TERRE HAUTE —
The appearance of balanced scoring in the Terre Haute North High School basketball lineup Saturday night was a little bit deceiving as the Patriots held on to defeat visiting Evansville Reitz 62-48 in North’s Senior Night contest.
Ross Sponsler got 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half for the winners, and Calvin Blank got all 18 of his — including probably the biggest three of the game — after intermission to counter a Reitz defensive switch.
Sponsler and fellow senior Matt O’Leary, who also scored most of his points early, got their team off to a 19-0 start in the first seven minutes and coach Michael Adams of the visitors tried a couple of different defenses.
Midway through the third quarter, Adams found one that worked — a triangle-and-two that limited Sponsler and O’Leary to one basket each in that period. A sudden 10-0 run for Reitz cut North’s lead to 41-35, and the score was still 43-37 when the Panthers got the ball out of bounds under North’s basket with 3.2 seconds left.
Blank stole the long in-bounds pass near midcourt, however, and drove to a layup — also drawing a foul at the third-quarter buzzer. He sank the free throw for a nine-point lead, then added 11 more points in the fourth quarter as the Patriots pulled away again.
“That was a big play,” coach Todd Woelfle of North said of Blank’s steal and three-point conversion. “It kind of put the momentum back on our side.”
“It was big,” Adams agreed. “If we could’ve executed and gotten a shot [in the waning seconds of the third quarter] … but we didn’t.”
That the game was still in question at the end of the third quarter was a tribute to the Panthers, who had suffered a 32-point loss to Jeffersonville 24 hours before missing their first 10 shots from the field the next night.
“Obviously we’re struggling,” said Adams, “so I am proud of the guys. They could have bagged it in [at 19-0]. After last night, our confidence is really low.”
Reitz actually responded to its 19-point deficit with another 10-0 run that got the margin under double figures, but by halftime Sponsler had outscored the visitors by himself as the Patriots led 29-15.
“The most important thing tonight was that everyone in this locker room wanted to win this game for our two seniors,” Woelfle said. “They’ve given a lot to this program; they are good teammates and leaders. And they got us off to an excellent start.”
North still seemed safe at 41-25, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Austin Schapker and Jordan Summers got the next Reitz rally under way. The triangle-and-two didn’t leave the Panthers with an answer for Blank, however.
“Calvin Blank stepped up in the second half when Reitz tried to take Ross and Matt away,” Woelfle said. “Reitz is well coached … but the mark of a good team is that other kids step up.”
“Give [the Patriots] credit, they’re a good basketball team,” Adams said. “They are very well coached, well prepared … and obviously they have some kids who can play.”
O’Leary, who missed Friday night’s North game with a physical ailment, may not have been completely healthy on Saturday and was held to 11 points, just four after halftime. But it was hardly a subpar performance for the 6-foot-8 senior, who had game-high totals of eight rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots.
Freshman Jaelan Sanford led Reitz with 13 points and Kameron Malone added 10.
EVANSVILLE REITZ (48) — Schapker1-3 0-0 3, Levels 2-8 3-4 7, Schuetz 1-4 0-0 2, Sanford 4-7 2-2 13, Malone 2-4 4-6 10, Happe 0-4 2-2 2, Summers 2-8 0-0 5, Liley 0-1 2-2 2, Auten 1-1 1-2 4. Totals 13-40 FG, 14-18 FT, 48 TP.
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (62) — O’Leary 4-9 2-3 11, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Blank 8-11 1-2 18, Sponsler 7-9 1-2 21, Jahn 0-3 4-4 4, Davis 1-4 1-2 4, Grady 1-1 0-0 2, Vickers 0-3 0-0 0, Dillahunt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-44 FG, 9-13 FT, 62 TP.
Evansville Reitz 4 11 22 11 — 48
Terre Haute North 19 10 17 16 — 62
3-point shooting — ER 8-21 (Sanford 3-5, Malone 2-3, Auten 1-1, Schapker 1-3, Summers 1-3, Levels 0-2, Happe 0-4), THN 9-21 (Sponsler 6-7, Blank 1-2, Davis 1-3, O’Leary 1-4, Jahn 0-2, Vickers 0-3). Total fouls — ER 10, THN 12. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — ER 12, THN 12. Rebounds — ER 27 (Schuetz 7), THN 30 (O’Leary 8, Sponsler 5, Davis 5). Assists — ER 10 (Schapker 2, Malone 2, Liley 2), THN 17 (O’Leary 6, Jahn 5). Steals — ER 6 (Schuetz, Sanford, Happe, Schapker, Malone, Liley), THN 10 (Lewis 3, Blank 3, Jahn 2). Blocks — ER 1 (Summers), THN 5 (O’Leary 5).
JV — Terre Haute North 37 (Evan Low 9, Chris Barrett 8, Nathan Paul-Bonham 8), Evansville Reitz 32 (Logan Worthington 9, Malik Higgins 8, Alex Stein 7).
Next — North (14-4) plays Thursday at Bloomington North. Reitz (7-11) has a home game that night against Evansville Harrison.
High School
North seniors enjoy hot start
Sponsler scores 21, O’Leary 11 for Patriots on their Senior Night
- High School
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The loss was just the second in the last 12 games for the Wildcats. The Mustangs, however, haven’t lost a sectional softball game for eight years in a row. -
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Pats, Knights will meet in sectional
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North takes second in track regional
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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. -
South, Crawfordsville win in regional tennis semis
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Braves, Knights open with wins
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
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PREP ROUNDUP: Panthers cruise in sectional opener
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Notable tradition bodes well for Riverton Parke
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Vikings get 18th win over Shakamak
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Greencastle new site for girls tennis regional
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Northview sectional groups 3 20-win teams
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Terre Haute South softball takes Riverton Parke tournament
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North baseball splits doubleheader with Indy North Central
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Robinson takes regional softball crown
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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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