SEYMOUR — A season-best shooting night from 3-point range propelled Columbus North’s boys basketball team to an overwhelming 77-31 victory at Seymour on Tuesday night.
The Bull Dogs made 9 of 14 3-point shots in the first half (64 percent) and ended the night with a season-high 15 3-pointers.
Five of those 3s fed a decisive 20-0 North run in the first half, converting a 13-8 lead into an insurmountable 33-8 advantage.
"We wanted to come out and play well," North coach Paul Ferguson said. "We’re in sectional preparation, and it was important to come out with energy. I was pleased with our effort, and we executed the game plan well. Obviously, we shot at a high level."
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Five different Bull Dogs hit at least two 3-pointers, but the night belonged to senior Blake King, who came off of the bench and drained six 3s and scored 20 points — both career highs.
King said he remembers making six 3-pointers in a junior varsity game against Whiteland last season but didn’t expect Tuesday night to be so memorable.
"I’m not going to lie, I was not feeling it at all before the game," King said. "But when the first couple went down, I knew it was going to be a fun game after that."
King’s first two 3s came during the 20-0 run. He added another 3-pointer in the third quarter and finished with three 3s in the final period. In all, King was 6-for-9 from 3-point range.
"He’s an outstanding shooter," Ferguson said. "I was glad to see him play so well. It was great to see all of our bench guys get a lot of minutes and show what they can do."
In addition to King, North (16-6) got three 3s from Blake Barker and two each from Reese Harmon, Cameron Ziegler and Jakub Trusina.
Barker ended with 11 points, followed by Harmon and Ziegler, who each added eight. Harmon and Trenton Kelley led the Bull Dogs with seven rebounds apiece, helping them outrebound the Owls (3-18) by a 37-16 margin.
The win is North’s 10th in its past 12 games and eased the pain of a two-point loss to Franklin on a last-second shot on Saturday.
"Last week, senior night was a tough game against Franklin," King said. "This makes up for that."
