3A No.6 Silver Creek spurns BNL’s second-half advances for 59-51 victory

SELLERSBURG – BNL’s Logan Miracle powers to the basket against Silver Creek. Miracle had 10 points, but the Dragons fended off the Stars for a 59-51 win on Saturday night.

By Justin Sokeland

WBIW.com

SELLERSBURG – Every time Bedford North Lawrence got close, with a chance to make a move, Silver Creek shoved it aside like a spurned, unwanted advance. Stay in your lane. And Dane Sprigler did most of the pushing.

With Sprigler sparking a key second-quarter run, the Dragons completed an impressive weekend sweep and ended BNL’s recent run in the series, posting a 59-51 victory over the Stars on Saturday night. Sprigler scorched BNL for 26 points, almost half of that during a 14-2 run that gave Silver Creek a lead it would never surrender.

The Stars (3-3) had chances, multiple occasions in the second half with the opportunity to battle back within a single possession. Silver Creek (8-0 and ranked No.6 in Class 3A) never allowed it, either by hitting big shots or coming up with a defensive stop, while beating BNL for the first time in four years.

“We needed a big play down the stretch,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “We got some kids in some good spots to do that, but didn’t get it done. That’s basketball, that’s life. Our kids really battled. We had a lot of positive growth areas. I don’t think we have anything to hang our heads about.“

After a terrific start, with the Stars hitting six of their first seven shots en route to a 15-9 opening getaway, BNL had only one spurt of struggles. That’s when Sprigler exploded, hitting three treys and converting a 3-point play while creating his own personal highlight video for social media. That blast put BNL in a 29-19 hole.

“Our guys did a good job of finding him,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “A couple of those were kick-outs to him, and he’s pretty good off the dribble. He carried the load for us in the first half, and Kasen (Daeger) had a good stretch in the third quarter. Those two kept us going.”

The tit-for-tat, back-and-forth exchanges started with a Patric Matson bomb that cut Creek’s lead to 35-32, answered immediately by a Daeger dagger. Dax Short dropped a win trey, Sprigler responded with another from deep. Anything BNL did, Silver Creek did a little better.

SELLERSBURG – BNL’s Patric Matson strokes a jumper over defenders. Matson scored 17 points.

Finally, the Dragons created some separation. Holding a 47-43 lead early in the fourth quarter, Daeger snaked open for a midrange jumper. BNL worked its set and got a great look in the paint, but Creek’s Dane Caldwell rejected the shot, Sprigler scooped up the loose ball and raced to the other end for a 3-point play and 52-43 lead. That five-point swing would be enough.

“Sprigler ended up making some big shots,” Godlevske said. “They have a multi-headed horse that can hurt you in a lot of areas. If one’s not going, another can step up. That’s the best team we’ve played.“

Daeger finished with 14 points while Brady McLaughlin came off the bench for 11 (going 5-for-5 from the floor) for the Dragons, who backed up their win over Jeffersonville on Friday night with another quality victory.

“This was a tough game for us,” Hoffman said. “Our legs were tired, we had an emotional game the night before, and with Bedford it won’t be a high-possession game. You have to be ready to buckle the chin strap and play defense, focus on stops. Our team will only go as far as how good we are on defense. We have enough firepower on offense.”

Matson totaled 17 points, hitting four treys, while Miracle had 10 points (including two dunks) and 7 boards for BNL.

The Stars will compete in the four-team holiday tournament at Southridge on Dec. 28, facing the Raiders in the opening game. Orleans, ranked No.1 in Class A, will meet South Ripley in the opposite bracket.

SELLERSBURG – BNL’s Isaiah Sasser flies into the lane for a layup. Sasser scored 7 points.

BEDFORD NL STARS (51)

3s FGs FTs R F Pts

5 Dax Short, f 2-5 2-7 0-0 2 5 6

22 Isaiah Sasser, f 0-0 2-5 3-4 2 3 7

31 Logan Miracle, c 0-0 5-7 0-0 7 0 10

10 Patric Matson, g 4-7 6-11 1-2 4 3 17

3 Quincy Pickett, g 1-4 1-5 0-0 3 2 3

12 Jacob Ritter 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 1 3

4 Parker Kern 1-1 2-2 0-0 2 2 5

24 Gibson Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

11 Colton Taylor 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 9-19 19-39 4-6 23 17 51

SILVER CREEK DRAGONS (59)

3s FGs FTs R F Pts

13 Walker Hoffman, f 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 2

22 Dane Caldwell, f 0-2 0-7 0-2 4 1 0

12 Brandon Hunter, g 0-0 1-1 2-4 5 2 4

3 Kasen Daeger, g 2-7 5-13 2-2 1 2 14

2 Dane Sprigler, g 4-5 9-11 4-5 2 0 26

14 Brody McLaughlin 0-0 5-5 1-1 4 3 11

0 Jerron Miles 0-2 1-7 0-0 1 0 2

5 Lucas Linderman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

11 Brody Oliver 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 6-16 22-45 9-14 23 8 59

Bedford NL 17 10 13 11 – 51

Silver Creek 15 16 14 14 – 59

Turnovers – BNL 12, Silver Creek 6

Field goal percentage – BNL 19-39 (.487); Silver Creek 22-45 (.489)

Free throw percentage – BNL 4-6 (.667); Silver Creek 9-14 (.643)

SELLERSBURG – Silver Creek’s Kasen Daeger skies for a breakaway bucket en route to his 14 points,.