Bloomington North finds a hero in overtime against rival South in boys' basketball classic

Jalen Williams' 3-point shooting for Bloomington North was nothing to brag about coming into Friday's city rivalry boys' basketball game against South.

It was when the game was over. The 6-foot-5 sophomore, starting in his first rivalry game with around 2,500 on hand, was shooting under 20% from the arc, but had already knocked down two 3s when CJ Vaughns passed him the ball on the right wing. The clock was winding down in overtime and the score tied.

He sized up his defender, and from 22 feet launched. Nothing but net with 2.8 seconds left, the final punch in a 56-53 slugfest, the fourth narrow win in a row in the series by the Cougars.

"It was a little sketchy at first, but I saw him backing off, shot it and it went in," Williams said. "Thankful for it.

"I was just happy to be our rivals, go home and celebrate. That's about it. It's a good team win."

And one they got without their head coach, Jason Speer, who was stuck at home after getting sick. Associate head coach Anthony Lindsey got word around 3:45. Add that to the youngsters playing in that kind of atmosphere for the first time.

"We did it as a collective," Lindsey said. "Our coaching staff's been together for a while and we work great together."

They looked nervous early, but just plain tough as the game went on to win their third straight.

"I think with the environment, a lot of young guys playing, they came through," Lindsey said. "They're a tough, tough group. We gave it everything we did as a team. That's what's got us winning, as a team."

Williams finished with 14 points for North (4-7, 1-1 Conference Indiana), as did Luke Lindeman, while Connor O'Guinn had 15.

"What a tremendous shot," Lindsey said. "He is a great, great athlete. He has a lot of confidence in his game. So as soon as it left his hand, I felt it was going in."

Vincent Moutardier had 23 points for South (6-6, 2-1) while TJ Spears had 10. Alex Shaevetz had 10 rebounds. The Panthers saw a 43-38 lead disappear in the final frantic three minutes of regulation as the lead changed five times.

“We did a good job on Lindeman and O’Guinn,” South coach J.R. Holmes said. “We knew Williams was their best athlete, but we were not overly concerned with his 3s. We had to play off him to help in the post, and obviously, he made us pay.”

Second half rally for Cougars

North found itself down 34-26 after South stormed ahead with an 11-2 run, but the Panthers didn't score the rest of the third as the Cougars kept clawing back into it.

"In the locker room, we came out, we were like, we've got to play harder, we've got to rebound better," Williams said. "Because they were beating us on the glass. We just came out and played harder, hit some big shots and took the win."

It was 34-32 after three, then 40-38 after Williams' first 3 matched one knocked down by TJ Spears for South just seconds earlier. Still, South jumped back up 43-38 with 3:50 left and a crazy finsh ensued.

Leading scorer Luke Lindeman hadn't scored all half but played a huge roll as facilitator. He found Williams for another 3 at 3:37, then freshman Derrick Cross, who had also been struggling from distance, drained one at 2:55 to suddenly put North on top, 44-43.

Jack Clark hit two free throws for South, then came a huge block by Lindeman, who ran to the other end, posted up, scored, was fouled and competed a three-point play at 1:37. Moutardier spun in the lane and returned the favor to put South back up 48-47 with 56.6 left. They were his only points in the final 11 minutes.

"Everybody worked hard," Vaughns said. "We executed. Our main point of the game was our defense. We had to find our players. I had to guard Vince."

Lindeman had another big assist, drawing a double-team and flipping to Vaughns for the layup with 26.5 left.

"The team is playing together," Lindsey said.

Zach Sims, who had lifted the Panthers to an overtime win over Terre Haute North a few weeks ago, was fouled with 12.6 left. He badly missed the first, came back after a North timeout and sank the next to tie it.

It stayed 49-all as Cross' long 3 missed at the horn.

Missed opportunities in overtime

Both sides stumbled a bit in OT, with South going 2-of-4 at the line while Vaughns hit a short jumper for North and Lindeman was fouled but went 0-for-2 at the line. Good thing Vaughns was there, leaping high to tip the second miss, which allowed Williams to track it down.

Given a second chance, Lindeman earned his way back to the line and made both. That steamed South' coach as much as anything.

“Mediocre teams find ways to lose,” Holmes said. “We missed two free throw checkouts, including that one after Lindeman missed both, that cost us five points. We got blocked at the rim four times on layups and no fouls were called.

“So it’s frustrating. But we also missed four free throws in the fourth and overtime. We played hard and did some good things, but little things have beaten us all year and they beat us again tonight.”

Clark made two clutch free throws with 58.8 left and North held for the last shot, calling timeout with 21.4 left.

"It was just 'spread' and go make a play," Lindsey said. "If you want to take it to the hole, do it. If you've got a shot, shoot it. Just be confident. That was the message."

Williams received it loud and clear.

"It was great," Williams said. "A lot of energy, lot of adrenalin at the beginning. I was nervous throughout school, but I got tired, it all went away and I just played basketball."

Another mixed bag for South

South was 19-of-42, but just 8-of-20 after halftime, having to deal with a 2-3 zone and a man defense as North mixed things up, then clamped down late on Moutardier, who was 9-of-16 from the floor, 4-of-8 on 3s.

“He can shoot the basketball as he improves his game to be able to guard somebody,” Holmes said. “But we couldn’t get a shot for him (late) in the fourth quarter because we didn’t run the play right. They stuck (Vaughns) on his and he didn’t leave.”

Inconsistency is plaguing the Panthers right now, which is reflected in a 2-5 mark over their last seven. This game has also dogged South lately, the latest in four straight losses to the Cougars that have come down to the last possessions, with two going OT.

"Very inconsistent," Holmes said. "What's frustrating to me, I think we could be a good team. We're going to start playing more guys now. I'm disappointed in the play of two or three players, so we'll take a week and see what we can do."

BLOOMINGTON NORTH 56, BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 53 (OT)

Bloomington South (53): Shaevitz f 2-4 2-4 6, Spears g 4-9 0-0 10, Sims g 2-9 1-3 5, Sanchez g 1-1 0-0 2, Moutardier g 9-16 1-1 23, Jk.Clark 1-3 5-6 7, Tierney 0-0 0-0 0, Combs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 9-14 53.

Bloomington North (56): Williams f 5-10 1-3 14, Lindeman f 5-8 3-7 14, Dangerfield f 2-2 0-0 4, O'Guinn g 6-12 1-2 15, Cross g 2-5 0-0 5, Speer 0-1 0-0 0, Vaughns 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 22-40 5-12 56.

Bloomington South (6-6, 2-1) 12 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 4 — 53

Bloomington North (4-7, 1-1) 10 | 14 | 8 | 17 | 7 — 56

3-point goals: Bloomington South 6-16 (Moutardier 4-8, Spears 2-5, Jk.Clark 0-1, Sims 0-2), Bloomington North 7-19 (Williams 3-6, O'Guinn 2-7, Cross 1-3, Lindeman 1-3). Rebounds: Bloomington South 22 (Shaevitz 10, Sims 6), Bloomington North 22 (Lindeman 7, Williams 6). Team fouls: Bloomington South 11, Bloomington North 15. Turnovers: Bloomington South 7, Bloomington North 9. JV result: Bloomington South, 51-46.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Overtime game winner tilts Bloomington North-South boys' hoops battle