By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The sword Bedford North Lawrence has lived by this season has become a little dulled. Even the sharpest and most dangerous of weapons can lose the edge.
When the Stars were setting the world on fire, winning eight straight, burning down the house and sweeping everyone off their feet, shots were zapping like lightning bolts during a mid-summer storm. Crackling, flashy, electric, leaving scorched earth in their wake. Now they’ve cooled, losing three of their last four against high-level competition, and the energy has dissipated.
BNL will seek to ignite those charged clouds, sharpen the blades, when it collides with Floyd Central on Thursday night.
These shooting Stars (10-5, 2-2 in the conference) have not lost their confidence, the swagger still exists. That’s BNL’s strength and identity. That’s why 42 percent of the shots this year have been from the 3-point line. To paraphrase former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, “they are who we thought they were.” That also explains the recent struggles. BNL conversion rate dropped by huge percentages during the losses to Seymour, Jeffersonville and Terre Haute North. The Stars will keep swinging that sword.
“That’s what we’re good at,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “When you’re not making shots, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense, it comes back to put pressure on the offense. It compounds itself. They forget that we’re playing high school basketball, there’s no shot clock, so you don’t have to take the first shot.
“We haven’t played as well as we did coming out of Christmas. Most of that goes back to not shooting like we did. When you’re not shooting well, it can affect your defense. We haven’t defended the way we need to.”
If BNL bursts back into flames again, watch out. Junior wing Patric Matson (19.1 points per game) and senior guard Noah Godlevske (15.1) can explode in nuclear fashion at any point. First-year Floyd coach Fonso White has been impressed.
“A lot of kids can shoot in Southern Indiana,” White said. “Pretty much everything goes through Matson, and with Noah they will be the two intrinsic pieces we have to face and be aware of. They just play hard. They play just as a hard as Seymour, and effort is everything. Once you get the effort part of it, then it’s all about execution from there.”
White is one of five first-year coaches in the Hoosier Hills Conference, with previous stops at Clinton Central and Fort Wayne Luers. The Highlanders (6-9 overall, 0-3 in the league) have been buffered by multiple injuries, and they will start two freshmen and two sophomores against the Stars.
That youth might have been an issue during a 49-28 loss to Seymour on Friday, but those kids were dynamite during Saturday’s 58-55 victory over Evansville Reitz. Freshman wing Landon Reed erupted for 29 points. So while Floyd awaits the return of 6-6 big man Brock Conrad (12.9 points, 11.3 boards per game) from injury, the kids will grow up in a hurry and adjust on the fly.
“We adjusted pretty well against Reitz,” White said. “We knew we had it within us. The way I’ve always done things, I build teams. I get guys to buy into playing together and for each other. Anybody can be in the starting lineup on any given day, anybody can play with anybody within our system.”
White’s background in the northern part of the state, where the game is played with a more physical tone, fits well with the Highlanders. Floyd also owns an impressive 64-58 triumph over Bloomington South.
“They have good size, and they score in a physical way, which has been a Floyd staple over the years,” Godlevske said. “They play hard. That young lineup might not know any better, that’s just what they do.”
FLOYD CENTRAL at BNL
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Floyd Central 6-9 (0-3 in HHC); BNL 10-5 (2-2 in HHC)
Sagarin ratings: Floyd Central 69.96; BNL 76.63
Last meeting: Last year at Floyd Central, the Stars rolled to a 58-39 win. Colten Leach had 20 points and Noah Godlevske added 19 for BNL. Caleb Washington scored 14 points for the Highlanders.
Previous game story: Stars flick the tempo switch
Game notes: BNL has not lost three straight games since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Patric Matson 6-3 Jr.
F – Logan Miracle 6-4 Jr.
G – Noah Godlevske 5-11 Sr.
G – Trace Rynders 5-11 Sr.
G – Maddox Ray 5-11 Sr.
Floyd Central Highlanders
F – Jaxon Stone 6-2 Fr.
F – Carter McQuigg 6-3 So.
G – Landon Reed 6-2 Fr.
G – Jude Vetter 5-10 So.
G – Tristan Robertson 6-2 Sr.
