On Nov. 16, the South boys basketball team, ranked 9th in the class 4A Associated Press top 10 preseason poll, took to the JR Holmes Court for a preseason match up against crosstown rival Bloomington North.
The Panthers planned to use this game as a trial run to see how different players played together and how their zone and man defense worked. The score, although reset back to 0-0 before the start of every quarter, was 62-39 South.
South dominated in the first three quarters, winning 19-8, 18-7, 14-10 respectively. However, in the fourth quarter North changed the tide, winning a nail biter that came down to a last second potential quarter tying shot from Sophomore Anthony Leal (3). In the end, North won the quarter, 11-14, but South won the war.
Sophomore Noah Jager (15) was given heavy minutes at the guard position during the scrimmage and played well. Jager finished with 14 points and dished out several assists, including a flashy behind the back bounce pass that resulted in a Leal layup.
Jager was happy with the team’s performance, but he felt that there were things the players could look to improve upon before the the start of the season. “I thought the team played very well the first three quarters. We moved the ball well and played really nicely together as a team. The last quarter we got moving a little too fast and couldn’t set up the offense, but overall the night was a success.” Jager said.
