By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SELLERSBURG – Doing something the first time is never easy. There’s doubt. Can it be done? What does it take? Bedford North Lawrence simplified the equation. Do it flawlessly.
With a third-quarter eruption, with near-perfect fundamentals of execution and probing the weak spots, the Stars went boldly where no BNL team had gone successfully before. They went to Silver Creek and won. And did it with style, taking the fire out of the Dragons.
Even with a usual star reduced to reluctant spectator status, BNL was sensational during a 62-43 victory on Saturday night. Colten Leach had 22 points, Kaedyn Bennett totaled 15 and lit the second-half fuse, and Kole Bailey came flying off the bench and into the fray with 10 points as BNL (3-2) won its third straight and ended the short-but-sad road losing streak in the series.
Those were the point totals, important of course. But the more spectacular number was 3 – BNL’s total turnovers. Two of those came during the final four minutes, with the outcome decided. The Stars protected it, shot it, defended it. Solid in all three phases. That’s vintage, winning basketball.
“Proud of the way we took care of the ball,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “They threw different defenses at us, and we handled the ball well, shared it well, got it where it needed to be. We had some hot hands, which was great to see.”
Hot hands? Bennett set off smoke alarms. BNL owned a 31-25 advantage at the half, then torched a four-alarm blaze. Bennett stroked back-to-back treys, Leach dropped a 15-footer, and Bennett broke wide open off a slip screen for a layup off a Leach pass. Bailey cashed in a fast-break layup, then came soaring out of nowhere for a rebound basket and a 45-28 lead.
When Leach opened the fourth quarter with four straight buckets – three off steals for breakouts – the margin was 25. BNL had lost four straight on this court, three by blowouts. So was this one, in reverse.
“It’s just another win,” Bennett said of the history that was recorded. “We need to keep doing stuff like that.”
Keep playing like that, more good things will follow. That knockout burst was 24-5 in eight minutes.
“They’re really good,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “They can all shoot it, they’re hard to guard. They have so many weapons.
“We were easy to guard. On top of that, they get a lot of credit for that. They really took a stranglehold in the third quarter and just ran away in the end. They just got rolling.”
Leach was 10 of 18 from the floor, Bennett hit three bombs, and Bailey was brilliant off the bench. Not known for his jumper, he swished two from deep. He also earned praise, along with Trace Rynders, for his defensive work.
“That makes us that much better,” Hein said. “His main role is to play defense, scrap and get loose balls. But he can shoot the ball, too. We’ve seen it in practice.”
“My teammates just found me,” Bennett said of his output. “It just worked out. Some nights are like that.”
Kaden Oliver paced the Dragons (3-3) with 20 points while freshman Kason Daeger had 12. Silver Creek was missing some pieces because of injuries, which is why that duo had the bulk of their points. They also drew the most attention. Colton Staggs fouled out in only eight minutes of action while working hard on that end, which is why Bailey and Rynders were called into action.
BNL has now established its identity, defined its roles. There’s a quiet toughness that comes with experience.
“They’re very together,” Hein said. “We have depth, it’s great to have that. They play for each other.”
BNL will return home to face Mooresville on Wednesday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (62)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Kaedyn Bennett, f 3-5 6-10 0-0 2 2 15
2 Colten Leach, g 0-0 10-18 2-3 8 3 22
22 Colton Staggs, g 0-0 0-2 0-0 0 5 0
1 Trace Rynders, g 1-5 2-7 0-0 2 4 5
11 Noah Godlevske, g 2-4 2-4 0-0 2 1 6
34 Jett Jones 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
14 Kole Bailey 2-3 4-6 0-1 5 1 10
12 Maddox Ray 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
15 Kline Woodward 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
5 Houston Corbin 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
3 Quincy Pickett 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
31 Logan Miracle 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 8-17 25-48 4-6 23 16 62
SILVER CREEK DRAGONS (43)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
13 Walker Hoffman, f 0-0 3-6 2-2 4 2 8
33 Nate Davidson, f 0-1 0-6 0-0 6 4 0
2 Kaden Oliver, g 1-2 6-14 7-10 8 1 20
10 Kason Daeger, g 2-5 5-9 0-0 3 2 12
11 Bryce Henderson, g 0-2 0-2 0-0 2 3 0
22 Cam Wheeler 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 3 0
14 Dane Sprigler 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 2 0
50 Jayce Just 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
42 Jerron Miles 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
44 Brycen Johnson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
20 Jackson Lewis 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
40 Jake Nickens 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 4-12 15-40 9-13 27 17 43
Bedford NL 14 17 16 15 – 62
Silver Creek 12 13 5 13 – 43
Turnovers – BNL 3, Silver Creek 14
Field goal percentage – BNL 25-48 (.521); Silver Creek 15-40 (.375)
Free throw percentage – BNL 4-6 (.667); Silver Creek 9-13 (.692)
