Ben Kriesant
Silver Creek showed Friday night why it is one of the top contenders to win this year’s Class 3A boys basketball state title.
Columbus North showed that it can play with some of the state’s top teams after coming away with their first loss of the season, a 65-53 defeat.
“Silver Creek is a very complete team,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “They shoot the ball well, they’ve got long athletes and are a talented team. But we proved that we can play with this level of athleticism. I liked that when they made their runs, we didn’t back down. We battled back. I thought we played a heck of a basketball game.”
The Dragons (3-0) hit nine 3-pointers, with Dane Sprigler making five on his way to a game-high 20 points. When they weren’t hitting 3s, they were pounding the ball inside to 6-foot-10 Dane Caldwell, who added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Silver Creek jumped out to a 19-7 lead after one quarter and led 27-11 midway through the second. The Bull Dogs (2-1) used a 14-5 run to close within 32-25 with a minute left in the first half and trailed 34-25 at the break.
The Dragons pushed the lead back to 60-38 early in the fourth quarter. North responded with a 14-0 run to get within 60-52 with 1:38 remaining, but Silver Creek was able to hang on.
“The Bull Dogs showed a lot of fight tonight,” Ferguson said. “We lost the first quarter by 12 points, and we lost the game by 12 points.”
Austin Perry led North with 17 points and seven rebounds. Ben Kriesant kept the Bull Dogs in the game with eight points in the second quarter and finished with a career-high 14.
“Austin Perry had a heck of a night, and Ben Kriesant played his best game of the season,” Paul Ferguson said. “He battled against those long, athletic guys. That was a really high-level game from Ben Kriesant.”
Caleb Ferguson, who scored seven points, and Ibar Baker, who added five points, battled foul trouble much of the game trying to guard the Dragons taller players. Zach Fedor had six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
The Bull Dogs committed a season-low six turnovers, but were outrebounded 36-24.
Silver Creek 65, Columbus North 53
Silver Creek;19;15;22;9;—;65
Columbus North;7;18;13;15;—;53
Silver Creek (3-0): Jerron Miles 0 0-0 0, Dane Sprigler 7 1-2 20, Lucas Linderman 1 1-3 3, Brandon Hunter 3 2-3 11, Donovan Whitehead 1 2-2 4, Brady McLaughlin 2 0-0 4, Dane Caldwell 6 3-6 15, Evan Renn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 12-20 65.
Columbus North (2-1): Jack Whaley 1 0-0 2, Ibar Baker 2 0-0 5, Caleb Ferguson 2 2-2 7, Zach Fedor 2 0-0 6, Eli Wrightsman 1 0-0 2, Austin Perry 6 4-6 17, Anderson Horn 0 0-0 0, Ben Kriesant 5 4-6 14. Totals: 19 10-14 53.
3-point goals: Silver Creek 9 (Sprigler 5, Hunter 3, Daeger). Columbus North 5 (Fedor 2, Baker, Ferguson, Perry).
