By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Every winning streak will have to end sometime. That deep statement, probably from the Rather Obvious Files, is attributed to former squash world champion Jahangir Khan, who once won 555 consecutive matches to earn a listing in Guinness World Records. The question is when – not if – the streak will end.
Bedford North Lawrence basketball is no stranger to streaks. After all, the Stars own 37 straight wins over Mitchell, which ranks second in state history (according to Hickory Husker, which ranks as a Guinness-Bible combination for Indiana sports) for consecutive wins over one team. However, BNL is currently on the opposite end of a similar run of superiority.
For the past 19 years, Bloomington South has dominated a series that was once dynamic. Only four times during this streak has BNL stayed within single digits. It’s just about long enough to earn a mention on Hickory Husker’s page of infamy. When will it end?
The Panthers (1-1) will seek to extend when they visit BNL Fieldhouse on Friday night. Veteran South coach J.R. Holmes, already the state leader in career wins, is closing on 900 for his 54 seasons, both remarkable numbers. His run of success at BNL’s expense has helped add to that count.
“Over the years, we’ve had teams capable of competing with them,” said BNL coach Kurt Godlevske, who will take his first shot at stopping this purple reign. “It’s a larger credit to J.R. His system is very effective, they’ve obviously had a lot of talent.”
The latest talent will include some familiar names, two starters who started their careers at BNL. South’s scoring leaders include senior Zach Sims (16.5) and junior Vince Moutardier (16.5), and he played one game as a freshman at BNL before transferring. Junior point guard Cruz Sanchez played on the BNL junior varsity as a freshman.
The Panthers opened with a 54-43 comeback win over Edgewood, which started with a 21-10 lead. South dropped a 64-62 decision to New Albany in its last outing, allowing a five-point lead in the final quarter to slip away.
“The first game, we didn’t start well, finished OK,” Holmes said. “Next game we started OK and didn’t finish very well. I was disappointed with the mental aspect of our game with New Albany. We’re trying to get them into a culture where it’s a team thing. Sometimes we get a little individualistic.“
BNL (1-0) will return to the court for the first time in 10 days since starting with the impressive 59-54 victory at Bloomington North. That puts the Stars in position to sweep the Bloomington schools for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
“I would have rather played, but practice has been good for us,” Godlevske said. “We’ve addressed some of the things we saw on film, cleaned up some things, added some things.
“We competed (at North). We could have hung our heads when we got down in the third quarter. And we played very unselfishly. When you have a team that doesn’t care who’s getting the points, as long as it’s in our favor, you can have success. That’s important for us, because we’re going to defend. We just have to find ways to score.”
Patric Matson was an offensive force with 17 points against the Cougars, while Noah Godlevske added 14.
“I thought they looked pretty composed, for the first game on the road,” Holmes said. “They have good perimeter shooters, guys who can score, and that makes them harder to guard. Their flow was good. It will be a tough game, our first one on the road, to see how these guys react.”
Last year at South, Gavin Wisley had 21 points during South’s 68-55 win. The Panthers torched BNL’s defense, hitting 23 of 35 shots. Colton Staggs paced the Stars with 15 points, Colten Leach added 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Trace Rynders buried four deep treys en route to 14 points.
“The streak is in the back of our minds, but we’re not really worried about any of that stuff,” Rynders said. “We will do our thing. Why not this year? We have to beat them sometime. Why not beat them now? There’s no better year to do it than this year.
“We’ve had plenty of days to get our feet under us, get prepared. That’s an advantage for us.”
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH at BNL
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Bloomington South 1-1; BNL 1-0
Last meeting: Last year at South, Gavin Wisley scored 21 points as the Panthers prevailed 68-55. South hit 23 of 35 shots. Colton Staggs had 15 points while Colten Leach had 10 points and 10 rebounds for BNL.
Previous game story: South’s wise word to the Wis-ley
Game notes: South has won 19 straight games in the series. BNL has had six different head coaches during that span. South’s J.R. Holmes holds the state record for career coaching wins with 897.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Patric Matson 6-3 Jr.
F – Logan Miracle 6-4 Jr.
G – Maddox Ray 5-11 Sr.
G – Noah Godlevske 5-11 Sr.
G – Trace Rynders 5-11 Sr.
Bloomington South Panthers
F – Zach Sims 6-2 Sr.
F – Vince Moutardier 6-3 Jr.
G – Jack Clark 6-0 So.
G – Taye Spears 5-11 Jr.
G – Cruz Sanchez 5-11 Jr.
