Columbus East and South Decatur played tight for about the first quarter-and-a-half of Thursday night’s boys basketball game.
Late in the first half and early to start the second half, the Cougars went on a big scoring run to put the game away for a 92-66 victory over the Olympians.
It was a historic night for South Decatur senior Lane Lauderbaugh, who set a school record for points scored in a game with 49.
“He was really good tonight, and he’s capable of that about anytime. Tonight was his hot night,” South Decatur coach Kendall Wildey said. “Another night it might be Hunter (Johnson), but what really helped was we got a lot of production from other guys. People hitting 3s, that opens it up for him inside, and of course, he was hitting 3s himself. Our key for us was to really establish him on the inside because we thought that was an advantage of ours because of his height and what he can do around the basket.”
Lauderbaugh said he wasn’t aware he was in the process of breaking a record.
“I didn’t know it. I was just playing my game. I just got comfortable out there in the first half,” Lauderbaugh said. “My teammates got me the ball, and it all worked out. We got the ‘W.'”
The Olympians originally were supposed to play Brownstown Central Thursday, but due to the Braves canceling the game due to COVID-19 concerns, South Decatur took its place.
On Wednesday night, South Decatur played Columbus North in added games for both teams due to lost games from earlier in the season to COVID-19. The Bull Dogs won 82-50.
“To be able to come in and even compete against 4A schools, and we’ve had the opportunity two nights in a row,” Wildey said. “I just appreciate Columbus North and Columbus East allowing us to come in and do this the last two nights because it has been such a weird year. To be able to play this competition to try to help us get ready for our (sectional) tournament, we’re very grateful that both Columbus schools have allowed us to do it.”
After the Cougars (9-6) took an early 4-0 lead, Tyler Boyer hit back to back 3-pointers to put East (1-12) in front 6-0 with around 5:50 left in the first quarter. Lauderbaugh hit a couple 3s in the quarter, and then a Johnson 3-pointer right before the buzzer gave South Decatur a 21-14 lead.
The Cougars hit their first three shots from 3-point range to extend the lead to 30-16 early in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, the Olympians went on an 8-0 run, capped with a 3-pointer from Jacob Pierce to cut it to 37-31. South Decatur then finished out the first half on an 11-0 run to lead 48-34 at the break.
“We just had to attack the basket. I think that’s what got us going, that and the defense,” Lauderbaugh said. “Our help side defense was amazing tonight. I think that was the best defense we played all year, and it’s been one of the better teams we’ve played so far, too. It worked out good for us.”
The Cougars opened the third quarter on a 14-3 run to put the icing on the cake and seal the win.
For South Decatur, Johnson finished with 21 points, and Jacob Scruggs added 10.
Daniel Murphy led East with 15 points. Tyler Boyer finished with 13, Pierce had 12 and Ben Sylva added 11.
