SEYMOUR -- Sophomore Sean May turned in another oustanding night in the post as Bloomington North defeated Seymour 77-67 Saturday night in IHSAA basketball action.
Coming off a 21-point, 16-rebound in a win over Perry Meridian the previous night, May nearly matched those totals with 19 points and 15 rebounds Saturday.
The second-ranked Cougars (14-0) built a 51-28 lead after three quarters, but the pesky Owls (4-10) refused to give up. Led by guard D.J. Henkle, Seymour outscored North 39-26 in the final quarter. The Owls nearly scored as many points in the final eight minutes as the Cougars allow each game. North entered as the state's top defense, allowing 41 points per game. The Owls hit eight three-pointers in the final quarter.
"I thought our kids fought pretty hard," Seymour coach Steve Brett said. "I'm sure we scored more on them than anybody this year.
"The fourth quarter was not a normal situation. They were in a prevent thing and they could afford to give up some threes."
Seymour's Henkle scored a game-high 25 points. Teammate Bryan Robertson added 14 and Ross Wiethoff had 13. Ricky Spieker tossed in 10.
North's Jared Jeffries finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists. Frontcourt mate Mike Bridgwaters totaled 13 points and six boards. Kelvin Boatner added 13 points.
The Cougars looked sluggish after they built their large lead and finished with 20 turnovers, many of those caused by Seymour's fullcourt press.
"You've got to be able to play two nights in a row," North coach Tom McKinney said. "Saturday night games are mental games. We had a big game the night before and Seymour had a nice win last night. Now how mentally tough are you? We weren't very mentally tough tonight.
"Seymour outplayed us. They played harder than we played tonight. No doubt about that."
North shot 54 percent from the field and hit 30 of 44 from the line (68 percent) as the Owls fouled repeatedly in the fourth quarter.
North won the JV game 58-51.
North travels to White River Valley Friday night. The Cougars host Bluffton Saturday. Seymour's next game is a home date with Shelbyville Friday.
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