For three of the four quarters Friday night, Columbus North outscored Class 4A No. 1 Bloomington South.
Unfortunately for the Bull Dogs, the Panthers completely owned the second quarter. Bloomington South scored the first 19 points of the period and outscored North 19-2 in the quarter on its way to a 63-48 victory, a 20-0 record and a fifth consecutive Conference Indiana title.
“We had a horrible second quarter,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “I liked a lot of what we did defensively, if you could take the second quarter out. They shot the ball really well, and they’re a hard team to beat when they hit 11 3s.”
The Panthers (20-0, 5-0) went 11 for 24 from 3-point range, while the Bull Dogs (15-4, 3-1) were just 3 for 9 from beyond the arc.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
In a back-and-forth first quarter, North took its last lead at 12-11 on a 3-pointer by Blake Barker with 2:15 left in the period. But then Indiana University recruit and Mr. Basketball frontrunner Anthony Leal, who had been scorless to that point, was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to give Bloomington South the lead for good.
The Panthers led 16-14 after one quarter, then ran off 19 in a row to begin the second period, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Leal and another from Army signee Noah Jager, to take a 35-14 lead. A basket by the Bull Dogs’ Reese Harmon cut the lead to 35-16 at the break.
“We had a great start,” Harmon said. “We played really well in that first quarter, and then the second quarter, I just think they outplayed us. They outhustled us. They just did those little things that add up, so that’s what I feel like killed us in the second quarter. But I feel like we bounced back in the third quarter and played better, and the fourth quarter was even-ish.”
North outscored Bloomington South 18-15 in the third quarter and 14-13 in the final period to make it a little closer.
“I feel like we can play with them any day,” Harmon said. “It’s just those little things. They’re a very veteran team, and they do those things very well, so that’s what we have to work on throughout practice and these next couple of games to prepare for the sectional.”
Connor Hickman hit five 3-pointers and led the Panthers with 23 points. Leah finished with 16.
Cooper Horn and Casper Clark each scored nine points to lead the Bull Dogs. Harmon and Barker each grabbed six rebounds to lead North to a 29-23 advantage on the boards.
“Bloomington South did a fantastic job defensively, and we just weren’t patient enough offensively,” Ferguson said. “We forced the ball into some gaps that weren’t there, and when you do that against that team, you just give them easy transition opportunities, and that’s what they did to us. We’re going to learn and grow from this as a team, and hopefully if we get a chance to play them again, we’ll be much better the second time around.”
