RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
NEW HAVEN – Bellmont sophomore Daniel Selking lit up New Haven for 36 points Friday, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Bulldogs from defeating the Braves, 75-59.
Selking almost single-handedly gave the Braves (2-3) a 19-17 lead in the first quarter, burning the homestanding Bulldogs (4-1) for 16 points, thanks in large part to hitting three of four three-point attempts.
New Haven jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a fast break layup by Jadrien Ezell and a three-pointer by DeMarcus Wright. Isaac Baker got the Braves on the board with a free throw at the 6:37 mark. Then Selking took charge of the offense, trading baskets with the Bulldogs while scoring the next 16 points for the Braves. The last three came on a jumper about five feet past the three-point line on the right wing with 59 seconds to go to tie it at 17 all. With six seconds left, Jake Hackman hit a short jumper to give the Braves their first lead.
New Haven’s Wright matched Selking’s 3-of-4 shooting from long range on his way to 11 first-quarter points.
After Daylen Jackson and JaMere Walker scored buckets to open the second quarter and put New Haven up, 21-19, Selking hit his fourth three-pointer to return the lead to the Braves, 22-21.
It turned out to be Bellmont’s last lead.
The Bulldogs got the message Selking had sent in the first quarter and focused their defense on him, holding him scoreless the rest of the period. They outscored the Braves 16-5 after Selking’s three and closed the half with a 37-27 lead.
A 10-3 run to start the third period—with four Bulldogs sharing the scoring—stretched the lead to 47-30. The Braves would never get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Selking had a quiet third quarter, hitting only a pair of free throws. But he erupted for 15 points in the final frame on 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 3-of-3 on both two-pointers and free throws.
He scored his 36 points on only 20 shots from the floor, hitting 11 of them and adding 8-of-9 free throws.
“That’s an efficient night, which is something he’s been working on,” praised Bellmont coach Payton Selking. “He hit some tough shots, but I thought he did a good job of letting the game come to him and getting himself in a rhythm and not forcing too much.”
The Bulldogs had no one score even half as many points as Selking did—Jadrien Ezell led them with 14—but their impressive depth more than made up for that, as 12 players scored, including seven who scored six or more.
Defensively, their depth was a huge advantage too. “They can get up and pressure you,” Selking said. “They can pressure you in the half court. When you have that many guys, that allows you to go run and jump and use all that athleticism and quickness and then run the next five guys in. They’re a very, very talented basketball team.”
“But I loved our guys’ effort, loved their fight from the beginning,” he added. “Just a little stretch there where we got a little fast and let them speed us up a little and get away from the game plan just a little bit.”
Hackman and Cameron Summers each scored nine for the Braves. Jack Schultz added three, Easton and Isaac Baker one each.
Wright, with 11, and Tarvar Baskerville, with 10, joined Ezell in double figures for New Haven. Lavell Ledbetter had nine. Darron Cryer, Shane Rogers-Smith, and Jackson all scored six.
Shooting stats:
Bellmont: 10-25 on twos (40%); 9-19 on threes (47%); 12-19 on free throws (63%).
New Haven: 19-25 on twos (76%); 9-25 on threes (36%); 10-16 on free throws (63%).
Turnovers: Bellmont 11, New Haven 10.
New Haven won the JV game, 53-43. Bellmont’s Malachi Lavine led all scorers with 23. Corbynn Omlor added eight, Luke Summers seven. Jaydon Dorset paced New Haven with 11.
Bellmont will play Delta at noon on December 29 in the two-day Delta Tournament.
About the Author
