Columbus North’s Judah Lewis, left, prepares to shoot over Terre Haute North’s Kavish Reddy during a high school basketball game at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Columbus North put together a solid defensive performance in its Conference Indiana boys basketball opener Friday night.
Unfortunately for the Bull Dogs, they didn’t get the same production on the offensive end, and that resulted in a 44-38 loss to Terre Haute North.
“We gave a great effort,” Columbus North coach Paul Ferguson said. “I thought my guys battled. The first half, we held them to 16 points and defensively, did a lot of great things. They made a few adjustments in the second half, which helped them. At the end of the day, we played fantastic defense. We just couldn’t score enough.”
Tied at 28-28, the Patriots (10-3, 1-1) scored the final four points of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth to take a 36-28 lead. They built the advantage to as big as 42-32 with 2:07 remaining.
“That was a tough spurt for us right there,” Ferguson said. “We’re a young team. We’ll learn and grow from it.”
The Bull Dogs (3-6, 0-1) got back to within 42-36 on baskets by Austin Perry and Garrett Long and trimmed it to 43-38 on a basket by Caleb Ferguson with 31 seconds left. But Terre Haute South hit a free throw and closed out the win.
Columbus North was plagued by 16 turnovers and 9 of 17 shooting from the free-throw line. The Bull Dogs also missed a few shots from inside.
“It was one of those nights where the times we got the ball inside, we just couldn’t score at the rim,” Ferguson said. “We missed too many shots. We have to find a way to get better offensively.”
Freshman Judah Lewis led Columbus North with 13 points. Caleb Ferguson added eight.
“Judah gave us a great spark tonight,” Paul Ferguson said. “He’s played well for us and given us a great spark off the bench.”
Bryce Renn had 11 points and 10 rebopunds for the Patriots, which won last week’s Wabash Valley Classic.
Both teams finished with 24 rebounds. Nate Enneking and Garrett Long led the Bull Dogs with five boards apiece.
Terre Haute North 44, Columbus North 38
TH North;11;5;16;12;—;44
Columbus North;7;9;12;10;—;38
Terre Haute North (10-3, 1-1): Braden Walters 3 1-2 7, Jack Halls 2 1-2 5, Cameron Fennell 2 1-2 5, Kam Baker 0 1-2 1, Gavin Woelfle 2 0-0 5, Kavish Reddy 2 5-8 10, Bryce Renn 4 3-6 11, Brady Klopfenstein 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 12-22 44.
Columbus North (3-6, 0-1): Judah Lewis 4 4-5 13, Mason Acton 1 0-0 2, Caleb Ferguson 4 0-3 8, Nate Enneking 1 0-0 2, Austin Perry 1 0-0 2, Nolan Pickup 1 0-0 2, Ben Ferguson 0 0-0 0, Drew Schiefer 0 3-4 3, Garrett Long 2 2-5 6. Totals: 14 9-17 38.
3-point goals: Terre Haute North 2 (Woelfle, Reddy); Columbus North 1 (Lewis).
