BLOOMINGTON —
Playing without their two leading scorers against a team that — most of the time — seemed more determined to win than they did, Terre Haute North's Patriots got a driving layup from Steven Davis with 2.8 seconds left in the second overtime to escape Bloomington North with a 54-52 win in high school basketball Thursday night.
The host Cougars, a sophomore-dominated team to begin with, started the game without three regular starters and lost a fourth regular to a third-quarter injury.
Maybe the Patriots knew all of that, because they played much of the time like they expected the home team to quit. Every time the visitors grabbed what looked like a decisive lead — and there weren't all that many of those moments — the gritty Cougars would fight back, and they closed regulation time with a 9-2 run for a 43-43 tie.
“[The Cougars] played a few men down,” coach Todd Woelfle of the Patriots noted afterward, “but they were very physical and they defended us very well.”
Terre Haute North played good defense itself. After one quarter the Patriots led 7-4, and the Cougars looked lucky to score those four against the Patriots.
But the same Patriots were not shooting well against the Cougar defenders, and the home team started getting some easier shots off its own defensive effort. Bloomington North went on a 9-0 run late in the second quarter, and although a long 3-pointer by Matt O'Leary broke a drought of more than four minutes for the Patriots, they went to the locker room down 17-14.
Ross Sponsler, held scoreless in the first half, sparked a 9-0 Patriot run to start the third quarter, but the Cougars refused to give up momentum. They regained the lead with seven straight points of their own, and it took five points by Davis in the last 2:14 of the third quarter to allow the visitors to enter the fourth period with a 28-26 lead.
Again the Patriots threatened to pull away, taking leads of 38-30 and 40-32. But the Cougars had put their offense in the hands of 6-foot-2 sophomore Saikou Jallow by this time, and his penetration set up baskets and drew fouls as the home team pulled even. Jallow's three-point play tied the score with 41 seconds left, and the Patriots' plans for a last shot were thwarted by a turnover.
The Cougars got the only basket in the first two minutes of the first overtime, and then O'Leary fouled out. Bloomington's lead grew to 49-45 but Sponsler got a three-point play — on what easily could have been a charging foul — then hit a driving layup with 19.4 seconds left for a 50-50 tie. Jallow's last shot missed.
Sponsler hit two free throws to put Terre Haute North ahead 19 seconds into the second overtime, but he fouled out himself 25 seconds later. Both teams failed on chances to take the lead, and the Patriots tried to hold the ball more than a minute for the last shot only to turn it over with 16.3 seconds left. Jallow escaped a trap in backcourt and headed for the basket, but he dribbled off his knee to set up Davis's winning play.
“Steven made some contributions and did a nice job off the bench,” Woelfle said after the game, “and he had the big play at the end of the game ... we wanted to get him the ball [out of a timeout with 6.4 seconds left] and he made a great read on it.”
O'Leary and Sponsler had 16 points each and combined for 16 rebounds, nine by O'Leary. Davis added nine points and Calvin Blank eight. Jallow led the Cougars with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Terre Haute North had 16 turnovers, seven in the fourth quarter while squandering its lead, and was also outrebounded despite a significant height advantage.
“We did not do a very good job on the boards, and obviously we did not play our best basketball,” Woelfle acknowledged. “We probably did not deserve to win, but we found a way to win on the road.”
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (54) — O’Leary 5-15 3-5 16, Lewis 1-2 0-0 2, Blank 3-7 2-3 8, Sponsler 4-12 6-9 16, Jahn 0-1 3-5 3, Davis 4-8 1-3 9, Grady 0-0 0-0 0, Dillahunt 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 FG, 15-25 FT, 54 TP.
BLOOMINGTON NORTH (52) — Sowder 3-7 0-1 6, Baker 3-9 1-5 7, Sheldon 3-6 1-2 7, Jallow 4-14 11-15 19, Sims 2-6 1-2 5, Montgomery 0-2 4-7 4, Rhodenbaugh 1-2 0-0 2, Lucas 1-2 0-0 2, Bloom 0-0 0-0 0, Cornwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 FG, 18-33 FT, 52 TP.
Terre Haute North 7 7 14 15 7 4 — 54
Bloomington North 4 13 9 17 7 2 — 52
3-point shooting — THN 5-18 (O'Leary 3-9, Sponsler 2-6, Jahn 0-1, Blank 0-2), BN 0-3 (Lucas 0-1, Sowder 0-2). Total fouls — THN 29, BN 22. Fouled out — O'Leary, Baker, Sowder, Sponsler. Turnovers — THN 16, BN 17. Rebounds — THN 38 (O'Leary 9, Sponsler 7, Blank 5), BN 48 (Jallow 8, Sowder 6, Sheldon 6). Assists — THN 10 (Jahn 6, Sponsler 3), BN 6 (Jallow 3). Steals — THN 9 (Jahn 3, O'Leary 2, Lewis 2), BN 6 (Montgomery 2, Sowder 2). Blocks — THN 8 (O'Leary 4, Blank 3), BN 1 (Jallow).
JV — Terre Haute North 43 (Mitchell Dennany 10, Evan Low 9), Bloomington North 37 (Tyler Adams 8).
Next — Terre Haute North (15-4) has a noon home game Saturday against Center Grove. Bloomington North (10-8) has a home game against Columbus North on Feb. 17.
