Basketball notes: Bloomington North boys facing tough December schedule head on

It's just the beginning.

That phrase has a lot of punch for the Bloomington North boys' basketball team, which is coming off a tough 55-44 loss at Center Grove last Friday.

The Trojans were ranked No. 3 that week but losses to Franklin in overtime and Crispus Attucks dropped them out of this week's top 10. Still, it was a team deep enough to absorb serious foul trouble in the second half and survive as North cut a 15-point halftime deficit to eight late.

"Their defense was super tough and we're still trying to get connected on offense with each other, getting drives, passing the ball around," junior Luke Lindeman said. "So once we went into halftime and discussed that, we came out and that's what we executed and we ended up winning the half.

"So we just need to do more of that and bring the defense down and we can get things going better."

"Every year at North, we play the toughest competition first," senior guard Connor O'Guinn said. "Just how it works out. There's a lot of potential and lot to be proud of from that game."

Up soon are Franklin Central, which got no 4A votes despite beating No. 7 Brownsburg; Franklin (3-1), whose only loss (by 21) is to Noblesville (2-1), which played No. 1 Fishers within seven. Speaking of the top-ranked Tigers, North heads to their Christmas Tournament and faces the home team in the opener. There's also a trip to Zionsville, which hasn't had a losing season since 2007-08 and plays in the state's most competitive conference with Fishers and FC.

Toss in road trips to potential sectional foe Mooresville and Conference Indiana rival Southport and it'll be a December to remember.

"You can't replicate it," North coach Jason Speer said. "The only way you can replicate it is by your schedule, which we have a tough schedule, and experience. And I think we took a lot of big strides tonight."

North entered the season with at least one starter from each class and there will be pressure on the older players to keep the team together through the rough patches.

"I was kind of worried at the end of the first half and then the second half, we played much better," O'Guinn said. "I'm confident we can get more connected. We have so many different players of different ages coming from so many different teams, we've just never really played with each other outside of the season."

It was game that showed them how much quicker, decisive and crisp they need to be.

"A top five team with eight returning seniors and us just kind of getting to know each other," Speer said. "But the way that we came back tonight, I'm super proud of our effort.

"Again, you win or you learn and I think tonight was probably one of the biggest learning curves that I've seen in maybe any team that I've ever coached. Really proud of our guys and how they responded to a very tough situation."

North was severely limited from the 3-point line, partly by CG's defense and it's height that made working inside-out tough, and partly by ball movement that was too slow to get clean looks, Speer noted.

But North got to the line 13 times, including 10 shots in the third, and forced several turnovers on defense.

"We anticipated on the defensive end really well," Speer said. "I felt like we were able to get our hands on the basketball. We rebounded OK.

"But more importantly, on the offensive end, the ball never stuck. It was moving constantly and getting those high percentage shots. And oftentimes, those shots we going downhill. We finished strong and got the free throw line a lot."

Jon Holmes named to Silver Anniversary team

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame has named former Bloomington South standout Jon Holmes to the 2024 Silver Anniversary Men's Team.

Holmes, son of Panther head coach J.R., was an Indiana All-Star in 1999 and named first-team all-stater by AP and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. He was named all-region by the H-T four times and held the Monroe County record for career points (1,536) at time of his graduation and still sits No. 3 on the school list and No. 6 in the county. He set school records for career assists (382), 3-pointers (237) free throw percentage (.883, 235-266), hitting 58 in a row at one point.

At North Carolina he finished No. 7 in career 3-point percentage (.429) and was named team captain in 2003. The Tar Heels made two NCAA tourneys and the Final Four in 2000. He played professionally in England and Denmark before turning to coaching, working as an assistant at Montreat, Francis Marion, William & Mary and Elon before landing in Miami (Ohio) in 2022. Holmes was selected as one of the Top 50 Most Impactful mid-major Division I assistant coaches in 2020.

Edgewood learns the hard way

Edgewood has a lot of players back, but a lot more is being asked of them now .

The Mustangs faced Western Indiana Conference foes on back-to-back nights, something not ideal, head coach Matt Wadsworth said. Friday, Edgewood had no problems dispatching struggling Cloverdale, but North Putnam proved to be another matter on Saturday.

They had seemly bounced back from a poor second quarter, down seven, to power their way to a 37-32 lead. The Cougars tied it at 37, but Edgewood's improved defensive effort kicked in and they jumped back up 32-37 with 2:45 to go.

From there, Edgewood froze up on both ends as North Putnam claimed a 50-46 win.

"Every time we're up in a game, everybody just wants to go at everybody and try to score themselves instead of winning the game," senior guard Mialin White said. "I think that's what got us."

White had 21 points but the Mustangs gave up two 3s and an offensive rebound off a missed free throws that were killers down the stretch.

"It's just a reminder of how locked in you've got to be in the closing moments," Edgewood coach Matt Wadsworth said. "I knew going into those game it would have very much a sectional feel to it, because you've got two teams who have a lot of guys back from the previous season.

"When you build a lead late in the game, you've got to be locked in defensively, so you don't give up open 3s or offensive rebounds on free throws."

It was a tough loss considering Edgewood forced 18 turnovers and had just six.

"We're learning that we have the ability to play well enough to beat anybody," Wadsworth said. "We've got to grow in a way that we recognize the margin of error between winning and losing is small. Every play does matter."

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X (Twitter) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington North boys facing tough December schedule head on