Adams Central improved their record to 5-2 on the season with a victory over Bellmont Friday, running past the Braves, beating them in transition and winning the battle on the boards to the tune of a 65-49 county victory.
Trace Maller and Braylend Reber teamed up to give Adams Central the lead from early in the game, playing solid defense and opening up the Bellmont defense with their penetration to get Cade Van De Weg open looks at the three-point line. Van De Weg knocked down two big threes in the first quarter as the Jets built a 22-16 lead, with Braden Dalrymple also knocking down a trey.
It was the three and perimeter passing that kept Bellmont in the game, coincidentally, as freshman Daniel Selking knocked down three from behind the arc and the home team scored 18 of its 26 points in the first half from three-point range.
Trace Maller scored 13 in the opening half, with Reber adding ten to give the Jets a 39-26 halftime lead.
Bellmont showed some grit coming out of coach Selking’s team talk at half time and Will Baker and Daniel Selking accounted for all the scoring, pouring in 19 points combined to bring the AC lead down to six points.
Forcing 16 turnovers on the night, the Braves put considerable pressure and exposed some vulnerability for the Jets on the press, but it was feast or famine as a whole, with Adams Central often scoring when they broke the press, yet committing six turnovers against the Braves’ press.
The fourth quarter, however, belonged to the Jets, who held on to the ball for much of the final stanza and held the Braves to just four points.
The statistics at the end of the night reflected what the Jets did best – they were 17 of 35 from inside the arc and they were nearly 50% (7 of 16) from behind it. They picked up 14 offensive rebounds, allowing them to get 10 more shots off in the game than the Braves.
On the other side, Bellmont only attempted 17 shots from inside the three-point line. The Braves had just four offensive boards.
The home team was led in scoring by the freshman Selking, who knocked down five three-point shots for 18 points overall.
Will Baker had an excellent game in the post for the Braves, finishing with 15 points.
Maller ended the night with 19 and Reber had 17 for the visitors, while Van De Weg finished with twelve. The Jets are right back in action Saturday night, hosting Parkway in the Hangar.
For the Braves, now 1-9 on the season, it is a full week of practice ahead of their second NE8 game of the season next Saturday when they host Columbia City.
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