The Columbus North Bull Dogs pushed their score all the way to 79 on Monday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Whiteland by a score of 82-79. While losing is never fun, Columbus North can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 219th, while Whiteland is ranked 73rd).
Columbus North lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Garrett Long, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Long has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Ferguson, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 assists.
Whiteland was led to victory by Gavin Stubbe and Jaskirat Banwait. Stubbe scored 21 points along with seven rebounds and two steals, while Banwait scored 28 points along with five assists and two steals. Banwait continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Spencer Gillespie, who scored seven points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Columbus North's defeat dropped their record down to 5-9. As for Whiteland, their win bumped their record up to 11-8.
Columbus North will head out on the road to take on Connersville at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Connersville is coming into the matchup with seven straight losses at home, so Columbus North is out to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. Whiteland will take on Indian Creek at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Whiteland has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 1-2 during that stretch of close contests.
