By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For the first time since its inception, Bedford North Lawrence triggered the ‘mercy rule.’ The victim, which is not usually shown any mercy in this clash of county neighbors, was the program’s favorite whipping post.
For the 37th consecutive time in the series, BNL blasted to a victory over Mitchell. That was expected. The Stars were overwhelming favorites and played as such, dominating every phase. If not for the running clock during the final 10 minutes, BNL probably would have set a record for winning margin in the 49-game history of the 14-mile highway collisions. So there was some mercy shown.
After a tight and anxious start, the Stars cruised to a 68-24 triumph over the Bluejackets on Friday night. Colten Leach had 15 points as BNL (6-4) took advantage of multiple Mitchell mistakes to pull away. For the record, that’s 48-1 overall in the series, plus its the fourth time the difference has been 40-plus, but the gap has never been this wide.
BNL missed the margin record (92-47 during the 1990-91 campaign) by a single point. That was before the timer’s button gets disconnected once the difference hits 35 points. The Stars got there with 2:20 left in the third, and that’s when the starting unit and regular reserves were disconnected from the action.
“It’s the first time to have a running clock, so it was kind of unusual,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “But we kept building once we got to 35, which was good to see.”
The Bluejackets (3-12) stayed connected at first, despite 10 first-quarter turnovers and six BNL offensive rebounds. But BNL ended the suspense with a 17-2 run in the second quarter, pulling away to a 34-13 halftime lead, and the quick ending was inevitable.
BNL’s surge had a lot of fingerprints on it. Noah Godlevske – the most vertically challenged guy on the court – had two offensive rebound buckets in the first quarter. Leach came to life with two mid-range jumpers, a rebound bucket and a corner trey in the second, and Godlevske stroked two bombs during the put-away run.
In the third, the Stars allowed only one field goal. Leach popped two jumpers. Godlevske, Kaedyn Bennett and Colton Staggs flashed to layups, and Kole Bailey drilled a trey for a 51-16 lead that forced the running clock.
Mitchell finished with 21 turnovers, and BNL dominated the glass 34-16. That’s way too many extra possessions for an underdog looking to make history with a monumental upset.
“Our defense has been better, but we’re putting so much pressure on ourselves with turnovers,” Mitchell coach Jackson Ryan said. “Very frustrating. You put all that work in, scouting and preparing, and you don’t take care of the basketball, All that goes out the window.
“The rebounding is the biggest thing I’m disappointed in. We talk about team defense and team rebounding. We just let things snowball, whether it was the offensive rebounds or the turnovers.”
Mitchell’s lone highlight was the play of a freshman. Gavin Robinson had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Little else went right. That’s the fewest points the Jackets have scored in the series, and it matched the fewest BNL has ever allowed (24 against Loogootee in 1981-82). It’s also the lowest Mitchell point total since a 61-24 loss to Edgewood during the 2012-13 season.
“We’re excited about him,” Ryan said of Robinson. “It doesn’t matter who, where, what . . . he’s going to show up and will play his butt off. He showed up and battled. I wish I could bottle that up and give it to everyone.”
Godlevske added 14 points while Staggs totaled 9 and Bailey (making his first start of the season) finished with 8. BNL’s bench did all of the scoring in the final 10 minutes.
“We were a little nervy early, but our pressure bothered them,” Hein said. “We threw some different presses at them, which created some turnovers, led to some easy scores. We rebounded well, shared the ball well, played as a team.
“We were aggressive. It was big to get those extra possessions and be able to score. Our defense was very good. We took care of business, did what we needed to do.”
BNL’s focus will shift from the county challenger to a conference rival. The Stars will face 4A No.11 Jennings County (12-1) on Saturday night, and that will be a totally different animal.
“We needed a big one like this,” Hein said. “It’s going to boost our morale for tomorrow night. We’ve got a good taste in our mouth now, let’s come back tomorrow night and see what happens.”
The Bluejackets will look to bounce back against West Washington on Jan. 20.
MITCHELL BLUEJACKETS (24)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Ben Seitzinger, f 0-0 1-3 0-4 1 1 2
21 Kale England, f 0-2 0-3 0-0 2 0 0
2 Austin Mosier, g 1-2 2-5 0-0 0 0 5
23 Brendan Tolliver, g 0-0 0-3 0-0 3 2 0
22 Gavin Robinson, g 1-1 4-5 0-0 5 0 9
11 Bryson Shoults 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 1 2
3 Dawson Irwin 1-4 1-5 0-0 3 1 3
1 Aiden Pridemore 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 3
30 Owen Modglin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
55 Dawson Snow 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Carl Chenault 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 4-11 10-27 0-4 16 5 24
BEDFORD NL STARS (68)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Kaedyn Bennett, f 0-5 1-7 0-0 5 1 2
2 Colten Leach, f 1-1 6-11 2-4 8 0 15
22 Colton Staggs, g 0-2 3-6 3-4 1 0 9
14 Kole Bailey, g 1-2 3-5 1-2 3 1 8
11 Noah Godlevske, g 2-6 6-11 0-0 3 0 14
1 Trace Rynders 0-1 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
34 Jett Jones 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 0 3
5 Houston Corbin 0-0 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
12 Maddox Ray 0-0 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
10 Patric Matson 1-1 2-4 0-0 3 0 5
3 Quincy Pickett 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
24 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
15 Kline Woodward 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
31 Logan Miracle 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 1 2
Totals 8-22 27-58 6-10 34 4 68
Mitchell 8 5 3 8 – 24
Bedford NL 17 17 23 11 – 68
Turnovers – Mitchell 21, BNL 4
Field goal percentage – Mitchell 10-27 (.370); BNL 27-58 (.466)
Free throw percentage – Mitchell 0-4 (.000); BNL 6-10 (.600)
