While it may have been a slow start offensively for Columbus North Friday night, the Bull Dogs didn’t let that carry over to the defensive end.
North held Southport scoreless for more than eight minutes of the first half to take control and went on to post a 50-34 win to remain unbeaten in Conference Indiana.
“We’ve been stressing all week our man-pressure because we just came off a tough loss (at Perry Meridian),” North sophomore Cooper Horn said. “Our defense throughout the week has gotten a lot better, and all of our senior leaders out there have been putting in the work. We just disrupted their offense so much they couldn’t get into anything.”
The Cardinals (1-10, 0-3) jumped out to an early 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter. But then the Bull Dogs (9-3, 3-0) shut them out for the next 8 minutes, 15 seconds, going on a 14-0 run to take a 17-7 lead.
“I really liked our effort in the first quarter,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We didn’t make enough shots. They’re long and athletic and made us adjust a few times. We took good shots. We just didn’t finish enough plays in the first half.”
The Bull Dogs missed a few layups and shot only 2 of 12 from the field in the first quarter. But then they went 13 of 22 over the second and third quarters, building a 41-27 lead.
“The first quarter, we knew they were big and athletic, and we didn’t really finish that well, so the score looked a lot worse than it really was,” Horn said. “The second quarter, we went into the break, and coach Ferguson gave us a tip to shot-fake, and most of our guys started shot-faking and going into the lane more physical, and from there on, we got easier finishes.”
Blake Barker led North with 20 points. Horn finished with 11.
“We got going in transition,” Barker said. “We started getting some steals, getting some layups. We missed quite a few layups in the first quarter, which is unusual for us, and we started hitting those. I think the biggest thing was transition.”
That and a defense that limited Southport to its season-low scoring output.
“We were just doing our normal principles,” Barker said. “We knew they had some good guys, and we wanted to make sure we were on the help-side. They were quick, and we were just playing our principles and did our thing.”
Keyon Miller led the Cardinals with 16 points. Shane Handlon added 12.
Sam King grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Bull Dogs to a 28-24 advantage on the boards. North also committed just five turnovers, including only one in the first half.
“We really loved our second-half effort,” Ferguson said. “I thought our response was excellent. It was a good preparation game for us to get ready for Cathedral.”
The Bull Dogs host Class 4A No. 3 Cathedral today. The game has been moved up to a 5 p.m. JV and approximate 6:30 p.m. varsity start because of expected inclement weather coming in tonight.
