The Putnam County boys basketball team completed the sweep of Jones County on Jan. 4 with a 71-60 win.
In mid-November, the War Eagles opened the 2024-25 regular season with a 67-49 win over the Greyhounds. They’ve since won 14 straight contests to reach a 15-0 record.
While Putnam County dominated the first contest, Jones County took the first punch last week.
“Well, I ain’t going to say we came out sluggish. They came out on fire,” War Eagles’ head coach Patrick Marshall said.
“So, I’ve got to give them credit.” Jones County raced out to a 21-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter by controlling the tempo and limiting Putnam County, which likes to play tight defense and score in transition.
At the end of the first, Marshall challenged his young but talented team to roll with the punches and strike back.
It worked, as the War Eagles outscored Jones County 26-17 in the second quarter, making it a 38-38 draw at the half.
Putnam County limited Jones County to only 22 points in the second half. Defensively, the War Eagles clamped down, while offensively, they played more loosely and scored 36 points combined in the last two quarters.
“We stayed poised and came back to tie it up,” Marshall said. “Had a big second quarter, and then the third and the fourth we did better on defense and secured the win. Zay Hargrove came up big and had nine in the fourth quarter, and that just put us over the top.”
Hargrove, a 6-foot-7 junior, had 14 points and four rebounds for the night. The team had four others reach double digits, including junior Shamar McClendon and senior Jaylin Harper, who each added 11 points. Junior Jmari Greene and sophomore Jeremy Banks each totaled 10 against the Greyhounds, while junior Jaylen Nelson added seven points off the bench.
“The depth of our team is what makes us good,” Marshall explained. “Think about the last game against Jones County, where Jmari Greene [and Jeremy Banks] were our leading scorers. [Jmari] averages almost 20 a game. Last week, he only played 17 minutes because of foul trouble. For us to still win by 11 points and still score 70 with our leading scorer only playing 17 minutes, that just shows how deep we are.”
Marshall said the team’s depth should help in region play, which started Tuesday.
The War Eagles (15-0), who are ranked No. 1 in Class A Division I, faced Towers at home (past press time). On Friday, they’ll host McNair at the Eagles Nest for another region contest before facing Southwest Atlanta Christian on the road next Tuesday. Their next home game will be Jan. 17 against Greenforest.
“It’s going to be tough,” Marshall said. “If you compare it to the region we were in last year, I don’t think it’s top-heavy, but we’re still going to face some good teams. We’re going to have to come to play every night.”