Cooper Horn
It took until late in the second quarter for Columbus North to finally get going.
The Bull Dogs went on a quick 13-0 run to close out the first half to them the cushion needed to cruise to a 62-30 over visiting Greenwood Saturday night. The win gives North its four straight victory following an 0-2 start.
“As we keep playing games and winning games, our chemistry is going to keep getting better, and we’re going to keep getting better,” North senior Tyler Blythe said.
The Bull Dogs (4-2) tried to pull away in the first quarter, but a couple of perimeter baskets by the Woodmen (1-4) kept them in distance, and North held just an 11-8 lead after the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, both offenses had trouble scoring. A 3-pointer by Greenwood midway through the quarter, however, cut the margin to 15-11. That would then setup the 13-0 Bull Dog run to end the first half to lead 28-11.
North started the third quarter on a 17-2 run to lead 45-13, thus, sealing the game.
“The thing we told our team at halftime was, ‘Good teams can play at different speeds,’” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We were able to do what we needed to do in the first half to kind of play their game, but then we knew we could play in a spurt and blow them open, and that’s what happened on that 13-0 run towards the end of the first half. That, I thought, was the key run in the game. At halftime, we made a few adjustments and the third quarter was game over.”
Cooper Horn poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the Bull Dog scoring. Blythe and Ty Ferguson added nine apiece. Overall, eight North players scored in the game.
“We have a motto, ‘Give up the good shot for a great shot,’” Ty Ferguson said. “I feel like the whole team has bought in to finding the best shot for our team and giving up shots other people would take. It’s really bought into our chemistry in how we shared the ball, and it showed tonight. We found the open man, and we were able to hit open shots.”
Jake Mosemann led Greenwood with 16 points.
Columbus North 62, Greenwood 30
Greenwood;8;3;8;11;—;30
Columbus North;11;17;19;15;—;62
Columbus North (4-2): Cooper Horn 10 4-6 24, Tyler Blythe 4 0-0 9, Ty Ferguson 3 1-3 9, Damon Edwards 2 0-0 4, Luke Harmon 0 0-0 0, Zac Horn 3 0-0 7, Drew Schiefer 2 0-0 4, Phillip McKinley 1 0-0 2, Blake Osbourne 1 2-2 4, Max Coomes 0 0-0 0, Garrett Long 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 7-11 62.
3-point goals: Columbus North 3 (Ferguson, Blythe, Z. Horn).
