Putnam County bounced back last week with a pair of road region victories over Josey and Laney. The War Eagles topped Josey last Tuesday 67-54 before defeating Laney 81-75 on Friday.
The wins had Putnam entering this week at 13-6 overall and 4-4 in Region 4-AA, placing the War Eagles fourth in league standings.
Head coach LaPatrick Marshall said he was happy to see his team bounce back and win on the road.
“It was amazing,” he said. “Like I’ve been saying all year, we’re so young and inconsistent. Even in the games we win, we’re inconsistent sometimes. We’ll put together three good quarters, but we can come back and win. It’s good to get back on that winning track and get confident because this week against Butler and Westside, we’re going to need all the confidence we can get.”
Putnam played Josey without its top scorer, Landon Bonner, but found other ways to come out on top. The War Eagles relied heavily on Messiah Walker, Jmari Greene, and Jaylin Harper.
Putnam led for the majority of the game, limiting Josey to 24 points through the first three quarters. The War Eagles held a 48-24 lead over the Eagles heading into the final period of the game.
Marshall got an opportunity to let his backups play in the fourth quarter and they fared well on the offensive end, scoring 19 more points; however, they did give up 20 points on the defensive side.
Regardless, Marshall saw some promise of how well his team could perform without Bonner in the lineup.
“I always don’t want to sound like a broken record, but we’re talented, man. But we are so inconsistent,” Marshall said. “That was a game where we came out sluggish, but we popped off in the third quarter and finished the game off. Messiah (Walker) was leading us, and Tamaud (Woodson) came off the bench and gave us good minutes. Shemar McClendon also played well. Those two are just sophomores. Jeremy Banks, too, and he’s just a freshman. We’re so young but talented.”
Walker ran the point guard position well in Bonner’s absence. He shot 40 percent from the field and 67 percent at the free-throw line.
Walker totaled six rebounds and two assists, with four steals as well. He also scored a team-high 16 points while Harper had 10. Greene contributed nine points, with freshman Jeremy Banks, sophomore Tamaud Woodson, and junior Kayden Solomon each adding eight.
Three days later, Putnam completed the season sweep of Laney as Bonner returned to score 40 points. The senior guard also grabbed 11 rebounds, marking his second double-double of the year.
Laney led by nine points at the end of the first half, with momentum on its side, but Putnam responded well after trailing at the break. The War Eagles cut the deficit to two going into the fourth.
In the final period, Bonner and Banks both made clutch plays. The difference in the end was Banks sinking two critical 3-pointers last Friday, one to take the lead and the other to secure the win.
Banks was the only other player besides Bonner to score in double-digits. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound forward contributed 12 points while shooting 57 percent from the field and 100 percent from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Zay Hargrove hit some timely shots, scoring nine points and grabbing four boards. Harper also lit up the stat sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, seven assists, one block, and a steal.
While it was nice to have Bonner return, Marshall said the story of the game was the younger guys.
“It’s like I am watching them grow up before my eyes,” Marshall said. “The future is bright for us.”
The Putnam coach also commented on Bonner’s double-double performance to power the War Eagles.
“When he comes to play, he’s worth the price of admission,” Marshall added. “He does incredible stuff. I’m not calling plays for him. He goes out there and does his thing. He can flat-out play.”
This week, Putnam has rematches against No. 1 Thomson at home on Tuesday (past press time) and on Friday versus No. 3 Westside-Augusta on the road. The War Eagles want to avenge those two losses.
“It’s a reality check,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to understand teams play their best games against us. We’ve been pretty respectable in the league in the past few years, and we aren’t going to sneak up on anybody. From now on, we’ve got to be ready to play every time we set foot on the court.”