Game Report: North Putnam 69, Cloverdale 66

<p>Cloverdale and North Putnam came into this one with a high-powered scorer leading the way for their respective teams. [player_tooltip player_id="796015" first="Kyle" last="Thomas"] is averaging 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists on the season to lead Cloverdale, and North Putnam is led by [player_tooltip player_id="870303" first="Aaron" last="Pickel"] who is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds. In the first quarter, however, Cloverdale looked like the most balanced team in the state as they shot 7-12 from three with 6 different players knocking one down. North Putnam meanwhile shot 0-6 from deep in the first quarter, and Cloverdale led 23-12.</p> <p>In the second quarter, Cloverdale went cold from the field, and North Putnam was able to get inside and hit some shots around the rim. However, after the Cougars cut the lead to 6, Cloverdale responded with a 9-2 run to end the half thanks to Brady Koosman and [player_tooltip player_id="796015" first="Kyle" last="Thomas"]. At the half, Cloverdale would lead 36-23. Koosman led the way with 13, and Thomas added 11 as the Clovers looked to pull off the upset on the road. One key stat at the half was that Cloverdale assisted on 11 of their 12 makes while North Putnam assisted on just 1 of 9.</p> <p>To start the second half, Zachary Huff and Ellis Lyons heated up in a major way. They began playing more off of one another, and they hit five threes between the two of them. They were able to cut the lead to four in the final minute of the quarter. To end the quarter, Cloverdale’s Brady Koosman answered with a triple, and [player_tooltip player_id="870303" first="Aaron" last="Pickel"] answered on the other end with an and-one to get the lead back to 4. Cloverdale led 49-45. Zachary Huff led the way for North Putnam with 18, and Brady Koosman led the way for Cloverdale with 16.</p> <p>In the final quarter, it was a back-and-forth affair with both teams just trading punches and scoring tough buckets. [player_tooltip player_id="870303" first="Aaron" last="Pickel"] scored three baskets and assisted on the other for North Putnam, but it seemed like every single time, [player_tooltip player_id="796015" first="Kyle" last="Thomas"] had an answer on the other end of the floor. Every single time that it felt like Cloverdale was going to pull away, Ellis Lyons answered with a triple. He hit his fourth of the game with 43 seconds to go to cut the lead down to 2. Then, after a missed free throw, Zachary Huff hit a tough and one to give North Putnam their first lead in the entire game at 67-66 with 34 seconds to go. After two made free throws by [player_tooltip player_id="870303" first="Aaron" last="Pickel"], Cloverdale’s Tayt Jackson and Levi Hilton missed threes, and North Putnam was able to hold on for a 69-66 victory. North Putnam improved to 9-2 and 6-1 in the conference, and they’ll be back in action next Saturday as they host conference foe, Brown County. Cloverdale falls to 6-9 and 3-4 in the conference, and they’ll host Clay City on Saturday.</p> <p>Zachary Huff led the way for North Putnam with 25 points and 5 assists, and [player_tooltip player_id="870303" first="Aaron" last="Pickel"] added 17 points and 9 boards. Ellis Lyons would score 16 on four threes including two big ones in the final quarter. For Cloverdale, [player_tooltip player_id="796015" first="Kyle" last="Thomas"] led the way with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Brady Koosman also added 18 points on four threes for his third 16+ point performance in four games.</p> <p>On Sunday, we will be back with some player evaluations from this game. For now, just know that [player_tooltip player_id="796015" first="Kyle" last="Thomas"] is very good, and he is going to be a great player at a D3 school. Should definitely have more Division 3 coaches checking him out. North Putnam is a very good, senior-laden team, and they should be the co-favorites with Southmont to win their first Sectional title in 20 years.</p>