The games came quickly, but local basketball teams represented themselves well in this holiday-shortened week. After not a single game was played for five consecutive days, it seemed like a race to see who could play the most games before 2023 ended.
Here are all the scores and some of the highlights:
GIRLS BASKETBALL
-Adams Central opened the Union City tournament with a loss Friday to Clinton Central, 58-39. The Jets came back and dominated Saturday morning against Southwestern, allowing just 16 points in a 52-16 victory. They finished in sixth place with a tight 39-37 loss against Union County, a team that has won back-to-back sectional titles. The Jets’ next game will be on 92.7 FM when they host the Heritage Patriots in an ACAC contest.
-Heritage went across the state line to play Celina Friday and lost 53-27, dropping the Pats to 1-12. Before playing at the Hangar on WZBD, coach Sisson’s team will play Westview at home on Tuesday.
-Bellmont defeated a solid Eastside team Friday at home. Our story for that game can be found here. The Braves then jumped right back onto the court with a road non-conference game at Bluffton and came away with a 38-28 victory. Hailey Cole led the team with 13 points and Emily Bleke added ten in the victory, which pushed the team’s record to 11-3. The next game for the girls will be broadcast live on 92.7 FM on Wednesday at South Adams.
-The Starfires had just one game this weekend and it was a 72-44 loss at Central Noble. Macy Pries led the Starfires with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Laney Trausch added 14 points. South Adams will face a tough task with the Braves on WZBD Wednesday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
-The Heritage Patriots played their first game in two full weeks as part of a doubleheader with the girls at Celina Friday, but fell 46-35. Coach Sovine’s team will play again Saturday at home against Southern Wells in a regular ACAC game before facing Woodlan in the ACAC tournament the following week.
-Bellmont had the busiest schedule of any team this week and, despite a loss, had to have been the team that gained the most.
The Braves began with a loss to an outstanding Bloomington South team, 57-42, on Thursday morning.
That pitted Bellmont against Indianapolis Scecina in the second round and the Braves showed tons of determination and grit in grinding out an overtime win against the Crusaders.
Here are some audio highlights of the contest, which was broadcast live on WZBD:
The win meant that the Braves had a shot at finishing in ninth place in the 16-team field, but they needed two wins on Friday to get it done.
First up was an Indianapolis Home School team and the Braves won 61-44 in that contest. The Braves got a big performance from senior Dylan Velez, who put up 21 points with a barrage of buckets in the first half.
Bellmont’s sharpshooter, Gavin Krull, was second on the team in scoring with 15 points. Kord Fuelling had 11 points.
The final game of the tournament for coach Selking’s team was against Seton Catholic, a small 1A school in Richmond. The Braves claimed ninth place with a 67-54 victory.
The event was won by host Richmond.
Coach Selking will now have a week of practice before traveling to Columbia City to take on the 7-5 Eagles in what will be an absolutely crucial game for the Braves in their hopes of winning a conference title for the first time in decades.
-Adams Central took out Eastbrook 59-41 on Friday night and then demolished Norwell 62-30 live on WZBD Saturday night.
-The South Adams Starfires were not active this week. They will play at Blackford Saturday before facing Adams Central in the ACAC Tourney.
