After a 5-0 start, No. 6 Putnam County lost its first varsity basketball game of the year on the road against rival Morgan County. The Bulldogs dramatically defeated the War Eagles 70-69 on Saturday.
According to Putnam County head coach LaPatrick Marshall, there’s actually some upside to the loss.
“I honestly believe that you can learn a lot about a team after a loss,” Marshall said. “Our guys really wanted that win. We had several opportunities to close out, but we just couldn’t. Seeing my guys hurt after the game, I could tell it meant a lot to them. I don’t want to see that again, so I think we can get back on track this week.”
Putnam jumped out to a double-digit lead before Morgan could even get on the board. The War Eagles led 13-0 with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter. The Bulldogs then finally got a basket when Jaturi Brown hit a jump shot at the 2:59 mark.
Morgan then started to chip away at the lead, although Putnam would respond every time offensively. The War Eagles’ perimeter game and defensive pressure put the Bulldogs in a hole early, which led to Putnam leading 21-9 at the end of the first quarter.
However, Morgan wouldn’t roll over and fought hard in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs outscored Putnam 24-12 in the final eight minutes of the first half, and did so largely without senior shooting guard Quay Brown, who got into foul trouble. They brought more defensive pressure until the game was tied 33-33 at the half.
The War Eagles responded with a 15-0 run to start out the third quarter. The combo of guards Eren Banks, Keyni Crawford and Landon Bonner helped power their offense. But Morgan then started to chip away at the lead and went into the fourth quarter down by five.
The back-and-forth between the two rivals continued into the final quarter of regulation. The game came down to one of the final possessions when Brown took a defensive charge, which solidified the one-point victory for the Bulldogs.
“First of all, I have a lot of respect for Coach Marshall and the way runs his team,” Morgan head coach Cody Anderson said. “He has a very well-coached team, and they rely a lot on their guard play. They are one of the most talented teams we’ll face this season. We had to battle and fight our way back to get this win.”
Putnam had three players reach double-digits against the Bulldogs. Banks totaled a game-high 26 points, Crawford notched 16 and Bonner had 13 points in the loss.
The War Eagles struggled on Saturday with 26 turnovers. They allowed Morgan to take advantage of their mistakes and get back into the game by scoring points off them.
Putnam (5-1) moved on to open Region 4-2A play against Laney on Tuesday night. The War Eagles will face Class 2A state-runner- up Butler at home beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“Everybody in this region is tough, so we can’t afford to take a night off. We’re still ranked No. 7 (entering the week) and we’ve still got a target on our back,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to go in, stay mentally prepared and stay focused. We’ve got to go in and play our best basketball against Laney and Butler this week. That’s just it.”
Still, the chemistry in the trio of guards in Banks, Crawford and Bonner is starting to develop. Their progress is the catalyst that drives Putnam’s offense toward success.
Banks is averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game in 2022-23. So far, Bonner is totaling 16.8 points 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists every night. Crawford, who missed the first game due to injury, is averaging 15.2 points per game.
“Our system is very guard-oriented,” Marshall said. “To have those three guards like that, that is big, man. On any given night, one of those guys can go off. Do you know what I am saying? So, having them together like that is a blessing, man.“This is my 15th year coaching, and these are by far the best combination of guards I have coached. The crazy thing about it is, the younger ones at practice push them to be better. We’ve got some really good young guards, too. They make them stay on their toes.”