The Putnam County boys’ basketball team played on Dec. 31, in the Big South Showcase at Newton High School in Covington.
The War Eagles (9-2, 2-0) defeated Social Circle 74-68 in the neutral site New Year’s Eve matchup.
Putnam head coach LaPatrick Marshall was proud of how his players executed down the stretch, especially after falling behind by 12 points entering the fourth quarter.
“They came out and couldn’t miss,” Marshall said. “They also had some guys who scored that we hadn’t seen on film. They hit some 3s early and were putting it to us.”
Both teams came out firing on all cylinders, but the score was tied 21-21 at the end of the first quarter. The Redskins then held a slim 35-32 lead over the War Eagles at the half.
Social Circle’s effort from the field continued into the third quarter. The Redskins got several baskets from seniors Lamarius Jackson and Dashon Hyman to extend their lead to 57-45 as the quarter ended.
Regardless, Social Circle went cold when Putnam ramped up its defense with an effective full-court press for the final period.
Putnam was able to limit the duo of Jackson and Hyman, who each scored in the double-digits for the game.
The War Eagles’ offense, led by Eren Banks, outscored the Redskins 29-11 in the fourth quarter. Their offensive effort, coupled with tight defense, led the team to victory.
Banks, a Georgia Southern signee, scored a game-high 28 points. Two other Putnam players scored in double digits: Keyni Crawford, who added 18 points, and Landon Bonner with 17. Cameron Stephens also contributed seven points for the War Eagles.
“In the fourth quarter, I got into my guys. Regardless of how we finished the game, we’ve got to play hard. We’ve got to fight and play hard,” Marshall said.
“We then picked up full-court pressure and got back in the game. My boys never wanted to lose. We fought hard to come back and retake the lead. Also, the fan support was great.”
Putnam now moves on to the next part of the schedule, which features mostly region games. The War Eagles faced defending Class 2A state champion and current No. 1-ranked Westside in Augusta on Tuesday past press time.
They will continue the week on the road against Washington County on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Greene County (8:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
Putnam has played a tough schedule thus far, but it only gets harder from here on out.
“This is why I wanted to play some tougher teams in what I called our ‘preseason’ before we got to the bulk of the region (schedule),” Marshall said. “It’s supposed to help us for our region, which I think it did. We can’t afford to take a night off in our region.”
The War Eagles will have to play Westside one more time, as well as Butler, which was Class AA’s runner-up last season. They also will have to face No. 4 Thomson twice.
According to Marshall, he will look for his leaders to carry the team the rest of the way.
“I’ve been preaching about how we have players who we call our ‘foundation guys.’ Guys that have been here three years or who we count on every game” Marshall said. “I expect them to do something every night. That’s Eren, Landon, Keyni and Payton (Ellison). So, I expect those guys to do something.
"Then the other guys are the guys whose role changes every night. Somebody has to step up big out of them,” the coach continued. “So far, we’ve been doing it well. If we can continue to do that right there and play our roles at what we provide for this time, we’ll be fine in region play.”