Every high school basketball team in Z-Land was active this weekend and the season is finally officially underway for everyone. We have a big week of broadcasts coming up, so stay tuned to WZBD, 92.7 FM for all the information.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Late Thursday Games
Bluffton 73 Blackford 20
FW South Side 62 Heritage 21
Friday Scores
DeKalb 43 Lakeland 27
Norwell 53 Cathedral 45
Saturday Scores
Bellmont 53 DeKalb 38
Bluffton 66 Southern Wells 25
Columbia City 65 Leo 25
East Noble 61 New Haven 27
Eastside 61 Garrett 22
Fort Recovery (OH) 59 Jay County 32
Fremont 52 FW North Side 31
South Adams 37 Heritage 32
Ana Lehman led the Stars in scoring with 16, while Laney Trausch had 13 points for the winners.
“The first half was a bit of struggle for us tonight,” said head coach Brett Freeman about his team’s ACAC victory. “We were getting the shots we wanted, but we were not able to knock them down. In the 2nd half we were able to pick up our intensity on the defensive end and that helped us get out in transition and get some transition baskets. Each time we pushed the lead out to double digits they would force us into some turnovers and knock down some shots. We were never able to put them away. As our experience grows we’ll learn how to finish those types of games out better. Very happy for the girls to pull out the ACAC win.”
Danica Fuller had twelve points and Audra Bickel added ten for the Patriots.
Woodlan 60 Adams Central 42
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday Scores
Adams Central 68 Southern Wells 27
Bluffton 53 South Adams 37
Columbia City 61 Canterbury 45
FW Blackhawk 64 New Haven 52
FW North Side 46 DeKalb 42
FW South Side 56 FW Snider 39
Heritage 67 Leo 61
Lantae Cassell led the Patriots with 16 points against the team that knocked Heritage out of last year’s sectional. Taurean Brown and Aaron Lybarger each had 13 points.
Braden Walter scored all ten of his points in the fourth quarter.
Woodlan 56 Jay County 40
Saturday Scores
Columbia City 44 Carroll (FW) 35
FW Canterbury 49 Bellmont 42
Braves drop third straight to start season, but progress evident
By DEAN JACKSON
FORT WAYNE – There’s progress.
Even for a coach who wants to win, Bellmont coach Payton Selking admits, even with a slow start to the season, he’s seeing progress.
That progress is shown in a 47-42 loss to Canterbury, where the Braves had a lead late, and the second-year coach was pleased they were in a position to win it in the last minutes.
Canterbury (2-1) outscored Bellmont 17-8 in the fourth quarter to pull away. The Braves (0-3) are still looking for their first win.
The Braves got 18 points from Daniel Selking. The freshman connected on six three-point shots to lead all scorers. Cameron Summers and Gavin Krull each added eight.
Canterbury got 15 points from Reed Hayes, including eight in the fourth quarter. Alden Greider added 11.
“I’m not into moral victories,” Coach Selking said. “But to think that just a week ago, we were fighting to stay semi-competitive with Woodlan (a 65-39 loss), and we were fighting to keep with Concordia (41-35).”
In that game, Bellmont rallied from being down 13.
“Tonight was different. We were in control of this game and had to win it. This is a situation that these guys haven’t been in yet and had you told me a week ago we would have a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter, I’d taken that all day long, especially given how the last week went, and to be where we are now is a little bit of a moral victory. It’s a step in the right direction.”
And even if they didn’t commit turnovers, they needed more urgency.
“Their pressure kind of made us play fast. We would make one pass and take a shot or make one pass and dribble into traffic and then force something tough. When we were patient, we moved the basketball, got into the paint, and played on two feet. I thought we got good looks. But it’s a learning experience for us.”
Bellmont enjoyed a five-point lead at 37-32 with 7:22 to play in the fourth quarter. Selking grabbed a pass in the left corner and answered with a 20-footer from the left corner. The Braves would not score again for nearly five minutes.
During that span, the Cavaliers mounted a 6-0 run to go up 38-37. JP Rohwer scooped up a loose ball at half-court and rolled in a layup with 3:55 to play in regulation.
He left a sour taste for Coach Selking, especially after a gritty effort.
“I thought we did a nice job defensively, but when you turn it over at half-court and that turns into a run-out layup, it doesn’t matter how good you are defensively.”
Bellmont regained the lead briefly at 39-38 when Will Baker grabbed an offensive rebound and dealt it to an open Daniel Selking, who hit a jumper with 2:30 remaining. The Braves wouldn’t hit another field goal the rest of the way.
The Cavaliers went on a 9-1 run over the final 2:15.
“It came down to a couple of turnovers,” Braves coach Peyton Selking said. “We finished 12 total, but it felt like 20. Those turnovers led to easy ones in transition.
Bellmont returns to action Saturday at Heritage.
In the JV game, Bellmont eked out a 38-37 win over the Cavaliers. Trailing 33-25, the Braves outscored Canterbury 13-4 in the fourth quarter to power the win. Issac Baker connected on a pair of free throws with just 27.9 seconds left to lift the Braves to the victory. Baker finished with 22 points, including four three-pointers and 8-of-10 at the line. He was 4-for-4 in the last quarter.
Bishop Luers 61 Mishawaka Marian 55
FW Northrop 62 Churubusco 32
FW South Side 68 Central Noble 32
FW Wayne 94 Saginaw United (Mich.) 68
Jay County 64 Ft. Recovery (OH) 59
Norwell 54 Oak Hill 52
Warsaw 77 Huntington North 53
About the Author
