By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Need a last-minute gift idea? Before Santa prepares for his annual world tour, complete with NORAD tracking, Bedford North Lawrence has a final sit-down request for “the big man, the head honcho, the connection.” Another win would be nice. What a Christmas story that would be.
The Stars, 3-2 with a modest three-game winning streak, will complete the pre-holiday schedule on Wednesday, hosting Mooresville in the first meeting between the programs. Since BNL will be idle for the next 13 days following this historic clash, maintaining the current momentum with a victory would be ideal. And it would make the holiday celebration much more festive.
“It’d be nice,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “We played really well last weekend, in all phases of the game. We have to keep the momentum. Hopefully we can find a way to get this one. But we’ll have to play well.”
The Pioneers (3-4) will not be wrapped for easy opening. They’re quite capable of leaving a lump of coal in BNL’s stocking. They feature the triple-threat weaponry of senior Wes Reeves (15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists) and scoring of sophomore A.J. DeFur (13.0).
“They’re tall, long, lanky and athletic across the board,” Hein said. “They like to stretch the defense with their 3-point game, they have some kids who can slash. It’ll be a test, no doubt. We need a test right now.
“They play like a city team, a little different style. They play fast, they run out quickly in transition and shoot the three. They don’t waste a lot of time, they don’t spend a lot of time on offense. So can we do that against a team like that and dictate the style we want them to play?”
BNL’s streak has come against Columbus East (59-48), Madison (69-39) and Silver Creek (62-43). The common denominators in that trio are defense, balanced scoring (with three double-digit contributors in each) and hot shooting. In the last 10 halves, the Stars have connected on 54 percent of their shots. That’s as toasty as chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
“When shots go in, we look a lot better,” Hein said. “We’ve been knocking shots in because we’re getting the type of shots we want, we’re playing unselfishly.”
Colten Leach has been BNL’s leader at 18.2 points (plus 9.2 rebounds). Kaedyn Bennett had been hot of late (9.0 with three consecutive games in double digits), Colton Staggs is adding 9.2, and the Stars have had a third option arise from different personnel.
“Our depth is so much better,” Hein said. “We have kids competing every day in practice, and they’re getting better from it. They know it, they can figure it out. To this point, it’s made us better. We have so many different options. We’re making people match up with what we’re doing, not matching up with what they’re doing all the time.”
MOORESVILLE at BNL
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Mooresville 3-4; BNL 3-2
Sagarin ratings: Mooresville 72.30; BNL 79.48
Last meeting: This is the first meeting between the teams.
Game notes: Second-year Mooresville coach Shabaz Khaliq had previous stops at Richmond, Fort Wayne North and Fort Wayne Elmhurst. He took FW North to the Class 4A state final in 2017. Both teams share losses to Bloomington North.
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.
Mooresville Pioneers
F – A.J. DeFur 6-4 So.
F – Wes Reeves 6-4 Sr.
F – Jaxson Nielsen 6-4 Sr.
G – Bradley Robinson Jr. 6-4 So.
G – Hogan Denny 6-1 Jr.