High School
Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
O'Leary scores 16, Sponsler 13 to lead Patriots
- High School
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New route leads to same place for South girls tennis
For so many years, the road to the IHSAA girls tennis state finals for local teams ran through Vincennes (regional) and Jasper (semistate). In other words, south and more south.
This year, their trip was re-routed through Greencastle (regional) and Center Grove (semistate). So it cnahged to east and more east. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Robinson tops Greenville in sectional semifinal
Robinson jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, then cruised to a convincing 12-3 victory over Greenville in a IHSA Class 2A Vandalia sectional semifinal game on Thursday.
Ashlyn Sullivan was 2 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBIs to lead the winning Maroons. -
West Vigo baseball falls in sectional to Owen Valley
West Vigo overcame the odds to win 20 high school baseball games this season with a lineup that often included four freshmen and few seniors.
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South Vermillion softball's late-season surge comes to end
A late-season surge by South Vermillion wasn’t quite enough to halt a high school softball sectional winning streak by the host team Thursday night, as Edgewood got on top early and held on for a 5-2 win in the championship game of the Class 3A Edgewood Sectional.
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. -
South takes second, North third at boys track regional
Terre Haute South finished second and Terre Haute North third on Thursday night at the boys track and field regional at Evansville Central, with 11 individuals and three relay teams qualifying for the state finals June 2.
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PREP ROUNDUP: White River Valley baseball holds off Eminence
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Feeling cursed: South bitten in sectional final again
Terre Haute South softball is not even close to being as cursed as a certain northside baseball team in Chicago, but it might just seem like it.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Mundy, Porter, Knight individual regional winners
Chanli Mundy and Keirra Porter of Terre Haute North were among the individual winners in the IHSAA Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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Thornton puts away South Vermillion
Cody Thornton’s three-run blast over the left-field fence was the finishing touch to West Vigo’s 10-3 victory over South Vermillion in the opening game of the Class 3A Greencastle Sectional on Wednesday.
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Lakers triumph, go home for regional
Shakamak took Class A Clay City Sectional honors in high school softball for the first time since 2009 Wednesday, defeating White River Valley 9-5 in the title tilt.
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North Vermillion avenges losses
North Vermillion avenged two high school softball losses during the regular season to win the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional championship Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over the host Panthers.
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Pats, Knights will meet in sectional
Adler Ingalsbe pooh-poohed his lack of velocity Wednesday night, yet the Terre Haute North pitcher was throwing BBs in the first game compared to Mooresville’s Brandon Topie in the nightcap.
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South outbattles Northview to reach sectional final
Even the best of high school softball pitchers can’t keep all the batters in the middle of Terre Haute South’s lineup down.
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Panthers get 20th win in sectional
Riverton Parke will face North Vermillion in the Class A softball sectional championship at Riverton Parke today, with action commencing at 6 p.m.
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Plainfield Sectional all about parity
Considering Terre Haute South has won five consecutive Class 4A sectional titles in high school baseball, naming the Braves as favorites to capture the 2012 Class 4A Plainfield Sectional would not seem far-fetched.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North Vermillion in title game
Casey West had a triple and three runs scored to help North Vermillion softball advance to the championship game of the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional on Tuesday.
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North takes second in track regional
Terre Haute North finished second with 74 points, six behind team champion Evansville Reitz, during the Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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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
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
It was an excellent night for starting softball pitchers to help their own cause Monday night in the Class 4A Northview Sectional.
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
A two-time state finalist in wrestling and a two-time all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference football player and wrestler, Tsali Lough of Terre Haute South was named the male recipient of the 2012 McMillan Award on Monday night at South’s Senior Awards Night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Panthers cruise in sectional opener
Sarah Burnham pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in high school softball Monday evening as host Riverton Parke defeated defending champion Rockville 10-0 in opening-round action at the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional.
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Notable tradition bodes well for Riverton Parke
Located practically in the shadow of a high school that sets one state standard in track and field, Riverton Parke has a tendency to be overlooked in that sport.
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Vikings get 18th win over Shakamak
West Vigo began a busy week of high school baseball Monday on a winning note, defeating Shakamak 6-3.
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Greencastle new site for girls tennis regional
The starting times might prove to be a bone of contention, but otherwise coaches Bill Blankenbaker and Emily Goff are thrilled their respective girls high school tennis teams will begin play today at the Greencastle Regional.
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Northview sectional groups 3 20-win teams
Three teams with 20-plus victories will attempt to claim the Class 4A Northview Sectional crown for high school softball this week, and most of the other Wabash Valley sectional fields also appear to be wide open.
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Terre Haute South softball takes Riverton Parke tournament
Terre Haute South is going into the Class 4A Sectional at Northview on Monday with momentum, confidence, a deep bench and a healthier pitching staff than it has had in quite a while.
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North baseball splits doubleheader with Indy North Central
Some of their incentive could have been sapped a couple of nights earlier, when Center Grove achieved an eight-inning victory over Warren Central to clinch the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball championship.
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Robinson takes regional softball crown
Robinson’s Maroons came from behind in the last two innings Saturday to defeat top-seeded Newton 3-2 and win the Illinois Class 2A Lawrenceville Regional.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Terre Haute South baseball sweeps, takes second place in MIC
Terre Haute South rallied for a tie in the bottom of the seventh and won the game in the bottom of the eighth in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball Saturday, coming behind for a 3-2 win over host Lawrence North.
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