High school hoops: South rallies past North in second half to claim 50–43 rivalry win

Entering the third quarter on Monday night (Jan. 12), the Bloomington High School South boys basketball team was trailing its crosstown rival Bloomington North 28-21. The Panthers entered halftime shooting 36% from the field having committed three turnovers in the first 16 minutes.

With the home crowd at “The Cougar Den” giving the opposing team an earful, the comeback seemed unlikely in the minds of Panthers fans, but the team had a different outlook.

“We’re only behind because we just missed shots, not because we had anything wrong,” Bloomington South head coach J.R. Holmes said. “So stay in the game. Stay positive.”

The “positivity” for South was on full display in the second half. The Panthers finally saw their shots fall and held Bloomington North to a 30% performance from the field. Bloomington South outscored the Cougars 29-15 in the final 16 minutes, completing the comeback and prevailing 50-43.

The Panthers were helped over the hump by two high-scoring outputs from senior guard Jack Clark (25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) and junior wing Duncan Combs (18 points, 10 rebounds). Clark finished the contest with 25 points, going 13 for 14 from the free throw line, and delivering 19 points in the second half. Combs finished with 18 points, trailing only Clark, to go with 10 rebounds.

“They both are pretty good players,” Holmes said. “They play hard and Jack plays hard all the time.”

For North, the Cougars received strong efforts from junior guard Derrick Cross Jr.—before his injury late in the fourth quarter kept him out of the rest of the game—and forward Levi Lindeman. Cross Jr. (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) finished the game with 14 points, but 12 of them came in the first half. Lindeman (14 points, 6 rebounds) also had 14 points, knocking down two 3-pointers and 55% of his shots from the field.

The Cougars got off to a strong start in Monday’s game. A 3-pointer from Cross Jr. electrified the home crowd and put Bloomington North up 4-0 just over a minute into the game.

However, Bloomington South stormed back with a 7-0 scoring run. Clark drilled a triple, before a 2-pointer from junior wing Rylan Stikeleather (2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) gave the Panthers a 7-4 lead.

Bloomington North was able to respond, thanks to a 3-pointer by Lindeman. Both teams started the game with lots of energy and intensity for the rivalry game. And by the end of the first quarter, the Cougars were leading 13-12.

The game stayed neck-and-neck throughout most of the second quarter. Combs opened the second eight minutes with a 2-pointer to put South back in the lead. However, a couple of minutes later, senior forward John Bargen (4 points, 2 rebounds) put North up by four points.

It was an advantage that stuck with the Cougars for the rest of the second quarter. Made baskets from Cross Jr., junior guard Nate Walker (4 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists), and Lindeman helped North finish the second stanza shooting 7 for 11 from the field. But South couldn’t make its shots. The Panthers went just 4 for 11 on their attempts from the field.

Coming out of halftime down seven-points, Bloomington South knew that if the team’s shots were not going to fall, their defense would have to step up.

“I thought we did a really good job defensively overall,” Holmes said. “I don’t think our offense was very good until the fourth quarter, but our defense kept us in it.”

The Panthers held Bloomington North to only four points and forced five turnovers in the third quarter. But Bloomington South could not capitalize on its defensive play. The Panthers got only two out of their eight shots to drop during the third quarter.

But South was only down three points entering the final quarter. And in the final eight minutes, the Panthers shots started to fall.

“Eventually we had to hit some shots,” Holmes said. “We’re pretty good shooters, but we didn’t show up tonight … we’ve still got to find a consistent third scorer. We haven’t found that yet.”

A Combs 2-pointer two minutes into the final stanza closed the gap to one point, and a Clark 3-pointer on the next possession gave Bloomington South a 36-34 lead. North responded with a 3-pointer from Lindeman to move in front, but buckets from Combs and Clark gave the upper hand back to South.

As both teams started to get tired and make more mistakes, fouls started to pile up. South finished the fourth quarter knocking down all 10 of its free throws. Clark accounted for eight of those free throws, while senior guard Max Surdam (2 points, 5 rebounds) had the other two.

South’s stellar free throw performance late in the game, coupled with Bloomington North’s 29% shooting in the fourth quarter, was enough to give South a 50-43 victory.

This Friday Bloomington South (8-4, 2-0 Conference Indiana) stays on the road, traveling to Columbus East. Bloomington North’s (6-3, 0-2 Conference Indiana) next game will see the Cougars travel to Martinsville on Friday.

“It’s always a good thing to win,” Holmes said after the game.

Photos: Bloomington North vs. South (Jan. 12, 2026)