Columbus North’s Austin Perry drives to the basket past Heritage Christian’s Isaac Arterburn during Tuesday’s game in Memorial Gymnasium at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
On a night in which Columbus North didn’t shoot the greatest from the field, the Bull Dogs were able to get to the line and knock down their free throws.
As a result, North came away with a 68-55 win against Heritage Christian in Tuesday’s season opener.
“I think one of the keys to the game is my two guards, Caleb (Ferguson) and Austin (Perry), shot free throws so well,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “Free-throw shooting was big for us. We did a great job getting to the rim, got on the line a lot. Free throws are going to be a big part of it this year. Caleb and Austin did a good job hunting paint touches and getting themselves to the line.”
Perry went 10 of 11 from the line on his way to a career-high 31 points. Caleb Ferguson went 10 of 12 from the stripe and added 16 points.
“We didn’t shoot great, but we got paint touches, and we had guys that got spaced, and that opened up the driving lane for me and Austin,” Caleb Ferguson said. “It was great overall team play and we’re going to grow on this.”
The Bull Dogs jumped out to a 33-21 halftime lead. But after committing only four turnovers in the first half, they turned it over eight times in the third quarter, and the Eagles cut the lead to 38-37 late in the third period.
Perry responded with a pair of three-point plays in the final 50 seconds of the third quarter, and North took a 45-39 lead to the fourth. The Bull Dogs built the lead to as big as 63-46 with 2:33 remaining.
“We faced a little adversity in the third, turned the ball over too many times,” Paul Ferguson said. “But I love the way our guys responded to that moment of adversity.”
Perry and Caleb Ferguson are the only varsity players returning from last year’s team.
“I’m super excited to get back out here,” Perry said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve played Columbus North basketball. I thought we played good. We had some ups and downs, and that’s to be expected. We’re just going to keep growing as a team and hopefully keep progressing throughout the season and reaching our potential.”
“Obviously, we graduated a lot of guys, so we have a lot of new players, but I thought we played well,” Caleb Ferguson added. “I thought we competed. Obviously, there’s some things we need to work on, but I’m excited for the season.”
Eli Wrightsman came off the bench to score eight points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field. Ibar Baker led the Bull Dogs with eight rebounds in his first varsity start.
“I thought the guys played great tonight,” Perry said. “Jack Whaley played amazing defensively. Eli getting out and running in transition, those guys did great.”
North now turns its attention to Saturday night’s game against Hauser. The teams renewed their rivalry last year with the Bull Dogs winning at Hauser.
“We’re hoping for a great atmosphere Saturday night,” Paul Ferguson said. “We’re very impressed with Hauser as a program. They’re well coached. They made a big run last year. We won a game in their gym last year, and I’m sure they’d like nothing more than to beat us in our gym over Thanksgiving. So I’m hoping for a big crowd and a fun night here in Memorial Gym on Saturday night.”
Columbus North 68, Heritage Christian 55
Heritage Christian;12;9;18;16;—;55
Columbus North;20;13;12;23;—;68
Heritage Christian (0-1): Austin Wilhite 2 0-0 5, Isaac Arterburn 2 10-11 14, Brody Sutton 2 1-1 5, Carter Gallion 2 6-8 11, Gavin Shonk 8 0-3 16, Ethan Laskey 0 0-0 0, Logan Peters 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 17-23 55.
Columbus North (1-0): Jack Whaley 2 1-4 5, Ibar Baker 1 1-2 3, Caleb Ferguson 3 10-12 16, Zach Fedor 1 0-0 3, Eli Wrightsman 4 0-0 8, Austin Perry 10 10-11 31, Anderson Horn 0 0-0 0, Ben Kriesant 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 22-31 68.
3-point goals: Heritage Christian 2 (Wilhite, Gallion). Columbus North 2 (Fedor, Perry).
