MIKE MACKE
WZBD.com
The Bellmont Braves hosted the Leo Lions Saturday night at the Teepee and led throughout, turning a four-point game in the third period into a twenty-point blowout 61 – 41. The win puts Bellmont at 14 – 3 on the season and tied for the lead in the NE8 at 4 – 1. The preseason favorite Lions drop to 7 – 8 overall, just 2 – 3 in the conference.
Kord Fuelling had the hot hand early as he scored the first seven points for Bellmont. After a three by Andrew James and a basket by Dylan Velez, the Braves had opened up a 14 – 8 lead. Leo’s leading scorer, Jackson McGee kept the Lions in it with five points in the last minute of the period and Bellmont led after a rather physical first period by a 17 – 13 score. Only two fouls were called in the quarter as the referees allowed the two athletic teams to play.
In quarter two, things stayed close for the first few minutes with only one score for each side. Then, at 19 – 16, the Braves went on a seven to zero run to stretch the lead to ten points.
A trey by Leo broke the string, but James hit his second three of the half to answer. Two field goals by the Lions sandwiched an old-fashioned three-point play by Fuelling and Bellmont took a nine-point lead into the locker room at 32 – 23.
While the Braves weren’t hitting on all cylinders on offense, it was their defense and hustle in the first half that allowed them to control the game and lead at half-time.
Leo wasn’t going to give up easily, however, and they closed the gap to four at 36 – 32 as they found success under the basket.
Bellmont coach Payton Selking called a timeout, and the Braves went to a half-court trapping defense. It paid off immediately as two consecutive turnovers resulted in layups by Jack Scheumann and James.
Two successive possessions resulted in Scheumann threes and Gavin Krull hit a nifty floater in the lane as Bellmont ended the period on a twelve-point run to take a 48 – 32 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Braves went into a four-minute drought to start the last stanza but held the Lions to only five points in that stretch. A Fuelling free-throw ended the run, and scores by Scheumann, James and Velez extended the lead to leave no doubt.
Bellmont had three players in double figures with Scheumann’s 21 points leading the way. James scored fourteen to go with a great floor game and excellent defense holding McGee to eleven points.
Fuelling finished with thirteen points and kept many possessions alive with his activity around the basket. Krull had seven points in a good all-around effort. Velez scored four points and his interior defense and rebounding was a critical part of the game.
Daniel Vogel rounded out the scoring with two late free throws. For Leo, McGee scored eleven and was the only Lion in double digits.
The JV also won 45 – 31. They were led by Maddux Miller with thirteen points. Leo took the freshman game preventing a complete Bellmont sweep on the night.
The Braves are home on Thursday, Feb. 1 as they host East Noble in another key NE8 showdown.