Greensburg — The South Decatur boys basketball team brought the right approach to its home game against Jac-Cen-Del Friday, a possible preview of a sectional tournament matchup.

The hosting Cougars rode four quarters of effort and intensity to send the Eagles back to Osgood in a 57-48 win.

South trailed early and late, but the Cougars rallied twice to hold off big runs from the Eagles.

Junior Byron Balser hit a pair of early 3-pointers and senior Kyle Cunningham scored to give South a 14-11 lead after the first quarter.

Seniors Michael England and Tyler Ewing opened the second with baskets that put South up 18-11 before the Eagles ran off six straight points. However, junior Cameron Agnew and senior Josh Schwering fueled a 10-0 run before Balser's third trey made it 31-17. Agnew had scored off a steal and shot 3-for-4 from the line during the streak. Eagle junior Trent Smith poured in five of his own as JCD entered the break down 32-26.

England, Ewing and junior Dustin Huff kept the margin at eight through most of the third quarter. Balser and junior Jordan Hatton helped preserve a five-point lead by deflecting shot attempts as the quarter clock expired.

Despite Ewing's rebound basket that drew cheers of appreciation for the scorers' effort as he sacrificed his body to make an athletic play, Smith made it 44-42 with a pair of deep jumpers. He capped a 17-6 JCD run that spanned most of the fourth quarter.

Balser's 3-point play, though, put South back up for good with 2:33 left. Following a full JCD timeout, South held the Eagles to one free throw the rest of the game.

Defense and rebounding proved to be the right call for the hosts. South ended the final three possessions of the game with rebounds.

"Tonight we didn't get lucky, we finished the game," said South head coach Tom Black. "We didn't play great offensively, but we took care of the ball and rebounded. We feel like we're playing our best basketball. It's not them, it's not you - it's five guys. We say 'one' in the huddle, because we're a team. The kids are proud of their efforts. They're still improving. We feel like we're becoming the team we want to be."

South wasn't finished scoring, which resonated with Black's theme of finishing out games until the opponent is beaten. A trio of juniors, Agnew, Balser and Jordan Hatton, combined to hit 6-for-6 from the line. England stamped the punctuation mark with a coast-to-coast layup as time expired.

"Since the Christmas break, we've played with a lot of intensity in games," said Black. He applauded the bench contributions on a night he needed efforts from each player who took the court. He said senior Kyle Cunningham followed up a big offensive game last week with a great effort Friday.

"People see 17 points (last week)," said Black, "but he stepped up (Friday) in moments we needed a rebounder or a defender. Cameron played a lot of minutes and hit two big free throws late in the game. Josh Schwering comes in and scores five points in the beginning for us."

Balser led South with 16 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. England followed with 12. Ewing and Agnew each scored seven and junior Dustin Huff scored six, while Schwering scored five in the first half. Junior Jordan Hatton and Cunningham each added two.

Black explained how South excelled better offensively Friday than in previous outings.

"We had opportunities to score by moving the ball more quickly," he said of ball reversal and moving through the lanes.

South, which visits Waldron Feb. 9, shot 11-for-16 from the foul line and 7-for-9 in the final eight minutes.

"These guys are becoming closer and closer to becoming the team we want to be," said Black.

Jac-Cen-Del falls to 5-9 on the season.



Scoring by Quarters:

JCD - 11  15  9  13 - 48

SOU - 14  18  8  17 - 57



The South junior varsity team improved to 13-3 with a 31-28 win. The Cougars held the Eagles scoreless in the opening quarter.

Taylor Kopplin led the Cougars with 10 points, including two 3-pointers. Connor Hermesch followed with nine.

Other scoring:  Josh Miller 6, Chris Johannigman 4, Andrew Wullenweber 2.



Scoring by Quarters:

JCD -  0   1   4  13 - 28

SOU - 10  9   6    6 - 31



Contact Nick Gonnella at (812) 663-3111, x7003.