It was opening night of the boys basketball season in Seymour on Tuesday with the Owls hosting Corydon Central.

After a tough back-and-forth contest, Seymour emerged victorious over the Panthers 52-48 to pick up their first win of the new season.

Owls head coach Kirk Manns spoke on the win to kickstart the 2023 campaign.

“We graduated three seniors last season who had a lot of experience for us. We also graduated three other seniors, so six in total,” he said. “We got a lot of new faces out there and guys trying to learn how to play together. We got out to a solid start on offense, and I really think our guys played well defensively.”

Seymour opened the game firing on all cylinders, taking an early 9-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game.

Michael Brooks was critical for Seymour, creating offense for the team and also hitting a few shots from deep. The first basket of the game came off a perfect passing relay, leading to a Brooks three.

Brooks spoke on the Owls starting out strong in the first quarter.

“We had a ton of nerves coming out of the locker room,” Brooks said. “We wanted to come out fast and we did, hitting three straight three-pointers to open the game. We made the shots necessary to come out on top. It was a good win.”

Seymour caught fire with the three ball and took the 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The team would be outscored in the second period 8-7, leaving the Owls ahead 24-17.

The boys held their momentum in the second half, going on a 6-2 run to open the quarter, taking the 30-19 lead with almost six minutes left in the third quarter.

Corydon wouldn’t go away, scoring five straight points to make it a six-point game. Jaylan Johnson made a move on offense, leading to an easy layup. The basket gave the Owls a double-digit lead with a minute left in the third period.

A huge three from Seymour made it 38-25, forcing the Panthers to call a timeout.

The third quarter dwindled down second by second with the Owls forcing another tough shot attempt with their defense.

Seymour held onto a 38-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. The final period started with some urgency from Corydon Central, which tried to get back into the game with each possession.

The defense from either side wouldn’t budge in the first half of the final period. Corydon found its groove, cutting the deficit to five, until Brady Harpe buried a three on the following possession for Seymour.

The home fans went crazy with Seymour building onto its lead. Corydon Central was then fouled, allowing Trey Wiley to shoot both shots, hitting them both to cut the lead back to five for Seymour.

The final minutes brought the Panthers back into the game, making it 43-40 with three and a half minutes left in the game. Johnson then delivered again for the Owls with another basket inside the paint. He then was fouled on the following possession and was sent to the line to try and extend the lead.

Johnson knocked down the first one before missing the second attempt. Brooks would then be called for a blocking foul, sending T-Mac Wilkinson to the line. Wilkinson hit both of them to make it a one-possession game.

Bret Perry tried to find an open man, hitting Johnson again, who found Ethan Silcox. Silcox just missed the critical shot, but the Owls kept answering the call on defense. Silcox then got his chance on the following play, converting the easy layup to give Seymour the four-point lead.

Wilkinson then hit another jumpshot for the Panthers to make it 48-46 with a minute left in the game. Johnson was fouled once again on the drive, knocking both down. Titus Wolfe of Corydon then responded with a tough basket to make it a one-possession game again. Perry was then fouled with 15 seconds left in the game, hitting both shots to make it a 52-48 contest.

Brady Harpe led the way with 16 points on the evening, Silcox scored 13 with Johnson recording 12 for the Owls.

Brooks led the way with eight rebounds. Johnson grabbed five with Evan Unterseher pulling down four

Brooks, Harpe and Unterseher all recorded two assists, as well. Silcox was huge on defense for Seymour, grabbing three steals.

The varsity team will now focus on Columbus North on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.

The game is at Columbus North High School.

Manns spoke about the matchup with Columbus North.

“It’s kind of like our game tonight. Just like us, Columbus North graduated a lot of their starters from last season,” he said. “We’ll look into some film and tape, and we will be ready to go on Saturday.”

The Seymour JV team faced off with the Panthers beforehand, taking an early 18-9 advantage in the first quarter. Corydon responded with a 10-0 start to the second quarter, taking a 19-18 lead.

Both teams traded baskets as the first half came to an end with Corydon holding the 24-21 lead at intermission. Seymour came out firing in the second half, taking control as the third quarter dwindled.

The Owls took a 36-30 lead after a huge and-1 play from Max Coates. Corydon didn’t give up, scoring four quick points to end the quarter trailing by two. The fourth quarter began with Seymour jumping out to a 40-37 advantage. Inside five minutes remaining, Corydon stole the lead again, taking a 41-40 lead over the Owls.

Seymour had a chance at a basket, but Ben Groover of Corydon got a hand on it for the block. Groover was then fouled, hitting both free throws to extend the lead to three.

Nate Fritsch made two huge plays on defense, coming up with back-to-back steals to give the Owls a chance, making one shot and missing the next.

Seymour was now down 45-44 with a minute left in the game. Charlie Rockey was then fouled with 15 seconds to go, putting him at the line with a chance to tie the game. Rockey missed the first but made the second one to bring Seymour within one. Corydon took the win by four points with a 51-47 victory.

High School Basketball

Owls;52

Panthers;48

Corydon Central (0-0); 9; 8; 10; 21;-48

Seymour (0-0); 17; 7; 14; 14;-52

Seymour (1-0)- Brady Harpe, 16 points, 2 assists. Ethan Silcox, 13 points, 3 steals. Jaylan Johnson, 12 points, 5 rebounds. Michael Brooks, 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block.

JV

Corydon Central (1-0); 9; 15; 10; 17;-51

Seymour (0-1); 18; 3; 15; 11;-47