Nate Enneking
Although basketball is played indoors, the Columbus North boys have enjoyed considerably more success this season when it’s light outside.
The Bull Dogs are 2-10 in night games, but they improved to 4-0 in day games with a 56-44 win against East Central on Saturday afternoon.
“It felt good to get back in the winning column,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “I was really proud of how the guys executed our game plan to perfection. We did a much better job taking care of the ball, shot free throws better and rebounded the ball better.”
The Bull Dogs (6-10) bounced back from Monday’s double-overtime loss to Whiteland and Thursday’s eight-point loss at Connersville.
“It was really important for us,” Enneking said. “I think we just competed harder. The Connersville game, we came out kind of soft. Today, we definitely came out with a lot of energy and a lot of toughness. We had gotten better, and then the last game, we kind of took a step back. We got back on track in this one.”
Enneking and Caleb Ferguson each scored 15 points, and Nolan Pickup added eight for North. Enneking also grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Bull Dogs to a 28-26 advantage on the boards.
“Nate Enneking played a heck of a basketball game,” Paul Ferguson said. “He’s always been really good defensively for us, but he gave us some really good offensive punch today, too. He knocked down some big shots.”
North led 7-5 midway through the first quarter when it went on a 14-0 run to take a 21-5 lead early in the second. The Bull Dogs led by as many as 17 and enjoyed a 34-19 lead at the break.
The Trojans (9-11) came as close as 46-37 with 4:38 left in the game, but two free throws from Austin Perry and four free throws from Caleb Ferguson pushed the lead back to 15.
“It felt good to get that lead, and then in the third quarter, our guys did a good job of just managing the lead and being tough defensively,” Paul Ferguson said. “So overall, it was a good game for us.”
Columbus North 56, East Central 44
East Central;5;14;14;11;—;44
Columbus North;17;17;11;11;—;56
East Central (9-11): Jake Schnell 0 0-1 0, Eli Sehlhorst 0 0-0 0, Peyton Hofer 2 2-2 8, Joel Richter 1 1-1 3, Carson Pieczonka 4 9-11 17, Nolan Maple 0 1-2 1, Dylan Maxwell 5 3-4 13, Adam Stephenson 1 0-0 2, Connor Kuhn 0 0-0 0, Eli Ertel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 16-21 44.
Columbus North (6-10): Caleb Ferguson 3 8-8 15, Nate Enneking 5 3-4 15, Gage King 0 0-0 0, Austin Perry 0 2-2 2, Eli Smith 0 0-0 0, Max Coomes 2 0-0 5, Nolan Pickup 3 1-2 8, Ben Ferguson 1 0-0 3, Drew Schiefer 1 2-4 4, Garrett Long 2 0-1 4. Totals: 17 16-21 56.
3-point goals: East Central 2 (Hofer 2); Columbus North 6 (Enneking 2, C. Ferguson, Coomes, Pickup, B. Ferguson).
