Seymour’s Brady Harpe, left, closes out the first half with a two-pointer during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Michael Brooks, left, gets the jumper off during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Seymour’s Parker Thompson, right, gets a shot off early in the game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Seymour’s Jaylan Johnson goes in under the basket for the shot during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Parker Thompson, left, dribbles between his legs to avoid J.P. Izzo during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Seymour’s Jaylan Johnson, center, tries to minimize contact and avoid being called for a foul but is outacted by Paul Romero, left, during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Seymour’s Parker Thompson, right, takes the layup into the lane during the home game played against Lawrenceburg Friday night.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
If the season feels a little merrier for Seymour’s boys basketball team, it’s for good reason.
On Friday night, the Owls used suffocating second-quarter defense and solid fourth-quarter foul shooting to claim a convincing 55-42 victory over Lawrenceburg.
The victory is Seymour’s fourth straight. In fact, Friday’s win gives the Owls a 6-2 record heading into the Christmas break.
The last time a Seymour boys team earned a sixth win before Christmas was in 1983 when the Tom Jones-coached Owls defeated Scottsburg to head into the holidays with a 6-3 mark (hat tip to Seymour sport historian Bud Shippee).
“It’s nice to head into the break with some momentum,” Seymour head coach Kirk Manns said. “It’s been a haul. Since we started a month ago, we’ve played eight games. We’ve got some football players who are still trying to get their basketball legs under them. We’re a little physically fatigued, so the break is coming at a good time.”
The Owls already own wins over usually troublesome opponents such as Columbus North, Jennings County and Jeffersonville. Lawrenceburg entered Friday’s contest with a 5-2 record this season and a 44-17 record over the last two-plus seasons.
The Tigers’ visit was their first to Seymour since November of 1995, when the Owls escaped with a narrow 69-68 win.
This visit was less dramatic, but no less intense. After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Seymour take a 12-10 lead, the Owls’ defense created distance on the scoreboard that carried over the balance of the game.
Seymour allowed Lawrenceburg just three field goal attempts and forced the Tigers to turn the ball over six times in the second period.
The Owls outscored Lawrenceburg 17-8 during that stretch and took a 29-18 lead into halftime.
“In the first quarter, we were giving up way too much penetration, too many direct lines to the basket,” Manns said. “In the second quarter, we got that straightened out.”
Lawrenceburg tried to come back in the second half, drawing to within six points midway through the fourth quarter, but Seymour never allowed the Tigers to seriously threaten.
The Owls final 11 points came from the foul line. Brady Harpe, Jaylan Johnson, Michael Brooks and Bret Perry combined to shoot 11-for-14 from the line to seal the victory.
“We’re shooting well enough from the free throw line to close out wins,” Manns said. “And we’re hitting some 3s and making timely shots.”
Indeed, the Owls shot 55 percent from 3-point range (six for 11), with Brooks and Ethan Silcox each knocking down two long shots. Harpe and Perry each added a 3-pointer for Seymour.
Johnson paced the Owls with a game-high 19 points, along with a team-best five rebounds. Brooks followed with 13 points. Perry finished with eight points.
After a short rest, Seymour travels to Hoosier Conference foe New Albany on Wednesday.
Given his team’s performance to date, Manns said he’s pleased with where his team sits.
“We’ve got an unselfish group,” he said. “We have our moments, but we play unselfishly offensively and defensively. Togetherness is hard to come by these days.”
Seymour 55, Lawrenceburg 42
Lawrenceburg (5-3);10;8;9;15;—;42
Seymour (6-2);12;17;8;18;—;55
Lawrenceburg: Ben Cornett 5 4-4 14, Cooper Bobo 4 4-4 13, Gerrold Taylor 2 2-2 6, Charlie Meyer 2 1-2 5, JP Izzo 1 1-2 3, Noah Knigga 0 1-2 1, D’Kari Mucker 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Cole 0 0-0 0, Totals 14 13-16 42.
Seymour: Jaylan Johnson 8 3-4 19, Michael Brooks 4 3-4 13, Bret Perry 2 3-4 8, Brady Harpe 2 2-2 7, Ethan Silcox 2 0-0 6, Parker Thompson 1 0-0 2, Evan Unterseher 0 0-0 0, Totals 19 11-14 55.
3-point goals: Lawrenceburg 1 (Bobo), Seymour 6 (Brooks 2, Silcox 2, Harpe, Perry).
Rebounds: Lawrenceburg 14 (Bobo 7), Seymour 16 (Johnson 5).
Turnovers: Lawrenceburg 13, Seymour 12.
Fouls: Lawrenceburg 18, Seymour 17.
Junior Varsity
Lawrenceburg 50, Seymour 49, OT
Seymour (2-6): Nate Fritsch 13, Jack Broughton 10, Jake Dowell 9, Max Coates 7, Mack Longmeier 3, Traysean Hawkins 3, Charlie Rockey 2, Nolan Bartels 2.
Freshman
Seymour 36, Lawrenceburg 29, OT
Seymour (5-4): Carter Stein 16, Gage Hillian 10, Maddox Wallace 5, Jackson Fox 2, Lakoda Leavy 2, Braylon Busby 1.