Columbus North’s Braylon Thoman is fouled by Bloomington North’s Rex Speer at Columbus North, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Columbus North flipped the switch on in the second half.
The Bull Dogs were unstoppable in the third quarter with a huge offensive punch to put away Bloomington North for a 66-41 Conference Indiana boys basketball win.
Columbus North trailed 29-27 at halftime, but exploded coming out in the second half by outscoring the Cougars 25-4 in the third quarter to lead 52-33.
“Coming into halftime, we talked about the things that we needed to do better and the things that we did well in the first half. We came out and executed that,” Columbus North junior Caleb Ferguson said.
The Bull Dogs (17-3, 4-1) led 11-9 in the first quarter, but Bloomington North (6-14, 1-4) went on a 8-0 run that ended with a deep 3-pointer by Luke Lindeman at the buzzer to lead 17-11.
Columbus North eventually retook the lead at 25-22 in the second quarter, but the Cougars ended the half on a 7-2 run to lead 29-27 at the break.
The Bull Dogs momentum got going when Garrett Long started the scoring in the second half when he drove to the right side of the court for a finishing dunk to tie the game. A free throw later from Long gave them the lead for good and made it 30-29.
There was plenty of balanced scoring for Columbus North. Ferguson finished with 18 points. Max Coomes hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12, and Long added nine points, with seven coming in the huge third quarter.
A total of nine Bull Dogs got into the scoring column.
“When you have that team chemistry, and you play together like that, anyone can go off at any moment,” Caleb Ferguson said.
While Columbus North finishes the conference in second place, it’s riding a 10-game winning streak — its longest in a dozen years — and is one win away from tripling its win total from last year.
“We’re on a 10-game winning streak. We’ve had a great second half of the year,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We would love to have that Terre Haute North game back at their place, but they’re a good team. We learned and grew from that game. We’ve gotten better from that point on. It’s feels good to get second place locked up in the conference.”
The Bull Dogs will celebrate senior night on Saturday when they host sectional foe Franklin.
Columbus North 66, Bloomington North 41
Bloomington North;;17;12;4;8—;41
Columbus North;11;16;24;14;—;66
Bloomington North (6-14, 1-4): Caleb Fishel 5 0-0 14, Rex Speer 1 0-0 2, Ka’Meron Washington 1 0-0 2, Nathan Walker 1 0-0 3, Levi Lindeman 3 1-2 7, Luke Lindeman 4 4-4 13, CJ Vaughns 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 5-6 41.
Columbus North (17-3, 4-1): Eli Smith 0 0-0 0, Caleb Ferguson 5 6-7 18, Nate Enneking 3 0-0 6, Jack Whaley 1 1-2 3, Austin Perry 1 4-4 6, Braylon Thoman 2 0-0 5, Max Coomes 4 0-0 12, Nolan Pickup 2 0-0 4, Ben Ferguson 1 0-0 3, Garrett Long 3 3-4 9. Totals: 22 14-17 66.
3-point goals: Bloomington North 6 (Fishel 4, Walker, Lu. indeman). Columbus North 8 (Coomes 4, C. Ferguson 2, Thoman, B. Ferguson).
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
