Columbus North boys basketball coach Paul Ferguson made sure there was no letdown following Friday’s night huge win over crosstown rival Columbus East.
Right from the opening tip on Saturday, there was never any sign of a letdown. The Bull Dogs cruised to a 74-42 victory over Scottsburg.
“I’m most pleased with the effort we came out with tonight,” Ferguson said. “After a rivalry game, it is always easy to have a letdown. We thought we had a tremendous first quarter. I thought we were very active defensively, and throughout the night, we created a lot of offense off our defense. I was pleased with how unselfish we were and how well we moved the ball. We consistently gave up the good shot for the great shot. We also made a lot of shots tonight, which certainly helps.”
North (6-1) carried right where it left off Friday night and forced several turnovers that led to many transition baskets. It led to a 17-6 Bull Dog lead, but a couple of Warriors baskets cut it to 17-10 after the first quarter.
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Blake Barker hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, and a Jakub Trusina layup extended the Bull Dog lead to 22-10. The defensive press played a major role again down the stretch in the first half.
North created several more turnovers that led to additional transition baskets to fuel a 12-5 run to extend the lead to 34-19. The Bull Dogs led 35-20 at the half.
Nick Schiavello led the Bull Dogs in the first half with 12 points, and Barker added nine.
“I think when we get pressure on the other team and get some deflections and steals, it helps us get our offense going and get some easy layups,” Schiavello said. “In the half-court, we have a lot more confidence when we knock down shots.”
Barker got North going to start the third quarter by scoring the first eight points that included two triples to push the lead to 43-20. The story became more of the same in the third quarter with Scottsburg (5-2) having no answer to the Bull Dogs’ full-court press that led to many turnovers and points to push the margin to 54-24.
North led 61-32 after the third to essentially seal the win.
Barker finished with a team-high 17 points, while Schiavello added 16. Cam Wischmeyer and Reese Harmon finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Hayden Cutter lead all scorers with 21 points for the Warriors.
The Bull Dogs will look to build on this momentum when they play in the Noblesville Tournament Friday and Saturday. North plays against New Albany in the opening round at around 4:15 p.m. Friday.
“We’ll have a few days of practice to get ready for New Albany,” Wischmeyer said. “I think it’ll be a good game. We beat them last year, so I know they’ll want to get us, so we’ll have to come prepared.”
