Columbus North’s Cooper Horn, right, dribbles past Columbus East’s Zane Moravec for a layup during the annual rivalry boys basketball game at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
After what was an admittedly slow start for Columbus North Friday night, the Bull Dogs turned up the pressure and didn’t let their foot off the gas until they had the game well in hand.
The Bull Dogs outscored Columbus East 47-14 over the middle two quarters to overcome a one-point deficit and post a 68-28 victory in the bous basketball crosstown showdown.
“The first quarter, we know we played awful,” said North senior Cooper Horn,. who scored a game-high 17 points. “We couldn’t get any shots. We were getting open looks, we just weren’t hitting them. Then the second quarter, we really just wore them out and made them make mistakes, and we got out in the open court and were able to get easy buckets.”
The Olympians (1-6) took a 6-2 lead on a 26-foot 3-pointer by Ben Sylva. East still led 8-7 after one quarter.
After that, it was all Bull Dogs. North (5-2) forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter and outscored the Olympians 19-3 in the period to take a 26-11 halftime lead.
“It’s a big rivalry game,” said senior Ty Ferguson, who scored 14 points and led the Bull Dogs with five rebounds. “We just had a couple jitters to start the game. East hit a couple big shots. Sylva hit a bomb. But I think as a veteran group, we really settled down that second and third quarter and really grinded away and continued to build our lead.”
“We’re an experienced team,” North coach Paul Ferguson added. “We don’t panic. We missed some shots in the first quarter and had a couple turnovers, but our defensive pressure just blew it open in the second quarter and created a lot of offense out of our defense.”
The Bull Dogs continued the momentum into the third quarter. Ty Ferguson hit two 3-pointers early in the period, Luke Harmon hit two 3s late in the third quarter and Horn banked one in at the buzzer to push the lead to 54-22.
“That’s kind of our M.O. this year,” Horn said. “Coach Ferguson has been stressing it. Every time we come into halftime, we’re satisfied, but we’re not finished. We know we wear teams out.”
Freshman Drew Schiefer scored 13 points off the bench for North. Damon Edwards added 10 points.
Sylva finished with nine points and six rebounds to lead the Olympians. Julius Dailey added seven points.
“Give North all the credit,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “We did not handle pressure very well. It was a physical game, so you have to step up. Hopefully, some of our young guys will learn. It’s a learning experience, and hopefully, some of our seniors will step up, and we’ll get better.”
The Bull Dogs now have won five in a row after dropping their first two to begin the season.
“We’re on a roll right now, but we have to keep it going,” Horn said. “We can’t get too high after this big win. We have to lock back in for (tonight) against Scottsburg.”
Columbus North 68, Columbus East 28
Columbus East;8;3;11;6;—;28
Columbus North;7;19;28;14;—;68
Columbus East (1-6): Mason Reeves 0 0-0 0, Zane Moravec 1 0-0 2, Jack Fischvogt 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bumbalough 1 0-0 2, Ben Sylva 4 0-0 9, Kadin Lobdell 0 0-0 0, Keaton Lawson 0 0-0 0, Danny Coriden 1 0-0 3, Jake Gilbert o o-0 0, Julius Dailey 2 2-3 7, Pete Coriden 2 1-2 5, Carter Patterson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 3-5 28.
Columbus North (5-2): Luke Harmon 2 0-0 6, Tyler Blythe 2 0-0 4, Damon Edwards 4 2-2 10, Ty Ferguson 4 4-5 14, Zac Horn 0 0-1 0, Cooper Horn 6 4-6 17, Philip McKinley 1 0-0 2, Blake Osbourne 1 0-0 2, Max Coomes 0 0-0 0, Drew Schiefer 5 3-4 13. Totals: 25 13-18 68.
3-point goals: Columbus East 3 (Sylva, D. Coriden, Dailey); Columbus North 5 (Harmon 2, Ferguson 2, C. Horn).
