Putnam County’s duo of Eren Banks and Landon Bonner scored 23 points each on Friday to lead the No. 6 War Eagles in a 66-58 victory over No. 1-ranked Westside (Augusta).
The pair of guards were most productive in the second half as Banks scored 19 points and Bonner totaled 15 to help Putnam County secure the upset win and avenge a loss early this month to the same Patriots squad.
Despite getting more than half of the points from Banks and Bonner, War Eagles’ head coach LaPatrick Marshall thought the play from seniors Tra Smith and Keyni Crawford gave Putnam County a boost when they needed it most in the first half.
“One moment came in the first half when a Westside player came baseline to dunk, Tra Smith jumped up. I mean, this kid has been dunking on everybody, so Tra comes up and goes toe-to-toe with him and fouls him,” Patrick said. “It just gave us a sense that we could compete with these guys, and that did it for us. Also, when they went on a run early, man, Keyni (Crawford) carried us in the first half. He was hitting shots left and right to keep us close enough to be within striking distance of them.”
Crawford scored 16 points, with 11 of them coming in the opening half of Friday’s contest. He also totaled five rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Senior Payton Ellison was the only other player to score, adding four points, four boards, and two steals.
Still, the Patriots led Putnam County 32-29 at the break, but Marshall highlighted the adjustments Westside made coming out of halftime, giving the War Eagles the upper hand they needed.
“In the second half, they came out and went man-to-man on us. I’ve got three of the best guards in the state, regardless of classification. Keyni, ‘Ray Ray’, or Landon Bonner, and Eren. When a team plays us man-to-man, I think that plays to our advantage,” Marshall said. “We were able to take advantage of that on Friday night.”
Banks started the second half with a three-point play the old-fashioned way, tying the game. The War Eagles then scored eight more points to take a 40-32 lead. After Westside senior Jalexs Ewing scored eight of his 17 points in the second quarter, Putnam County was able to limit him to zero in the third.
Meanwhile, the War Eagles continued to score and play stingy defense, leading them to outscore Westside 19-12 in the third and lead 48-44 heading into the final quarter.
Westside did get to within striking distance several times in the fourth quarter, but Putnam County responded every time with a basket of its own. Marshall’s squad never surrendered the lead in the final period of regulation, despite Ewing scoring nine points to get the Patriots back into the contest.
Patriots’ senior shooting guard AuMauri Tillman hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to make it a 62-59 game, but Banks was able to put the game away with free throws.
Marshall said the win put his team “back on track” after losing to Butler on Tuesday.
“My thing is all about controlling your own destiny. Not having to wait for someone else to lose to see where you go,” Marshall said. “When we played Butler, we still controlled our destiny, but it was also kind of bringing us back down. So, to come back and beat the team that hadn’t been beaten (in region play), and the team that’s No. 1 in the state (in Class AA), it gives us back control of our destiny.”
Putnam County defeated the state runner-up Bulldogs 65-60 on Dec. 16, but Butler avenged that loss with a 69-54 win last Tuesday.
In turn, the War Eagles bounced back from their 90-68 loss to the Patriots on Jan. 3 with the win over Westside on Friday.
Putnam County (17-4, 8-2) has four games left, starting this Tuesday at home against Washington County (7-12, 4-6). The War Eagles will then travel to face Thomson on Saturday. They will close out the regular season with Glenn Hills at home next Tuesday and Josey on the road next Friday.
The Region 4-AA tournament will then begin the next week, and it’s expected that Putnam County will receive a bye as the No. 2 seed.