By John Regruth | For The Tribune
BEECH GROVE
Things fell apart in the third quarter for Seymour’s boys basketball on Tuesday night, turning an entertaining, competitive contest into a lopsided 61-33 victory for Beech Grove.
Turnovers, a common theme in Seymour’s losses so far this season, were prevalent during the game-changing period.
The Owls (3-4) played their cleanest half of the season during first two quarters and held the lead for most of that stretch. After halftime, however, the Owls committed 10 turnovers, including five in rapid succession that allowed the Hornets (6-1) to construct a devastating 19-1 third-quarter run.
Seymour junior Marcus Brooks scored the second half’s first basket, a driving layup on the left side, to narrow the score to 27-25. That’s when the Owls were victimized by their own sloppiness.
When the third period ended, Beech Grove enjoyed a 46-26 lead. The Hornets outscored Seymour 34-10 in the second half.
Sophomore Landon Fritsch led Seymour with 11 points, followed by Brooks’ 10. No other Owl scored more than four points.
Beech Grove countered with four double-figure scorers, led by Jeremiah Alexander and Jadyn Curry who each had 13 points.
The Hornets were remarkably efficient on offense, shooting 66 percent from the floor (25 for 38) and 53 percent from 3-point range (eight for 15).
Seymour had its worst shooting night of the season, making just 13 of 39 shots (33 percent) and hitting just one of six 3-point shots. The Owls’ previous low shooting mark was 46.5 percent against Brownstown Central.
The game was a late addition to Seymour’s schedule after the Owls’ previously scheduled contest with Whiteland was cancelled. Beech Grove likewise had its originally scheduled game against Greenwood called off.
For the first two quarters, Seymour played some of its best basketball of the year. The Owls owned an 11-6 lead five minutes into the game.
Though Beech Grove started finding its rhythm, the Owls maintained the lead until the middle of the second quarter.
After a turnover-prone performance in a loss to Jennings County on Saturday, Seymour looked sharp, not committing a turnover until the 4:53 mark of the second period — the Owls’ only error of the first half.
After the buck buckets by Fritsch and Brooks closing gap to 27-25, the Owls could not get as close to the Hornets the rest of the game.