By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BLOOMINGTON – There’s a first time for everything. Bedford North Lawrence started a new era with a night of “firsts” that included a maiden voyage to a sweet road victory. How’s that for starters?
WIth Kurt Godlevske making his debut as the head coach, the Stars opened this unpredictable campaign with a memorable triumph, rallying from an eight-point deficit in the second half to stun Bloomington North on Tuesday night. Thanksgiving dinner will taste a whole lot better.
After a nervous, sluggish start, BNL matured rapidly in the face of adversity, battling back for a 59-54 win over the equally-inexperienced Cougars. Patric Matson scored 17 points as the Stars won their season opener for the first time in six years.
That’s just the first of the firsts. BNL won at North for the first time since 2017, Godlevske joined a lot of his nine predecessors on the bench with a first-game victory, and Matson made quite the splash in his debut as a starter. So if it felt like the first time, it was. Probably won’t be the last.
“It’s unbelievable,” senior guard Noah Godlevske said. “This is something that hadn’t happened in a long time, and we’re just getting started. We think we can do some special things that haven’t been done in a long time this season.”
First things first. This one needs to be savored and enjoyed.
North owned a 30-22 lead midway through the third quarter when the Stars suddenly came of age, blasting in front with an 11-2 burst. Then in the fourth quarter, defense and free throws were the difference as BNL built a 52-45 lead and held on for the final three minutes. When Godlevske secured victory with clinching free throws in the final seconds, the Stars charged off the court to a celebrate in a raucous locker room. And if anyone thought they should act like they’ve done this before – they haven’t.
“It feels great for the kids, because they have not once wavered,” coach Godlevske said. “They give me all the effort they have, and that showed tonight. We don’t know anything different but to play hard, and that’s what carried us through.”
There were moments of doubt, because the Stars were as nervous as cats at a rocking chair convention, needing five-plus minutes to get their first field goal. They gave up two fast-break layups to begin the third quarter and drop back 27-19.
Rather than crumble, BNL buckled down and matured on the court as Godlevske watched in wonder, with a twinge of pride. It started with a tough Matson drive to a 3-point play, followed by a Quincy Pickett wing bomb. Godlevske broke free during a loose-ball scramble to bury another trey, and Matson raced coast-to-coast with a rebound for a go-ahead bucket at 36-35. The glances of worry were being replaced with quiet smirks of confidence.
In the final period, BNL made its best move. Dax Short came off the bench for a fearless lane drive to a basket, Pickett snaked the baseline for another layup, Trace Rydners scored off a Matson pass, and Short added another bucket when Matson made a hustling save at halfcourt and found his teammate. After a North turnover, Short made two free throws (when the Cougars were whistled for an intentional foul to stop a breakaway) and Logan Miracle capped that same possession with a post-up bucket for a 52-45 lead.
North got close, but a Matson layup against North’s press, followed by five Godlevske free throws in the final 20 seconds, locked it away.
“We know we’re capable of coming back,” Noah Godlevske said. “We knew it would start going right for us. This is a reinforcement to what we’ve been saying.”
In addition to Matson’s offense, Godlevske totaled 14 points while Miracle and Short added 7 each. BNL scored 40 points in the second half, quite the turnaround and a completely different pace after scoring 1 point in the first 5 1/2 minutes.
“We played like inexperienced players in their first varsity game,” coach Godlevske said. “We forced some things. When we finally settled down, we took advantage of seeing what our offense could produce. Patric was unbelievable. He carried us a lot.“
“Everyone was nervous,” Matson said. “It was a big game for us, for anyone. We just had to slow down and keep the ball moving.“
Luke Lindeman, the son of former IU standout Todd Lindeman, paced North with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Jalen Williams had 13 points before fouling out, and Connor O’Quinn added 10 points. With two sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup, North coach Jason Speer expected some growing pains.
“Sometimes, with a young team, that’s what we’ll have to go through,” he said. “Either you win or you learn, and that’s our challenge. Obviously we didn’t win, so we have to learn and be better for the rest of the season.
“We had zero transition points in the first half, and we challenged them to get the ball up. We saw it for a minute and a half. We didn’t get the paint touches in transition we needed. We had too many live-ball turnovers (five in the fourth quarter) that weren’t really forced. We wasted possessions in a tight game, and that won’t turn out well.”
Speer also pointed to the most telling stat. BNL was 21 of 27 at the line while North was 12 of 17. Making more free throws than the opponent attempts used to be a BNL trademark, especially when Speer wore the BNL uniform.
“That shows they were the aggressor in getting to the paint,” he said. “Probably the more deserving team to win tonight.”
Coach Godlevske pointed back to the Matson basket that started the comeback run.
“That drive by Patric, Dax came in and showed no fear – it was contagious,” he said. “We started being more aggressive offensively. We became a much better basketball team by the third and fourth quarter.
“For us to start this way just validates the work we’re doing, it feels good.”
BNL will return home to clash with Bloomington South on Dec. 1.
BEDFORD NL STARS (59)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Patric Matson, f 2-4 6-12 3-3 2 2 17
31 Logan Miracle, f 0-0 2-2 3-3 6 4 7
11 Noah Godlevske, g 1-6 3-10 7-9 1 0 14
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-0 2-3 1-2 1 1 5
12 Maddox Ray, g 0-0 0-1 1-2 3 5 1
3 Quincy Pickett 1-4 2-5 0-0 2 3 5
22 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 0-1 3-4 2 1 3
5 Dax Short 0-0 2-2 3-4 1 0 7
Totals 4-14 17-35 21-27 18 16 59
BLOOMINGTON NORTH COUGARS (54)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Jalen Williams, f 1-3 5-8 2-3 6 5 13
22 Luke Lindeman, g 1-2 6-13 5-6 7 3 18
12 Connor O’Quinn, g 1-6 4-10 1-2 4 4 10
4 Rex Speer, g 1-2 2-5 0-1 0 3 5
13 J.R. Cross, g 0-1 2-4 1-1 2 3 5
44 Nehemiah Dangerfield 0-0 0-3 0-0 3 4 0
3 Caleb Fishel 0-0 0-1 3-4 3 0 3
Totals 4-14 19-44 12-17 26 22 54
Bedford NL 6 13 21 19 – 59
Bl. North 8 15 16 15 – 54
Turnovers – BNL 14, North 15
Field goal percentage – BNL 17-35 (.485); North 19-44 (.432)
Free throw percentage – BNL 21-27 (.778); North 12-17 (.706)
