By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – At first glance, forming a fast opinion based on appearances and physical expectations, Bedford North Lawrence doesn’t impress anyone. Want to hear blatant honesty? Sit for a few minutes in the opposition’s student section. Pregame warmups start, and the comments start.
”Those guys are short!” “No way they can beat us.” Then the game starts. “Wow, they can shoot.” “Uh-oh, they can play.”
Talk to the opposing coach, who has spent hours watching game video and preparing a scouting report, and that opinion shifts 180 degrees. Sit for a few minutes with them in a postgame locker room. Want to hear brutal reality? Nobody is comfortable playing the Stars right now.
BNL, one of the hottest teams in southern Indiana, climbed to 12-5 with its sixth consecutive victory on Saturday. The Stars have won eight of their last nine. Winning streaks are like ocean waves – they build, crest and ultimately crash, just ride them as long as possible. They come with a shelf life and expiration date.
The Stars will look to extend their hot streak on Tuesday night when they clash with Class A power Loogootee (11-6) in BNL Fieldhouse. Since a rough road loss at Evansville Reitz in early January, BNL has caught fire. The Stars can match the longest winning streak in Jeff Hein’s four-year coaching tenure with another triumph. Surprised? Hein is not.
“I knew we had it in us,” he said. “We had the personnel to do it. This is a team that could get hot. We have a lot of experience, and I felt like we would start playing well. I didn’t know we would get this hot, but it doesn’t surprise me. We have talented kids.”
Talent combined with confidence equals dangerous.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Hein said. “Very confident. These kids have been looking for this moment for a long time. It’s their turn. When you have a senior-laden group, they start figuring out it’s near the end and they want to make the most of it.
“It’s unselfishness. We share the ball so well, we don’t care who scores. We take what the defense gives us. We play well together on both ends of the floor. They’re executing and playing really well. Hopefully we can continue to head the same direction and improve on some things, There’s always room for improvement in areas of the game.”
Are the Lions a threat to the streak? Absolutely. They have all the advantages BNL has battled against all season. Size? Check. Star scorer? Check. Peyton Bledsoe, a four-year veteran, leads Loogootee in scoring at 21.7, point guard Leighton Jeffers adds 7.8, and the Lions have teeth on the interior with 6-5 senior Parker Arvin (7.7) and 6-3 senior Isaac Eagle (6.2).
“Bledsoe is a really nice player,” Hein said. “He can really score the ball. He got a bunch on us last year.
“They’re big, very strong kids. We’ve fought that all year. We have to combat that with other things. What we did on Saturday (at Evansville Memorial) was shoot the ball well. Hopefully their strength doesn’t kill us on the boards.”
Loogootee is coming off a four-overtime marathon loss at Class A No.2 Orleans, a setback that demands recovery from the mental fatigue and disappointment. Loogootee coach Ryan Haywood doesn’t think his club will suffer from a hangover after that Thursday setback. He’s more worried about the momentum BNL has built.
“BNL is playing as well as anyone around right now,” Haywood said. “Coach Hein has done a terrific job once again this year. They are tough because they have some guards that can really drive the ball, and they are surrounded by some guys who can really shoot it. Almost makes you pick your poison.”
“Picking your poison” is an old cliche and sounds so fatalistic. But the dilemma is whether to guard Colten Leach (18.2 points, 9.1 rebounds) and Colton Staggs (10.7 points) on the dribble drive or keep close contact on perimeter sniper Noah Godlevske (10.7), who’s shooting a remarkable 50.5 percent (44 of 87) from 3-point range this season. Over the last four games, Godlevske has hit 19 of 30 treys and averaged 17.8 points.
BNL won last year’s game 53-51 in overtime. Bledsoe had 33 points, including a game-tying free throw for his 1,000th career point. Staggs had 13 points while Kaedyn Bennett and Trace Rynders added 12 points each as Leach was in constant foul trouble.
LOOGOOTEE at BNL
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Loogootee 11-6 (ranked No.4 in Class A); BNL 12-5
Sagarin ratings: Loogootee 72.86; BNL 82.49
Last meeting: Last year at Loogootee, the Stars prevailed 53-51 in overtime. Colton Staggs had 13 points for BNL, Peyton Bledsoe had 33 points for the Lions.
Previous game story: BNL road warriors rev past Loogootee
Game notes: BNL leads the series 7-6. BNL’s current six-game winning streak is its longest since a seven-game run late in the 2019-20 season.
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.
Loogootee Lions
F – Parker Arvin 6-5 Sr.
F – Isaac Eagle 6-3 Sr.
G – Peyton Bledsoe 6-4 Sr.
G – Leighton Jeffers 5-10 Jr.
G – Drew Walker 6-0 Jr.
