SEYMOUR — A strong third quarter by Columbus East’s boys basketball team erased a slow first half and lifted the Olympians to a 44-38 Hoosier Hills Conference victory at Seymour on Monday night.
Playing on an irregular night after a weekend snowstorm postponed the two teams’ contest on Saturday, East looked a little out of sorts while shooting just 23 percent (3 of 13) from the field during the first quarter.
The Owls took advantage of the Olympians’ early woes and used a 7-0 run to take an early 13-5 lead. Seymour maintained its lead the entire first half and carried a 20-17 edge into halftime.
“Their kids really controlled the game,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “I thought at Bloomington South (in a loss on Friday), we really played and competed. We came out tonight selfish and complacent. But in the second half, I thought our shot selection was better, and we played decent defense.”
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After their slow start, the Olympians (4-6, 2-0) hit 8 of 14 shots in the second and third quarters. A 10-4 third-quarter run, powered by baskets from Matt Frost, Lakeevan Whedon, Tyler Boyer and Drew Johnson, converted the halftime deficit into a 27-24 East lead. A 3-pointer from the left baseline by Whedon with 3:40 left in the third period gave the Olympians a lead they never relinquished.
Despite falling behind, Seymour (3-9, 0-4) kept up the pressure, getting to within 31-30 on an RJ Kleber 3-pointer. East answered moments later, however, when Jacob Pierce made a 3-pointer from the right side to push the lead back to 34-30. A collection of layups grew the Olympians advantage back to 42-34.
“We need five guys all on the same page playing hard for 32 minutes,” Seymour coach Tyler Phillips said. “We probably played 30 good minutes tonight. We couldn’t come up with that key rebound or stop in the fourth quarter.”
Frost led East with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Boyer and Pierce followed with nine points apiece.
Seymour was paced by Aiden Goen, who came off the bench to score 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Kleber followed with 10 points.
The Olympians snapped a three-game losing streak. On Saturday, East will host the HHC’s only other unbeaten team, Jeffersonville. The Red Devils (9-3, 3-0) enter the contest with a four-game win streak that includes impressive wins over New Albany and Floyd Central.
“We’re going to have to play a lot better (against Jeffersonville) than we played tonight,” Chitty said. “Our guys just need to go play. We get a little mental sometimes. We just need to let loose.”
