Columbus North’s Drew Schiefer, left, looks for an open teammate against Heritage Christian at Columbus North, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Emotions ran high for the Columbus North boys basketball team in the season opener Tuesday night against Heritage Christian.
The Bull Dogs found themselves in double digits early on and couldn’t dig themselves out of that hole for the rest of the game in a 49-29 loss to the Eagles.
Prior to the start of the game, the players wore the No. 10 during warmups to honor sophomore teammate Kole Shewmaker, who died last week from injuries sustained in a car accident, and a moment of silence was held before the starters were introduced. During the game, Shewmaker’s No. 10 jersey hung from one of the seats on the bench. There was also a moment of silence for Shewmaker before the game.
“We played with a lot of joy. It was about coming out and playing for Kole and his family,” North junior Nolan Pickup said. “I think playing with joy definitely helped us and helped us substantially with the energy, too.”
“I was proud with how my team competed. I just asked them to do one thing tonight and play with joy, positive energy and I thought we did that,” North coach Paul Ferguson added. “It was one of those nights where not many shots were falling in for us.”
In the first half, the Bull Dogs had trouble stopping the Heritage Christian duo of Luke Peters and DJ Greene. They combined to score 21 of the team’s 27 first-half points. North couldn’t buy a basket on offense. The cold shooting led to the Eagles outscoring them 15-5 in the second quarter to take a 27-12 lead at the break.
The second half, the Bull Dogs came out with a lot more energy, but much like the first half, many baskets and free throws could fall for them.
“In the second half and fourth quarter, especially, we played with a lot more physically, and we didn’t shy away from that part of the game,” North junior Nate Enneking said.
Peters finished with a game-high 19 points and Greene finished with 13 for the Eagles.
North was led by Pickup, who scored a 10 points off the bench. Enneking added six for the Bull Dogs.
North will have a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday before hosting Seymour on Saturday.
“It was a very good team for us to have to play early. We can really grow from that game,” Ferguson said. “We’re playing the long game here. We’re going to have some tough nights the first half of the year, but I think this is one of those games that is going to help us down the road.”
Heritage Christian 49, Columbus North 29
Heritage Christian;12;15;13;9;—;49
Columbus North;7;5;6;9;—;29
Heritage Christian (1-0): Lincoln Taueg 3 1-2 7, Cole Louden 2 0-0 4, Dylan Stewart 1 0-0 2, Josh McGee 1 0-0 2, Layton Dolvin 1 0-0 3, DJ Greene 6 0-0 13, Luke Peters 9 0-0 18. Totals: 23 1-2 49.
Columbus North (0-1): Judah Lewis 1 0-2 2, Mason Acton 1 0-0 2, Caleb Ferguson 0 1-2 1, Nate Enneking 3 0-2 6, Austin Perry 0 0-0 0, Nolan Pickup 3 4-7 10, Max Coomes 0 0-0 0, Ben Ferguson 1 0-0 3, Drew Schiefer 1 2-4 4, Garrett Long 0 1-2 1. Totals: 10 8-19 29.
3-point goals: Heritage Christian 2 (Dolvin, Greene); Columbus North 1 (B. Ferguson).
