By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
MITCHELL – The Jett took off, soaring to a higher altitude, rare air for the kid who plays a more horizontal, selfless game. This big ol’ Jett airliner carried Bedford North Lawrence to another runaway victory in the county rivalry series.
While his left-handed form is not textbook, his performance was perfect during the first half as junior forward Jett Jones was the wind beneath BNL’s wings. The Stars smacked down Mitchell on Tuesday night to end a two-game skid and extend Mitchell’s recent and historic misery.
Jones scored a career-high 14 points, 10 during a first-class ride in the second quarter that propelled the Stars to a 65-31 victory. Colten Leach had 12 points and 12 rebounds as BNL (9-9) stretched it series winning streak to 36 consecutive years.
So let’s put the Jones takeoff in perspective. He was averaging 2.5 points per game, he had gone scoreless seven times this season, he had scored only 16 points in BNL’s last eight outings. So if the Bluejackets were going to concentrate their defensive focus on BNL leaders Colten Leach and Colton Staggs – and any scouting report would dictate that – somebody needed to lug the offensive luggage.
But what got into Jones? Launch a trey, swish. Two baseline jumpers, yes. Another bomb, boom. The explanation?
“Probably because I actually shot the ball for once,” Jones said with a grin. “They’re going to be focused on Leach and Staggs. Somebody has to step up and hit shots. They left me open, so I was shooting it. When the first one goes in, it’s going after that.”
His personal outburst powered BNL to a 31-15 advantage at the half, and the way Mitchell struggles to score, that was enough. The Bluejackets (6-12 with six straight losses) haven’t broken the 40 barrier for five consecutive games. If that sounds easy, it’s not when shooting only 25 percent, not when going 5:31 before the first bucket.
“That’s very frustrating for us,” Mitchell coach Jackson Ryan said, “We have to find some sort of answer for that. We have to figure it out moving forward.”
BNL zoomed away in the second half, with Dylan Endris working inside for a 3-point play, with Trace Rynders busting a corner bomb, with Jones weaving the baseline for an acrobatic reverse layup and a 47-25 advantage. Leach scored twice and Kole Bailey buried his second 3-pointer for a 30-point margin. The only thing BNL couldn’t land was the running clock for a 35-point lead.
“Jett shot the ball well,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “We got him the ball in the right spots. The guys did a good job of getting him the ball in the right positions. Even in games he doesn’t score, he plays well. He does other things. It was good to see him step up on the offensive end.
“That’s why you have five players on the floor.”
Mitchell’s Nick Mundy had 11 points before fouling out. Connor Fields had 7 points and 11 boards. That was about the extent of any Mitchell highlights.
“Connor has been so consistent all year,”: Ryan said. “He’s starting to find his rhythm offensively, and we need other people to step up. But until they see a shot go in during a game, it’s hard to get them going in the right direction. BNL is just so scrappy inside. I wish we could have been a little bit tougher in there, to get inside and attack. But it didn’t happen.”
Staggs totaled 9 points, Bailey added 8 off the bench, and Endris had 6 points and 7 boards. BNL now leads the overall series 47-1. “People were saying this was Mitchell’s year,” Jones said. It’s not certain who those “people” were, because Mitchell’s offensive problems have been obvious. “It wasn’t. It won’t ever be when I’m around.”
Locked in the midst of a five-game road trip, playing their fifth game in a 10-day span, the Stars needed to switch on the auto-pilot.
“It’s good to have one of those once in a while because we play such a brutal schedule,” Hein said. “There’s not too many of those, night in and night out. And that was a good defensive effort. That’s a lot better than 70 (points allowed at Brownstown in the last outing).”
BNL will conclude the road trip on Friday at New Albany. Mitchell will host Edgewood on Friday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (65)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Houston Corbin, f 0-0 1-1 1-1 1 5 3
34 Jett Jones, f 2-4 5-8 2-2 4 4 14
22 Colton Staggs, g 0-1 3-9 3-4 2 2 9
1 Trace Rynders, g 2-6 2-6 0-0 3 0 6
2 Colten Leach, g 0-0 5-8 2-5 12 2 12
14 Kole Bailey 2-3 2-5 2-2 0 2 8
10 Dylan Nikirk 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 0 2
3 Quincy Pickett 0-2 0-4 0-0 1 0 0
20 Dylan Endris 0-1 1-3 4-5 7 3 6
12 Maddox Ray 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0 1
23 Memphis Louden 0-0 1-1 0-0 0
24 Cruz Sanchez 0-0 1-1 0-2 1 0 2
Totals 6-17 21-46 17-25 35 17 65
MITCHELL BLUEJACKETS (31)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Nick Mundy, f 0-2 3-7 5-7 4 5 11
21 Cale England, f 0-2 0-2 0-0 4 2 0
10 Connor Fields, f 0-3 2-7 3-4 11 0 7
12 Andrew Shepherd, g 1-3 3-11 0-0 1 2 7
3 Rayce England, g 0-2 0-4 0-0 2 3 0
40 Trey Craig 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
23 Brendan Toliver 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 2 1
11 Dayson Martin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
30 Richie Gaines 0-1 0-1 2-2 1 0 2
2 Lucas Slaten 0-2 1-4 0-0 1 1 2
22 Bryson Shoults 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1 1
Totals 1-15 9-36 12-16 17 18 31
Bedford NL 14 17 16 18 – 65
Mitchell 6 9 10 6 – 31
Turnovers – BNL 7, Mitchell 15
Field goal percentage – BNL 21-46 (.457); Mitchell 9-36 (.250)
Free throw percentage – BNL 17-25 (.680); Mitchell 12-16 (.750)
