By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
COLUMBUS – Thank goodness for Godlevske.
The new kid on the block introduced himself to the basketball world, rescuing a struggling offense with a sensational shooting performance when Bedford North Lawrence needed it most. Noah Godlevske, a son of a coach, was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time with one purpose. And he delivered.
Godlevske, a junior with the reputation as a perimeter sniper when he moved back to the school system with his famous father, shot the Stars to stability, and Colten Leach finished off BNL’s first victory of the season. From now on, everyone’s scouting report will include the shortest guy on the roster.
Leach recorded his third consecutive double-double, but it was Godlevske’s remarkable outside stroke that powered BNL to a 59-48 win at Columbus East on Friday night. Godlevske drained five treys and scored a career-high 18 points, while Leach totaled 24 points and 11 boards as BNL (1-2) won its Hoosier Hills Conference opener.
East coach Brent Chitty prepared his pregame plans without mentioning the son of former BNL girls coach Kurt Godlevske. And that’s not an oversight on his part. Noah had scored two points in minimal minutes during the first two contests. He made his first career start with the express (written?) consent to launch. Boy, did he ever. Bombs away.
That first one splashed, then the second. And while his teammates scuffled and fired blanks, he came back with a third trey and a baseline jumper to stake BNL to a halftime lead. Then in the third quarter, as the Stars started to create separation, he swished another, then capped his dream night with a corner bomb for a four-point play.
“I just let the game come to me,” Godlevske said. “I hit that first shot and just got really confident after that, started knocking them down. I knew they would get me the ball. I just helped the team any way I could.“
And then he smiled. He deserved that moment. He could not have envisioned this kind of night, not even on a video game.
“It’s not what I expected,” he said. “I’m very happy.”
While Godlevske did the early heavy lifting, Leach took over the muscle duty in the second half. He scored 20 points after intermission, hit his final five shots, and kept the Olympians (1-5, 0-1) at arm’s length. Kaedyn Bennett made four layups (off the penetration and passing of teammates) in the fourth quarter.
“Noah shot it well,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “This was a game we thought we could go with four guards, it was a good matchup for him. We thought he might be the guy to take some pressure off the other guys.
“He hit those two early and everyone else thought they could jack up some threes, too. We weren’t hitting them. We talked about attacking the basket rather than going side to side. Once we figured that out, our offense got going. It was really good in the second half. We found our rhythm.”
The key moments came in the third quarter, with BNL hanging on to a 26-22 lead. Leach ignited a 16-6 burst with a pull-up jumper in transition, Godlevske buried his fourth trey, and Colton Staggs floated through the lane for a 10-footer. Godlevske capped the run to a 38-28 advantage with his corner jumper while getting dumped on the court, and Bennett opened the fourth quarter with three straight point-blank baskets.
Ben Sylva paced East with 19 points while Julius Dailey added 14. Hein praised the defensive work of those chasing that pair. Chitty lamented BNL’s superior shooting (22 of 45 after a tepid 4-of-13 start) and Leach’s control of the interior.
“They shot the ball well, we didn’t,” Chitty said. “Until we get confidence in shooting the ball . . . we got some really good looks. We have to knock them down. We have to get other guys to step up and make shots. Or we won’t have a chance.
“They were more physical than us. Until we become a more physical team, it’ll be a long season. It’s Indiana high school basketball, it’s going to be physical, we have to man up. We broke down. We can’t break down.”
BNL will return to action at home against Madison on Dec. 16.
BEDFORD NL STARS (59)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Kaedyn Bennett, f 0-2 5-7 1-2 3 1 11
2 Colten Leach, g 0-1 8-16 8-9 11 4 24
22 Colton Staggs, g 0-2 2-7 0-0 2 3 4
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-2 0-5 0-2 5 1 0
11 Noah Godlevske, g 5-6 6-7 1-1 1 0 18
34 Jett Jones 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
14 Kole Bailey 0-0 1-1 0-0 2 2 2
Totals 5-13 22-45 10-14 25 13 59
COLUMBUS EAST OLYMPIANS (48)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
34 Julius Dailey, f 1-3 4-9 5-7 1 0 14
23 Ben Sylva, g 1-5 6-14 6-6 5 1 19
11 Zane Moravec, g 1-2 4-7 0-0 3 4 9
12 Jackson Fischvogt, g 0-1 1-4 0-0 0 2 2
30 Keaton Lawson, g 0-2 1-6 0-0 6 1 2
40 Pete Coriden 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 2 0
10 Mason Reeves 0-0 1-1 0-0 2 1 2
33 Jake Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
Totals 3-13 17-41 11-13 22 13 48
Bedford NL 10 9 19 21 – 59
Columbus East 12 4 12 20 – 48
Turnovers – BNL 9, East 13
Field goal percentage – BNL 22-45 (.489); East 17-41 (.414)
Free throw percentage – BNL 10-14 (.714); East 11-13 (.846)
