March 4, 2012
OFFENSIVE SIZZLE: Hot shooting carries Patriots to sectional championship David Hughes The Tribune-Star BRAZIL, Ind. — Two turnovers caused Terre Haute North High School’s boys basketball team to fall behind Mooresville 5-0 in the first 48 seconds. On top of that, the Patriots’ primary offensive weapon — 6-foot-8 forward Matt O’Leary — did not score in the opening 12 1⁄2 minutes. Doesn’t sound good for North’s chances of winning its second Class 4A Northview Sectional title in as many years, does it? If you’re a North fan and you weren’t able to attend Saturday night, don’t worry. The rest of the squad more than made up for Mooresville’s tough defense on O’Leary in posting an 80-63 triumph. “I’m real happy for our players and fans,” North coach Todd Woelfle emphasized during the postgame celebration. “Our assistant coaches have done a great job all season and deserve a lot of the credit.” The Patriots will advance to the regional next Saturday in Indianapolis’ Hinkle Fieldhouse, where it will face Pendleton Heights at about noon. Against Mooresville, North battled back from its 5-0 deficit with the power of a right hook by Mike Tyson (in his prime), rattling off 17 straight points. Highlighting the outburst were an inside bucket by Austin Lewis, 3-point goals from the left side by Ross Sponsler and Nathan Jahn, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc by Sponsler, a three-point play by Lewis and a trey by Calvin Blank. The Pioneers responded with six unanswered points to pull within 17-11, but two more trifectas by the red-hot Sponsler gave North a 23-11 lead heading into the second quarter. For those keeping score at home, North connected on six of eight 3-point attempts in the first period and none were by O’Leary. The Patriots added four more 3s in the second frame, boosting their advantage to 47-31 by intermission. Halftime statistics showed North 10 of 13 from beyond the long-range arc as O’Leary finally got into the act with two of his own. “We shot the ball great in the first half,” Woelfle noted. “That was a product of taking good shots and being very unselfish.” Each team tallied 14 points in the third quarter, setting up the final eight minutes with North
ahead 61-45. Consecutive 3-pointers by Brandon Smalling and James Fields chopped the Pioneers’ deficit to 64-53 early in the fourth period. But three-point plays by O’Leary and Blank helped pad the Patriots’ cushion to 70-54 with 3:20 remaining in the contest. After that, eight North free throws sealed the deal on another North sectional championship. Sponsler — who shot 7 of 7 from the field, 5 of 5 from 3-point range and 3 of 4 from the charity stripe (time for extra free-throw practice?) — led the Patriots in scoring with 22 points. Calvin Blank posted 21 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks, Lewis contributed 12 points and O’Leary managed to add 11 points. North’s impressive shooting percentages were .610 (25 of 41) from the field, .545 (12 of 22) from 3-point land and .818 (18 of 22) from the free-throw line. The Patriots also converted six three-point plays, including three by the 6-5 Blank. “They were trying to cover [O’Leary] with a triangle-and-two [defense],” Blank explained. “So we just moved the ball around and got easy shots … and they went in for us.” “We feel like Mooresville played a tremendous game,” Woelfle mentioned. “They came out with a triangle-and-two on O’Leary and Sponsler. Calvin Blank had a monster game. Different guys did a great job at different times.” Sponsler and O’Leary, the Patriots’ only seniors, unselfishly credited others for chalking up such a convincing victory and extending their season by at least one more week. “All my shots were pretty much open,” Sponsler pointed out. “The guys set some great screens and got me open and I was fortunate enough to knock down a few shots.” “It feels great to win any championship,” O’Leary assessed. “It’s a pleasure to be on a team like this with such great coaches.” Mooresville’s top scorers Saturday were Justin Kenney with 19 points, Fields with 18 and Smalling with 11.
MOORESVILLE (63) — Jo. Kenney 1-3 5-6 7, Smalling 4-15 1-2 11, Johnson 3-8 1-1 7, Fields 7-14 1-2 18, Ju. Kenney 5-13 7-11 19, Stahley 0-2 1-2 1, Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Leap 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 FG, 16-24 FT, 63 TP. TERRE HAUTE NORTH (80) — O’Leary 3-6 3-3 11, Lewis 5-7 2-4 12, Blank 6-11 7-7 21, Jahn 1-2 3-4 6, Sponsler 7-7 3-4 22, Vickers 2-5 0-0 5, Davis 1-3 0-0 3, Grady 0-0 0-0 0, Schenk 0-0 0-0 0, Dillahunt 0-0 0-0 0, Paul-Bonham 0-0 0-0 0, Low 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-41 FG, 18-22 FT, 80 TP.
Mooresville 11
20
Terre Haute North
14 23
18 24
— 14
63 19
—
80
3-point shooting — M 7-25 (Fields 3-5, Smalling 2-7, Ju. Kenney 2-7, Jo. Kenney 0-1, Montgomery 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Stahley 0-2), THN 12-22 (Sponsler 5-5, O’Leary 2-4, Blank 2-5, Davis 1-1, Jahn 1-2, Vickers 1-4, Lewis 0-1). FG Pct. — M .357, THN .610. 3-pt. FG Pct. — M .280, THN 545. FT Pct. — M .667, THN .818. Rebounds — M 25 (Ju. Kenney 8, Johnson 7), THN 35 (Blank 17, O’Leary 5, Jahn and Sponsler 3). Steals — M 7 (Ju. Kenney 4), THN 3 (O’Leary, Sponsler and Grady). Turnovers — M 5, THN 12. Blocks — M 0, THN 4 (Blank 2, O’Leary and Lewis). Total fouls — M 20, THN 17. Fouled out — Jo. Kenney, Johnson. Next — North (19-6) will face Pendleton Heights in the Class 4A regional next Saturday in Indianapolis’ Hinkle Fieldhouse, starting at about noon. Mooresville finished 18-4.
