Sean May had what Bloomington North coach Tom McKinney termed his best night of the season, totaling 26 points and 21 rebounds as the Cougars defeated Indianapolis Perry Meridian 71-52 in Conference Indiana action Saturday night at North's gym.
The Cougars (4-1, 9-2) also got 15 points from sophomore guard Errek Suhr and 10 from senior guard Kelvin Boatner. Freshman guard Anthony Lindsey added eight points.
North shot 51 percent overall and 42 percent on three-pointers.
"We hit eight three-pointers tonight and that opened things up inside for Sean," McKinney said. "Sean is getting better. I thought this was his best game of the season tonight.
"Lindsey stuck a couple of threes at a critical time."
McKinney also lauded his team's defensive play. The Cougars held Perry Meridian (2-3, 6-5) to a 37-percent night. The Falcons made 5 of 14 from behind the arc. May made it tough for Perry Meridian to go inside, finishing with four blocked shots.
PM coach Mark Barnhizer said that North's rebounding was the difference in the game.
"They beat us on the boards 37-16," Barnhizer said. "It's hard to overcome that.
"But I'm not disappointed. We played hard and hung around."
The Cougars led 34-26 at halftime and increased the advantage to 14 by the end of the third quarter. However, the Falcons cut the lead to 52-43 behind Austin Montgomery and Ryan Tapak. That's when Lindsey hit back-to-back treys to put the game out of reach.
"We put an awful lot of pressure on them defensively, but Tapak hit some threes and Montgomery hit some tough shots," McKinney said.
Montgomery led the Falcons with 16 points, while Tapak added 15. Sophomore Mike Davis finished with 10.
The Cougars will host Martinsville next Friday night.
PERRY MERIDIAN(52) -- Austin Mongtomery 16, Ryan Tapak 15, Mike Davis 10, Adam Webb 5, Mark Franklin 2, Justin Petty 2, Clinton Cunningham 2.
BLOOMINGTON NORTH (71) -- Sean May 26, Scott May 6, Kelvin Boatner 10, Moussa Kante 2, Errek Suhr 15, Clay Ludlow 2, John Allman 2, Anthony Lindsey 8.
© 2001 dbulla@indiana.edu