By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The record indicates struggling, the young roster points to growing pains, the schedule has been brutal. Madison is off to the start many dread, winless and searching for something positive.
Despite the 0-5 mark, with four sophomores in the starting lineup and no seniors in the program, the Cubs will command Bedford North Lawrence’s full attention. The Stars are coming off their first win, but there’s no such thing as a walkover.
BNL (1-2) will seek revenge for two straight overtime losses in the series with the former conference foe when it clashes with the Cubs on Friday night. Last year’s controversial finish, with more last-second plot twists than a psychological thriller, stung for a long time. The Stars haven’t forgotten.
The Cubs are in the middle of a total youth movement. And they’ve faced five opponents with combined records of 25-2. That’s a tough lesson to learn. It also makes them dangerous as they absorb information on the fly.
“We can’t take Madison for granted,” BNL coach Jeff Hein. “I know they’re 0-5, they’re young, but their kids play hard. They’re still learning, getting better game to game. I can see that, so they’re a scary opponent. The bottom line, we’ll have to play. There’s no ‘gimmes’ on our schedule.”
Madison will feature the sophomore tandem of Quincy Reynolds (15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds) and Mason Davis (13.8 points, 4.2 boards).
The Stars will counter with the senior leadership of Colten Leach (21.6 points, 10.3 boards) and Colton Staggs (11.3 points), plus the recent offensive infusion from Noah Godlevske (18 points at Columbus East last week). In fact, BNL has had three double-figure scorers in each game.
“That’s the nice thing about having balance,” Hein said. “That’s the way basketball is played. Every night will be different and every kid will have their night.
“We have to play well, we have to execute on the offensive end, we have to continue to defend. I thought we defended really well against East. Our defense kept us in that game, we struggled shooting the ball early.”
Madison’s last trip to BNL ended with a 54-52 overtime triumph. Last year’s rematch in Madison almost defied description, with the Cubs escaping with a 57-54 victory following an extraordinary end of regulation. The final buzzer sounded twice, the celebration started two times, and Madison’s bench was lining up for the obligatory hand shake. Except it wasn’t over.
After Trace Rynders buried a clutch 3-pointer with 23 seconds left for a 49-48 lead, Madison went to Kaden Oliver, who missed a contested 3-pointer. Rynders came out of the pack with the ball, the horn sounded. Game over?
No, the three game officials huddled as the teams lined up to shake hands and leave the court. They decided a foul had been called, put 0.7 seconds back on the clock, and put Rynders at the free-throw line. He hit the first, missed the second, and Oliver missed a desperate fling from the opposite foul line as the buzzer sounded again. But the back official called a (phantom?) foul and awarded Oliver three free throws with no time left. He hit the first, hit the second after a BNL timeout, then missed the third, forcing overtime with a 50-50 deadlock. The Cubs prevailed after that.
Oliver, now at Silver Creek, scored 25 points. Leach and Staggs totaled 14 each.
MADISON at BNL
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Madison 0-5; BNL 1-2
Last meeting: Last year at Madison, the Cubs took advantage of two controversial calls at the end of regulation and posted a 57-54 overtime win. Kaden Oliver had 25 points for the Cubs, while Colten Leach and Colton Staggs had 14 reach for BNL.
Previous game story: Stars the victim of Madison Miracle
Game notes: Madison’s five losses have come against opponents with a combined record of 25-2.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Kaedyn Bennett 6-2 Sr.
F – Colten Leach 6-2 Sr.
G – Colton Staggs 6-0 Sr.
G – Trace Rynders 5-9 Jr.
G – Noah Godlevske 5-8 Jr.
Madison Cubs
F – James Schafer 6-1 So.
F – Ryder Jones 6-3 Jr.
F – Landon True 6-0 So.
G – Quincy Reynolds 5-10 So.
G – Mason Davis 5-9 So.
