Putnam County boys’ basketball added two more wins against Jasper County and Greene County last week.
The War Eagles enter this week at 4-0 with two more chances for wins this upcoming weekend. They’ll host two home games, starting Friday against Greene County and Saturday with Morgan County.
Putnam knocked off Jasper County 60-44 on Friday. The game was tight going into the fourth quarter, with the War Eagles leading 41-38, but they pulled away in the final eight minutes of the game.
Putnam made some defensive adjustments, limiting the Hurricanes to only six points in the fourth.
“The Jasper (County) game was a big game for us,” Putnam head coach LaPatrick Marshall said. “That’s where Landon (Bonner) went before he moved here. And he’s still friends with guys over there. Also, their staff and my staff, we all do stuff together in the offseason together. It was a big win.”
Bonner scored a team-high 23 points with five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. He shot 46 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line, and 83 percent from the free throw line.
“It’s a good rivalry,” Marshall added. “Whenever one of our players falls, a Jasper guy helped them up. Everyone talked about how great sportsmanship we showed each other. That was a good game.”
Putnam County followed that victory with a 76-69 win over Greene County, another close rival. The Tigers are a young squad, but they competed tough against the War Eagles last Saturday.
Putnam held a slim one-point lead at the end of the first quarter but led 36-31 at the half. Greene fought hard in the second half, even outscoring the War Eagles in the fourth quarter, but lost by seven.
“Those guys at Greene are athletes, especially the ones coming in from football,” Marshall said. “It came down to the wire. We had a 13-point lead with a little over a minute left and our youth started showing. We went to the free throw and missed a few. We started getting frustrated and gave them a chance to come back. We are blessed they didn’t capitalize on them and escaped with a win.”
Bonner had another great night, leading the way with a team-high 27 points. Junior Rashod Daniel also scored 10 points, while fellow junior Jaylin Harper added nine in the win against the Tigers.
Per Marshall, who’s in his fourth year at Putnam, wins are hard to come by.
While his team is undefeated, it’s still learning to play together. The War Eagles only have two seniors on the roster this year.
Marshall highlighted that a trio of sophomores – Jmari Greene, Tamaud Woodson, and Shamar McClendon – are starting to put things together. They are each growing day by day as the season goes on.
Greene is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Bonner and McClendon is the team’s top rebounder. Woodson is also finding his place as one of the War Eagles’ best defenders so far this year.
“They didn’t have a great game against Greene (County), but they were on the floor when things started breaking down,” Marshall said. “These three guys are (important) to (our success). Shamar, Jmari, and Tamaud probably have the best chemistry together on the floor.
The whole first part of this season is getting these (players) game reps before region play starts. It’s going to be big for them.”
Putnam County will face Greene County again this Friday at the Eagles Nest for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The War Eagles will host Morgan County on Saturday at another 7:30 p.m. start.