North shakes off foul play, Martinsville in sectional semis

North shakes off foul play, Martinsville in sectional semis

GREENWOOD — It was a game that Bloomington North needed to speed up.

In between stoppages for 33 fouls and two technicals in the second half, the Cougars were able to do just that in an 84-70 win over Martinsville in the semifinals of the Class 4A Center Grove Sectional on Friday.

North was clinging to a three-point lead at halftime, just a few days separated from a 101-point party against Mooresville in the first round. This time, the 3s were not falling and three starters and a top reserve were in foul trouble.

But that didn’t stop the Cougars from slapping on a press to start the third, not so much to force turnovers as to get the Arties out of their half-court comfort zone. Four minutes into the third, North (16-5) was up 14 and never let the Artesians (9-14) get closer than 10 to earn a spot in Saturday’s title game against the host Trojans, who flattened Bloomington South, 62-39.

“We had a big run there in the third quarter to get some separation,” North coach Jason Speer said. “We knew if we were able to string some stops together, trading baskets with them, trying to get into that flow, it was tough all night long. We just needed one little run there and I feel like that once we got that run, we were able to have the game in hand.”

More 1s and 2s, fewer 3s

Weirdly enough, nearly half of the Cougars’ points in a dominating second half came with the clock stopped, as North finished 34-of-41 at the line, shooting more free throws than field goals (40).

“Defending the 3-point line the way that Martinsville did and then being able to make it tough for us at the rim,” Speer said. “(We had) to be able to concentrate and get the finish and if we didn’t finish, then hopefully we drew a foul of some sort. We were able to shoot a lot of free throws tonight, get some layups where Martinsville was taking away our 3-point shot.

“And after watching Tuesday, I don’t blame them at all. It came down to us making good decisions going to the basket and being aggressive.”

Martinsville missed its first six shots of the third, from rushed 3s to rushed layups and it played right into North’s hands. North went 12-of-13 at the line in the third to build a 53-38 lead.

Martinsville did manage to stay within 63-51 with 4:50 to go, before North shot 12 free throws in a 16-4 run over a span of just two minutes. The Arties tossed in 15 more points in the last 2:04.

“They sped us up there to start the third quarter and then we had some foul trouble,” Martinsville coach Kip Staggs said. “Two starters had to go to the bench who are our primary ballhandlers, so that didn’t help us.

“We had some adversity through that stretch, but I’m proud of how our kids finished. They played to the end.”

First-half fight

Martinsville hung tough in the first half after an 11-2 run to end the first quarter put North up 17-9. But the Artesians could never quite grab the lead.

A three by Brody Staggs got the Artesians within 17-14. A free throw within 19-16. Then Staggs went to the line for two at the 1:54 mark. He made the first and missed the second, but an offensive board put Staggs back at the line and he made both to cut the deficit to 26-23.

Then a drive by Staggs, who would finish with 15 of his 20 points in the period, got Martinsville within 28-27 with under a minute to half.

But North came back with an offensive rebound by Gavin Reed (16 points) that lead to an easy layup for Lucas Vencel, then Dawan Daniels stole the inbounds pass, was fouled on the shot and made both free throws. Staggs hit a jumper but Martinsville still trailed 32-29 at the break.

“We played really well in the first half,” Kip Staggs said. “I thought we battled through the tempo of the game early on and got it into our tempo in the second quarter. Made some shots, got a few stops and we felt pretty good going into halftime.”

If not for a 10-of-10 effort at the line, North might have been sweating a little more at the break.

Senior leadership

JaQualon Roberts finished with 29 points for the second game in a row while Dawan Daniels had 20, giving them a combined 108 this week.

“It’s a testament to how tough they are,” Speer said.

“JQ is going to be an all-star, he’s a Division I athlete and Daniels is an outstanding point guard with tremendous quickness,” Kip Staggs said. “They pose a lot of problems for people and that’s the reason why they scored (51 in the second half).”

As for Martinsville’s seniors, Brody Staggs poured in 20 points, Will Bastin had 12 and Jack Wolff 11 to go with seven rebounds. Skyler Pruett grabbed six boards. Freshman Grady Gardner added 14 points off the bench.

Free throw mania

North couldn’t miss from the field on Tuesday and couldn’t miss at the line this time, going 22-of-23 through three when it mattered most. North was 3-of-11 on 3s to that point, having buried 13 vs. Mooresville.

In all, 54 fouls were called, 22 on Martinsville in the second half. Four players fouled out, starting with North’s Luke Lindeman in the third quarter, followed by four of Martinsville’s starters. Officials also rang up three technical fouls. The Arties were 23-of-29 at the line.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been in a position where we’ve had that many guys foul out,” Kip Staggs said. “We need to do some things better. But in that third quarter, we didn’t handle that press very well and they were able to take advantage.”

Roberts went an absurd 15-of-15 while Daniels was 10-of-14. With the Arties working so hard to shut down North from the arc, those two in particular went right at the basket.

“Taking away our 3-point shots and making us drive, that’s just what you had to do to execute,” Speer said. “There was not an easy job tonight for Bloomington North. It was not an easy job for Martinsville. It was not an easy job for the officials. It was not an easy job for the fans.

“There was nothing easy about tonight. But we did win and advance.”

BLOOMINGTON NORTH 84, MARTINSVILLE 70

Martinsville (70): Wolff f 4-9 3-4 11, Pruett g 2-7 1-2 5, Staggs g 6-11 7-10 20, Bastin g 3-4 6-6 12, C.Cheatham g 0-5 0-0 0, Gardner 3-5 6-7 14, L.Cheatham 0-0 0-0 0, Wolf 0-0 0-0 0, LaFary 2-4 0-0 5, Stroud 1-1 0-0 3, Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 23-29 70.

Bloomington North (84): Vencel f 1-1 3-4 5, Roberts f 6-10 15-15 29, Daniels g 5-9 10-14 20, Lindeman g 3-6 0-0 6, Reed g 5-8 4-5 16, Dangerfield 0-0 0-0 0, O’Guinn 1-2 0-0 2, McDonald 2-2 1-1 5, Wellman 0-0 1-2 1, Speer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-40 34-41 84.

Martinsville (9-14) 9 | 20 | 14 | 27 — 70

Bloomington North (17-5) 17 | 15 | 21 | 31 — 84

3-point goals: Martinsville 5-11 (Gardner 2-2, Stroud 1-1, Staggs 1-2, LaFary 1-3, Bastin 0-1, C.Cheatham 0-2), Bloomington North 4-13 (Reed 2-3, Roberts 2-5, O’Guinn 0-1, Daniels 0-2, Lindeman 0-2). Rebounds: Martinsville 22 (Wolff 7, Pruett 6), Bloomington North 24 (Roberts 5, Daniels 4, Reed 4). Team fouls: Martinsville 31, Bloomington North 23. Fouled out: Lindeman, Staggs, C.Cheatham, Wolff, Pruett. Technical fouls: Vencel, North bench, Pruett. Turnovers: Martinsville 17, Bloomington North 17.