BROWNSBURG – Bedford North Lawrence passed a tough bounce-back test during its debut performance in the annual Sneakers for Santa Showcase on Saturday.
After suffering their first loss of the season, with no practice time to work against a first-time opponent, the Stars shook off a deluge of turnovers, survived a dagger shot that forced overtime, and pulled out a gritty 45-41 triumph at Brownsburg.
Quincy Pickett scored 14 points, Patric Matson added 12, and Jacob Ritter had big moments off the bench as BNL (2-1) escaped with a road win in the third contest of the six-game event. While the clash was not a classic, with BNL battling turnover problems while Brownsburg (1-1) shot a dismal percentage, the Stars showed some toughness in adversity, less than 24 hours after the loss at Bloomington South.
“On a short turnaround, this was like a sectional championship where you have short preparation,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “Our kids are smart and want to do well. It was a great win for the kids.”
BNL took control in the second quarter as Matson converted a back-cut layup, Logan Miracle dropped a 12-footer on the baseline, Matson scored off an inbound set, and Pickett buried a corner trey for a 16-12 halftime lead. The Stars bolted to their biggest lead at 26-17 as Pickett swished another bomb, Matson finished a fast break, Miracle muscled home a layup off another inbound play, and Pickett drained his third from distance.
The Stars took a 32-25 lead on corner jumpers from Pickett and Ritter, then coughed up turnovers that allowed the Bulldogs to battle back. Michael Addison hit three bombs, and Joreim Lomax hit a trey from the deep right wing with 6 seconds left to force overtime.
BNL had to regain the upper hand again in the extra frame. Isaiah Sasser scored (on a goaltending call) from the paint, Matson snagged a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup and 42-39 lead with 1:05 left. Pickett hit two free throws at 31.6, and Ritter closed out the win with a final free throw with 4 seconds remaining.
Pickett hit four treys. Matson hit double digits despite spending extended time on the bench with four fouls. The Stars struggled with Brownsburg’s constant halfcourt trapping, finishing with 23 turnovers.
“They’re really good at chaos, trapping and disrupting,” Godlevske said. “We just kept finding enough ways to make plays. And I’m super proud of the kids for that. You just can’t prepare for that. So handling that and being able to win is a big statement.
“With them trapping and coming at us from different angles, that left Quincy some good looks. He made some big shots. The best thing about that is I got on him pretty hard at the start of the game, and he responded the appropriate way. That’s a great thing.
“Jacob is earning my trust. He’s been doing a lot of good things. He had some quality minutes, doing his part to chip in and help us in his role.”
Addison had 17 points while his brother Brandon added 11. Jesiah Sloss, who had 18 points in Brownsburg’s season-opening win over Franklin Central on Friday night, was held scoreless. The Bulldogs hit only 14 of 54 shots, including 6 of 30 from long range against BNL’s mixture of defenses.
The Stars will host Bloomfield on Wednesday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (45)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Dax Short, f 1-2 1-3 1-2 6 2 4
22 Isaiah Sasser, f 0-0 1-2 2-2 1 4 4
31 Logan Miracle, c 0-0 2-3 1-2 7 1 5
10 Patric Matson, g 0-2 5-9 2-2 4 4 12
3 Quincy Pickett, g 4-7 4-9 2-2 2 1 14
12 Jacob Ritter 1-1 1-1 3-4 1 1 6
24 Gibson Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
4 Parker Kern 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
23 Tyler Stigall 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-12 14-26 11-14 27 14 45
BROWNSBURG BULLDOGS (41)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Jesiah Sloss, f 0-2 0-7 0-0 4 2 0
44 Chris Brandon, f 0-0 2-2 1-2 8 2 5
3 Kyson Neddenriep, g 1-12 1-12 0-0 0 1 3
5 Michael Addison, g 4-8 6-10 1-2 4 5 17
30 Brandon Addison, g 0-2 3-11 5-6 3 5 11
34 Connor Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
10 Joreim Lomax 1-7 2-9 0-0 4 2 5
32 Brayden Greathouse 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
4 Brandon Day 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
21 Kaden Gentrup 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-30 14-54 7-12 24 20 41
Bedford NL 5 11 10 11 8 – 45
Brownsburg 7 5 13 12 4 – 41
Turnovers – BNL 23, Brownsburg 8
Technical foul – Short
Field goal percentage – BNL 14-26 (.538); Brownsburg 14-54 (.259)
Free throw percentage – BNL 11-14 (.786); Brownsburg 7-12 (.583)
