The Kewanee Boys Basketball team traveled to Putnam County on Wednesday night and came up short against a very good Panthers team that picked up their 17th win of the season. Full report and results from last night’s game courtesy of Coach Matt Clark and Kewanee Athletics Department…
Final Score:
Putnam County – 62
Kewanee – 53
The Kewanee Boilermakers traveled to Granville Wednesday night to take on the 16-4 Putnam County Panthers in a non-conference contest. Kewanee was coming off a tough loss to Sterling Newman the previous night and looked to bounce back against a high quality opponent in the Panthers.
Kewanee started well on the offensive end led by leading scorer Brady Clark would drain three 3 pointers on his way to 11 first quarter points to keep the Boilers close. Defensively Kewanee struggle early on taking easy opportunities for the Panthers as they used their size and physicality early to frustrate the Boilers. At the end of the first Putnam County led 20-13.
Quarter two would have a much more balanced attack from the young Boilermaker team. Defensively both teams had difficulty slowing the other throughout the second as the Panthers tallied 18 and the Boilers 15 for the quarter. Kewanee’s offensive attack was more balanced in the second as five Boilers would contribute in the scoring column. At the break Putnam held a 10 point lead at 38-28.
To start the second half Kewanee would continue to battle. Each time Panthers extended their lead to double figures, the Boilers would continue to chip away at it and stay within striking distance. Kewanee was led in the quarter by the guard trio of Lewis, Clark and Reed as each of them would connect on a 3 pointer to win the quarter 12-10 and pull within 8 points heading into the fourth at 48-40.
Quarter four had the Boilermakers applying full court pressure to speed the game up and cause turnovers. The adjustment worked early in the quarter as Kewanee closed to within 6 points mid way through the quarter but just couldn’t get the defensive stops to climb all the way back, which has been a theme for Kewanee much of the season. Falling behind early in games has made it difficult for the Boilers to win games. Putnam County would close out the quarter with some free throws and good ball handling to hand the Boilers a 62-53 loss.
Kewanee was led in scoring by junior Brady Clark with 25, which included 4 three pointers. Fellow junior Blaise Lewis would also crack double digits with 13.
The Boilermakers fall to 8-9 on the season and will travel to Mendota Friday night to take on the Trojans in a TRAC East Conference matchup with the tip scheduled for 7pm.
