BB: Charger 3s down Fountain Central

North Montgomery and Fountain Central poured in a combined 25 out of 50 three-point shots.

But, in the end, it was the Chargers who proved to be the better marksmen in a 77-67 win.

Both
teams shot extremely well from behind the three-point arc. North
Montgomery hit 12 of 21 (57 percent) three-point attempts while the
Mustangs hit 13 of 29 (48 percent) from long range.

North
Montgomery (2-2) shot a season-high 58 percent (27 of 46) from the
field and Chargers' coach Scott Radeker was pleased with the offensive
production from his team.

"Our offense was great tonight,"
Radeker said. "Our kids stepped up and shot the ball with confidence.
We moved the ball tonight and had 23 assists. I am very proud and happy
with the offense."

Jake Thomas scored a season- and game-high 27
points, including 19 in the second half. Thomas was 5-for-7 from behind
the arc, connected on 7 of 10 field-goal attempts and went 8 of 9 from
the free-throw line. He said his team was just taking what the Mustangs
were giving them.

"Tonight I had open shots and knocked them
down," Thomas said. "In their 2-3 zone they didn't come out to the
wings so we were wide open."

Playing their first game of the
season after the football team's appearance in the Nov. 27 Class 1A
Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State championship,
Fountain Central jumped out to an early 15-6 lead.

But North Montgomery clawed back by getting the ball inside to senior Colin Maltsberger.

With
his team off to a slow start, Maltsberger scored 13 of his 16 points in
the period. North Montgomery cut that nine-point lead to just one
(18-17) at the end of the period.

Fountain Central scored just 10 points in the second quarter, as North Montgomery took a 39-28 halftime lead.

"I knew we had a size advantage so I tried to take it to the hoop early," Maltsberger said.

But as happy as Radeker was with his team's offense, he was equally disappointed with the Chargers' defense.

Brody Sowers led Fountain Central (0-1) with 22 points, while Tanner Pierce added 18 and Ryan Carver had 10.

"We
did a terrible job in our transition defense," Radeker said. "We didn't
find the shooters and get out on the catch. We, as coaches, have to
find a better way to teach the kids. But we will figure it out because
these kids want to get better."

Combined with Friday's emotional
win over county and Sagamore Athletic Conference rival Southmont, the
Chargers are hoping they can use the season's first double weekend
victories as momentum. North Montgomery has two road games next weekend
at conference rival Tri-West and Class 4A McCutcheon.

"Getting
two wins in a row helps a lot especially after getting shut down our
first two games," Thomas said. "We have some momentum going right now
and we need to keep it going."