A thrilling, back-and-forth game between two outstanding basketball teams landed in the win column for the visiting Bellmont Braves thanks to clutch free throw shooting against rival Adams Central, with three players scoring at least 16 points in a 66-62 victory at the Hangar.
The Braves finished an incredible 16 of 17 from the free throw line and were 7 of 8 in the final quarter. Andrew James, who was in the front row Thursday when his freshman teammate from the soccer team, Henry Faurote, clinched victory for the Braves over the Jets in wrestling, calmly clinched victory for his basketball team with two clutch free throws with eight seconds left. James finished with nine points, six from the line and one from a three.
The star of the game early on for the Braves was Gavin Krull, who knocked down four threes in the second quarter as Bellmont climbed back into a game that was all Adams Central early. The Jets led 25-14 at the end of the first quarter, but Krull got hot and couldn’t miss, ultimately leading the Braves with 17 points.
Isaac Schultz led all scorers with 21 points despite a somewhat quiet first half. His abilities kept the Jets in the game throughout the second half. He also led the Jets with nine rebounds.
The Jets appeared to have taken the lead into the locker rooms at halftime, but Jack Scheumann’s desperation three at the buzzer resulted in a foul call and Scheumann knocked down all three to give the visitors a 37-36 lead after .3 seconds were put back on the clock.
The Braves maintained that one-point lead in a slower third quarter, then gave it away for a minute or so in the final eight minutes before ultimately making the shots they needed to move to 7-1 on the season.
Along with the 17 from Krull and 16 from Scheumann, the Braves also got 16 points from Kord Fuelling, who was as dynamic as ever in the lane, challenging the AC big men with his size and athleticism.
After playing such a familiar foe Friday, the Braves will face a much different challenge next week when they take on Bloomington South in the Mike Wettig Tournament at Richmond in the first round. That game will be broadcast live on WZBD on December 28th.
Adams Central will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season at Eastbrook on the 29th.