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.
Sports
Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
O'Leary scores 16, Sponsler 13 to lead Patriots
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Winner: Northview pitcher T.J. Decker rejoices as his team records the last out in their semi-final win. The Knights defeated Terre Haute North in the first game Monday at Plainfield.
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Shining Knights: Northview tops both TH teams for title
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Shining Knights: Northview tops both TH teams for title
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