BLOOMINGTON
The Columbus North accomplished something that has been plaguing them on and off throughout the season.
Putting together 32 minutes of basketball.
The Bull Dogs just that as they closed out the game on an 11-5 run and spoil senior night for host Bloomington North 51-41.
“We have been playing a lot better basketball the last couple of weeks, even though it did not show in the end result on the scoreboard,” said North coach Paul Ferguson. “It was one of the nights where everything came together for us. We shot the ball well and played great defense.”
The Bull Dogs converted 9 of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Alex King led the Bull Dogs with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jaylen Flemmons finished with 14 points, including 9 of 14 from the foul line. Flemmons also added six rebounds and two assists.
The Bull Dogs held the early 6-5 lead, but Malik Laffoon scored the next six points to put the Cougars ahead 11-6. The Cougars ended the first quarter when Logan Calvin shot inside missed but Musa Jallow was there for the putback dunk that gave the Cougars a 17-10 lead.
The Cougars then got cold from the field and the Bull Dogs took advantage. They strung together a 10-2 run to go ahead 20-19. King scored eight of the 10 points in the run. The Cougars regained the lead before halftime when Laffoon converted two free throws for a 24-23 lead. Laffoon and Jallow scored 21 of the Cougars 24 first half points.
The Bull Dogs fed the ball to Ethan Mitchell in the third quarter, scoring seven of his 10 ten points in the third quarter to help keep the Bull Dogs tied at 34-34. King led the fourth quarter with a 3 and also converted a 3-point play to give the Bull Dogs the go-ahead lead. Flemmons was able to knock down his free throws down to seal the win.
The balanced scoring by the Bull Dogs also helped them pick up the win and the Cougars mostly relied on the one-two punch of Laffoon and Jallow. The duo combined for 31 of the team’s 41 points in the game.
