws by Nate Jahn — to go up by eight. Ian Long hit a 3-pointer, but North finally started converting free throws regularly — the Patriots missed 12 in the fourth quarter and 18 for the game — to keep themselves safely ahead.
The Patriots shot just 43 percent from the field and a mere 53 percent at the line, and also had 16 turnovers — seven of those in the hectic first quarter.
“We didn’t execute on the offensive end, and we definitely didn’t hit our free throws,” Woelfle noted.
South had just nine turnovers, but never found an offensive rhythm against the North defense either and shot 29 percent from the field. Coach Scott Ridge had to be happy with his team’s enthusiasm. It’s decision-making? Not as good.
Although the Braves did an excellent job on O’Leary in the first half, limiting the Patriot star to just three field goal attempts, they weren’t as successful in the second half — particularly in keeping the 6-foot-8 senior off the foul line. O’Leary finished with game-high totals of 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Sponsler added 14 points and seven rebounds for North, while Calvin Blank had eight points and eight rebounds — hitting three shots in a row at the start of the second quarter to help his team out of its offensive funk — and Davis scored seven.
Jermaine Smith led South with 11 points, while Jeffrey Turner, Lucas Steward and Sean Benford added eight each and Gregory seven. Turner had 10 rebounds — out of only 24 pulled in by the Braves.
North had 52 rebounds, although that’s a deceptive stat. A whopping 17 of those were team rebounds, many created when the Patriots missed the first of two free throws.
“We did not play our best basketball. We were fortunate to win,” Woelfle concluded. “We did just enough … and in a game like this, that’s probably all you can expect.”
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (49) — Turner 2-10 4-5 8, Etling 0-4 2-2 2, Steward 3-9 0-0 8, J.Smith 4-10 2-2 11, Benford 3-9 2-2 8, H.Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Tofaute 1-1 0-0 2, Stevenson 0-2 0-0 0, Gregory 1-3 4-4 7, Long 1-1 0-0 3, Stanley 0-1 0-0 0, England 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-51 FG, 14-15 FT, 49 TP.
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (57) — O’Leary 5-7 10-17 21, Lewis 2-3 0-3 4, Blank 3-7 1-4 8, Sponsler 4-9 5-6 14, Jahn 0-5 3-4 3, Davis 2-4 1-4 7, Vickers 0-1 0-0 0, Grady 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-37 FG, 20-38 FT, 57 TP.
Terre Haute South 9 10 11 19 — 49
Terre Haute North 9 14 10 24 — 57
3-point shooting — THS 5-16 (Steward 2-6, Long 1-1, J.Smith 1-2, Gregory 1-3, Stevenson 0-1, Etling 0-1, Turner 0-2), THN 5-13 (Davis 2-3, O’Leary 1-1, Blank 1-2, Sponsler 1-3, Lewis 0-1, Vickers 0-1, Jahn 0-2). Total fouls — THS 27, THN 14. Fouled out — Turner, Benford, Etling. Turnovers — THS 9, THN 16. Rebounds — THS 24 (Turner 10), THN 52 (O’Leary 13, Blank 8, Sponsler 7). Assists — THS 10 (Benford 4, Turner 3), THN 13 (Sponsler 3, Jahn 3, Lewis 3). Steals — THS 11 (Turner 3, Etling 2, Stevenson 2), THN 4 (O’Leary 3). Blocks — THS 0, THN 4 (O’Leary 2, Lewis 2).
Next — North (13-3, 1-2 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) plays Friday at Indianapolis North Central. South (5-12, 0-5) has a home game against Ben Davis that night.
High School
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Quick hands: Sean Benford pokes the ball away from Terre Haute North's Matt O'Leary early in their game Friday night in Hulman Center.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Squeeze play: Terre Haute South's Jeffrey Turner tries to squeeze between North defenders Charles Dillahunt and Matt O'Leary. Turner's teammate Danny Etling is on the right.
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Rebound: South's #31, Kaylee Compton knocks the ball away from a North rebounder during game action Friday night at Hulman Center.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Pressure: Terre Haute South's Holden Smith keeps the pressure on North's Matt O'Leary early in the crosstown matchup Friday night in Hulman Center.
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SPT012712THSBBBetling.jpg
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Discussion
North boys do ‘enough’ to hold off South
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Panthers get 20th win in sectional
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Plainfield Sectional all about parity
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PREP ROUNDUP: North Vermillion in title game
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Wildcats advance to sectional softball final; West Vigo falls
Patience, patience.
South Vermillion exhibited great patience, being very selective at the plate and it paid off royally in the fourth inning. -
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Terre Haute South outlasted Fountain Central 4-1 in the first round of the girls high school tennis regional Tuesday, advancing the Braves into today’s championship match against Crawfordsville.
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Braves, Knights open with wins
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
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PREP ROUNDUP: Terre Haute South baseball sweeps, takes second place in MIC
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PREP ROUNDUP: Baseball, sectional game times announced
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PREP ROUNDUP: Game times set for baseball sectionals
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South tennis celebrates sectional crown
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South Putnam softball wins 48th straight game, rallying to top Terre Haute North
South Putnam wrapped up an undefeated regular season in high school softball Thursday evening, rallying to defeat Terre Haute North 5-2 at North.
The defending Class 2A state champs will take a 25-0 record and 48-game winning streak into sectional play against Covenant Christian at Cascade next week. “The way we look at it, everyone is 0-0 going into the sectional,” said SP coach Chris Jones. -
North nips South for boys track sectional title
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PREP PROFILE: North Central baseball has sights on return trip to state finals
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If it leads to something better in a few weeks, that is. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North Central baseball wins again
Class 2A No. 5-ranked North Central got three hits from Collin Harding in defeating visiting North Knox 11-4 in high school baseball Thursday.
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TERRE HAUTE TENNIS SECTIONAL: South gets revenge for loss to North last month
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PREP ROUNDUP: South baseball team beats Rockville 8-1
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North wins easily: Pats’ sectional triumph is their 29th
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North-South tennis match likely to produce champion
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