A typical physical Tri-County Conference game between Henry-Senachwine and Putnam County was even for the most part.

But during a four-minute stretch to start the second half, Bobby Gaspardo picked up four consecutive offensive boards and stick backs to help spark the Mallards to a 61-56 victory over the Panthers on Friday in Granville.

The Mallards led 29-24 to start the third quarter when Gaspardo got the first of his stick backs to fall, but moments later the Panthers kept the pressure up with a 3-pointer from Jacob Furar to cut the Henry lead to 31-27.

A few seconds later, Traxton Mattingly found Johnathon Stunkel for a layup that made it a two-point game, but the next time down the floor Gaspardo had another stick back.

The Panthers got a huge 3-pointer from Braden Bickerman to make it 33-32, but once again Gaspardo had a stick back to push the lead to 35-32.

Bickerman continued his solid play with a layup off a strong drive, but the Mallards once again countered with a drive from Wyatt Wealer and another stick back from Gaspardo for a 44-39 lead going into the final quarter.

“Last year I really challenged Bobby (Gaspardo) and I think it’s really paying off,” Henry coach Randy Westerdahl said. “I thought that four-minute stretch or so was a huge key. We talked about starting the second half the way we started the game and I thought we did that and matched Putnam County’s effort.”

Putnam County coach Jared Sale agreed the four minutes in the third quarter was a key stretch in the game.

“That stretch in the third quarter where Gaspardo had several second chance points was huge,” Sale said. “He’s a big kid and we tried to get a body on him, but he got free a few times and really hurt us.”

The fourth quarter saw Henry have an answer each time Putnam County got close. Jacob Miller started things off with a 3-pointer and Wealer used a spin in the lane to make it 49-39 Mallards.

With the lead still at 10 points, Furar drove hard into the lane for a layup, but once again Henry came back and got the step-back 3-pointer from Landon Harbison to push it back to 10 at 55-45.

The Panthers were not about to go away quietly as Mattingly got a layup after a steal that cut the deficit to 59-53, but Henry hit just enough free throws to come away with a 61-56 victory.

“We have to be better at the line as well,” Sale said. “We were 16 of 28 and we just simply have to be better than that to win games and we will work on that as well.”

At the start of the game, the teams were on a blistering pace. After a Carson Rowe 3-pointer, Gaspardo had a stick back as Henry led 8-4.

The Panthers countered with a 3-pointer from Bickerman, but a drive and bucket from Miller and an old fashioned three-point play from Wealer gave Henry a 21-14 lead after a quarter.

“We came out strong in the first, scoring 10 points in a hurry,” Westerdahl said. “I thought our intensity was where we wanted to be and we needed it because Putnam County came out strong as well.”

The second quarter both teams slowed down a bit offensively. Mattingly hit a floater in the lane to make it 23-19, but Henry answered with a shot behind the arc from Evan Culp.

Juan Ramirez was outstanding off the bench for the Panthers, coming up with nine points and several rebounds to make it 29-24 Henry heading into the half.

Harbison and Gaspardo had 12 points each for Henry (3-1, 1-0 TCC), while Gaspardo added 10 rebounds and Wealer grabbed 11.

Bickerman led all scorers with 17 points and Mattingly added 11 for the Panthers (1-6, 0-1).

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Henry-Senachwine's Landon Harbison scores on a layup over Putnam County's Alan Castro and Jacob Furar on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 at Putnam County High School. (Scott Anderson)