Columbus North celebrates a basket by Cooper Horn against Terre Haute South at Columbus North, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
After a frustrating first three quarters shooting the basketball Wednesday night, Columbus North finally got things going in the fourth.
Trailing 37-35 heading to the final period, the Bull Dogs outscored Terre Haute South 25-7 over the final eight minutes to rally for a 60-44 win in the Conference Indiana opener for both teams.
“We just stuck to our plan both defensively and offensively,” said Cooper Horn, who led North with 26 points. “We weren’t shooting the ball the best the first three quarters, and we wanted to get to the rim, and we got some activity off our transition on defense. We got some deflections and easy layups that helped us a lot down the stretch.”
The Bull Dogs (6-3, 1-0) trailed by as many as seven in the second quarter and were down 30-25 at halftime. The Braves (5-3, 0-1) still led 37-33 in the final minute of the third quarter before North scored the final two points of the third period and the first seven of the fourth to take control.
North went 1 for 11 from 3-point range the first three quarters before going 3 for 5 from long range in the fourth.
“The basketball bible says shooting covers a multitude of sins,” North coach Paul Ferguson said.
“We missed some shots in the first three quarters that usually fall for us, so it was really just sticking with the game plan,” added his son Ty Ferguson, who scored 10 points for the Bull Dogs. “We stayed with it in the fourth and got a couple calls to go our way and were able to battle through some adversity. When shots started falling, we were able to pick up some energy, and it was all good from there.”
Horn scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, getting a couple of baskets on drives to the hoop.
“I’ve been struggling shooting the ball the last two games, but I know I can get to the basket,” Horn said. “I took a few tough charge calls there, but I stuck with it and didn’t give up on it.”
North turned the ball over only seven times and went 14 for 18 from the free-throw line, including 10 for 11 in the fourth quarter.
“We stayed with the plan,” Paul Ferguson said. “When you don’t turn the ball over and make free throws, good things generally happen.”
Meanwhile, the Bull Dogs forced 19 Terre Haute South turnovers, including 11 in the second half.
“Terre Haute South’s guards do a fantastic job of handling the ball,” Paul Ferguson said. “It’s hard to turn them over. They’re real strong with the basketball, so we just kept telling our guys to stick with the plan, and obviously, we had a great fourth quarter.”
Damon Edwards added nine points for North. The Braves outrebounded the Bull Dogs 34-26, with Luke Harmon leading North with five boards.
The Bull Dogs were coming off a loss at Scottsburg on Saturday that snapped their five-game winning streak.
“We had a little adversity the last couple days,” Paul Ferguson said. “We had some guys who were sick and missing practice. I missed a practice on Monday, so we were a little out of sorts, but we found a way to get it done.”
“We dealt with some length down there at Scottsburg on Saturday, and we dealt with length again tonight,” Horn said. “That kind of disrupted us the first three quarters, but it’s good to learn because we have to go up to Noblesville here after Christmas and play some teams that have a lot of length. So that helped us a lot.”
North plays in the Noblesville Tournament Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bull Dogs open against Class 3A No. 4 Norwell at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.
“It’s a big win for us because it’s our first conference game and we’re going into a really good tournament up at Noblesville, and we open with Norwell, who is a fantastic team,” Paul Ferguson said. “We kept challenging our guys the last couple days that this is a great opportunity to get ready for Norwell.”
Columbus North 60, Terre Haute South 44
Terre Haute South;11;19;7;7;—;44
Columbus North;10;15;10;25;—;60
Terre Haute South (5-3, 0-1): Josh Morgan 1 0-0 3, Grant Esper 0 0-0 0, Nas McNeal 2 0-0 5, Zayvion Baker 7 2-2 18, Treva Branch 0 4-6 4, Arnick Shouse 0 0-0 0, Peyton Turner 1 0-0 3, Jude McCoskey 3 0-0 6, Jaylen Wells 0 1-2 4, Chris Herrin 2 0-1 4. Totals: 16 7-11 44.
Columbus North (6-3, 1-0): Luke Harmon 1 2-2 5, Tyler Blythe 1 1-2 4, Damon Edwards 4 1-1 9, Ty Ferguson 4 0-2 10, Zac Horn 0 0-0 0, Cooper Horn 9 8-9 26, Philip McKinley 0 0-0 0, Blake Osbourne 0 0-0 0, Drew Schiefer 2 2-2 6. Totals: 21 14-18 60.
3-point goals: Terre Haute South 5 (Baker 2, Morgan, McNeal, Turner); Columbus North 4 (Ferguson 2, Harmon, Blythe).
