By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – According to mythology, the Greek demigods of defense were Aniketos and Alexiares. Their names mean “the unconquerable one.” The Athenians now know what the modern version of those protectors looks like.
For a half, Bedford North Lawrence’s halfcourt fortification and overall level of play was outstanding. The Stars raced to a 20-point lead and appeared unconquerable. That didn’t last, but those strong minutes were enough to power BNL to a matinee win over Crawfordsville on Saturday afternoon.
With first-half electricity from Patric Matson and putaway free throws in the fourth quarter, the Stars recorded a 50-38 victory. Noah Godlevske scored 15 points and Matson added 14 as BNL (12-5) won its second straight game for momentum heading into a three-game road trip.
BNL’s quality moments were almost all in the first two quarters. That’s when Matson couldn’t miss, that’s when the Athenians (7-8) couldn’t crack BNL’s defensive wall. The Stars went on an impressive 22-2 run to their biggest lead, and a blowout appeared imminent. That never transpired as BNL let down its shields in the second half, but neither was there much danger of a real Crawfordsville threat.
“Our defense is what carried us,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “We did a great job of keeping the ball on one side of the floor, we had great help. It led to transition and easy baskets. We were hitting shots in that stretch, just played very well.”
Crawfordsville, making its first visit to BNL Fieldhouse, pulled even at 8-8 when the Stars went supernova. Matson ended the first quarter with a sharp cut for a layup and a trey from the wing, and Kline Woodward started the second with a power post basket. Godlevske stroked a 3-pointer, Matson scored off a lob, and he came swooping in for a spectacular one-handed tip off a missed jumper for the highlight basket of the day.
Logan Miracle worked the post for a bucket and Godlevske popped a 15-footer for a 30-10 lead. Kaden Patton ended the run with a trey at the buzzer, but Crawfordsville made only 5 of 21 shots until that went down.
“They played really good defense in the first half,” Crawfordsville coach David Pierce said. “They’re a talented team, give them credit. We struggled, even inside five feet. That’s part of it. They put a lot of pressure on you.“
BNL didn’t maintain its intensity after that. After Quincy Pickett hit a step-back jumper to start the fourth quarter with a 41-24 lead, the Athenians went on an 11-3 run and hacked the margin down to 9 at 44-35. Godlevske and Trace Rynders made six free throws during the final 100 seconds to limit the damage. BNL was a mediocre 6-of-17 during the final two quarters. This tale of two halves was not a classic.
“They played harder than us, which I was disappointed in, the second half,” Godlevske said. “We haven’t developed that killer instinct, where we can put them away. We didn’t do that.
“We got open looks, we just didn’t hit them. How many games are we going have where Patric doesn’t score in a half? That will be a rarity. To their credit, they played harder than us. It’s still a win. It’s good for us.”
Ethan McLemore paced Crawfordsville with 14 points, and Alec Saidan did most of the scoring during the fourth-quarter run to finish with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
“We were fortunate enough they missed some shots,” Pierce said. “In the second half, we did a better job of what they did in the first half, being patient on offense. They would work us down and catch somebody sleeping. We tried to do that in the second half.”
BNL will begin its tough road tests with a trip to Class A No.9 Loogootee on Tuesday.
CRAWFORDSVILLE ATHENIANS (38)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
34 Alec Saidan, f 0-2 4-13 1-1 8 1 9
10 Ethan McLemore, f 2-5 6-14 0-0 3 2 14
5 Kaden Patton, g 1-4 1-6 0-0 2 1 3
3 Drake Burris, g 1-2 1-3 0-0 2 0 3
11 Tyson Fuller, g 0-3 1-7 0-0 2 4 2
24 Mason McCarty 1-1 2-4 2-2 3 1 7
12 Jordan Shrout 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
42 Jacob Russell 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-17 15-47 3-3 24 10 38
BEDFORD NL STARS (50)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Patric Matson, f 2-7 5-12 2-2 6 3 14
31 Logan Miracle, f 0-0 4-5 0-2 5 1 8
11 Noah Godlevske, g 3-10 4-12 4-4 3 1 15
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-1 0-1 4-4 2 2 4
12 Maddox Ray, g 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 2 0
22 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
3 Quincy Pickett 1-3 2-5 0-0 4 2 5
40 Kline Woodward 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
5 Dax Short 0-1 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 6-23 17-38 10-12 26 11 50
Crawfordsville 8 5 11 14 – 38
Bedford NL 13 17 9 11 – 50
Turnovers – Crawfordsville 7, BNL 6
Field goal percentage – Crawfordsville 15-47 (.319); BNL 17-38 (.447)
Free throw percentage – Crawfordsville 3-3 (1.000); BNL 10-12 (.833)
