By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SEYMOUR – The test was toughness. Seymour issued the challenge, Bedford North Lawrence did not respond until it was too late.
Locked down and shut down, the Stars got knocked down quickly and never recovered. Seymour’s early barrage, with its trademark defense throwing a wet blanket on any BNL spark until the fourth quarter, powered the sharp-clawed Owls to a bare-knuckle victory on Friday night.
After blasting to a double-digit lead, Seymour flew away, posting a 56-46 win over the dazed Stars. Brady Harpe, who made big plays when BNL scrambled close with a late surge, scored 18 points as Seymour (7-5) extended its winning streak to five straight while ending BNL’s modest four-game run.
The Stars (7-5, now 1-2 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) were well aware of Seymour’s defensive reputation. The Owls are one of the state’s best in points allowed, and they showed why while surrendering only 10 points during the first 15 minutes. That’s a disastrous start, on the road against an opponent that relishes the lead to dictate tempo.
“The biggest question mark for me, and we challenged our kids, was if we were tough enough to handle their physicality,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. And that answer was negative, at least until Seymour already had a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. “We stayed on the bus a little too long, didn’t get off and start playing.”
Seymour’s barometer is always offense. Can the Owls score? They found ways, as Michael Brooks popped a 12-footer, Nate Fritsch swished a wing trey, and Parker Thompson buried a corner bomb for a 14-4 lead.
The Owls pushed ahead to 23-10 when Godlevske was whistled for a technical foul with 1:45 left in the half, and BNL was fortunate to get within 10 when Patric Matson recorded his lone basket of the first half, hitting a bomb at the buzzer for a 25-15 deficit.
Seymour, in reality, ended most of the suspense with a 12-2 run to begin the third as Harpe scored on the baseline, crashed the lane for a layup, and Jaylan Johnson converted a rebound bucket for a stunning 37-17 advantage.
“We got off to a good start on both ends of the floor,” Seymour coach Kirk Manns said. “I’m very pleased with the effort.”
BNL showed some spunk with an 11-2 run to close the quarter. Matson came to life with a trey from the key and a layup off an inbound set, Jacob Ritter splashed a trey, and Dax Short dropped another. When Matson started the fourth quarter with a rebound bucket and two free throws, BNL was within 39-32. But the next two possessions ended in turnovers, and Harpe stepped up with big plays after that. His baseline jumper, his trey from the wing, and his steal for a layup gave the Owls a 51-39 cushion that would be enough.
Matson paced BNL with 19 points, Logan Miracle added 8 (including a first-half slam) and Parker Kern came off the bench for 7. The Stars were guilty of 19 turnovers (compared to Seymour’s 8), far too many against a deliberate offense and gritty defense.
“We did a good job of holding down their shooters,” Manns said. “I knew at some point Matson would get going, you’re not going to hold down a good player like that. We did a good enough job on his supporting cast.
“We’ve guarded at a high level the entire season. There’s not been a breakdown in our energy. It’s been a matter of putting enough points on the board.”
Godlevske had a different view. His technical foul was a rare event, and his displeasure afterward was evident.
“When you’re getting held on every screen, when you drive they displace you off the drive, that leaves little room for the freedom of movement, that the emphasis is supposed to be,” he said. “It made it challenging for us. It would be for anybody.
“But to be honest, there’s a certain level of basketball integrity. I think they go beyond that. I don’t agree with it. I almost feel bad for our kids, because I think we battled. But when you’re getting restricted, held on every cut, which is not a part of basketball, there’s a movement emphasis. To abuse that, it was a travesty. It was disgusting, in my opinion.
“Our kids started doing what you have to do, they started attacking it. I’m not upset about us.”
In addition to Harpe’s output, Brooks had 14 points and Johnson totaled 12 before fouling out. Harpe had 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“Brady did what a senior is supposed to do, he got some big baskets when we needed them,” Manns said. “The momentum had switched at that point. I’m proud of the competitiveness they showed, the poise they showed to get through that.”
BNL will look to bounce back on Saturday night at Edgewood.
BEDFORD NL STARS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Dax Short, f 1-4 2-7 1-2 2 1 6
22 Isaiah Sasser, f 0-0 0-5 0-2 2 3 0
31 Logan Miracle, c 0-0 4-5 0-0 3 2 8
10 Patric Matson, g 3-5 6-12 4-4 5 3 19
3 Quincy Pickett, g 0-1 0-1 3-4 3 3 3
12 Jacob Ritter 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 2 3
24 Gibson Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
4 Parker Kern 1-1 2-3 2-2 2 2 7
23 Tyler Stigall 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 2 0
15 Jaden Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-13 15-35 10-14 22 19 46
SEYMOUR OWLS (56)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Michael Brooks, f 1-3 5-8 3-6 6 3 14
23 Jaylan Johnson, f 0-0 5-10 2-4 3 5 12
1 Brady Harpe, g 1-4 7-10 3-5 0 1 18
3 Parker Thompson, g 2-2 2-2 1-2 2 5 7
2 Nate Fritsch, g 1-3 1-7 2-2 4 0 5
4 Evan Unterseher 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 3 0
10 Traysean Hawkins 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-12 20-39 11-19 17 17 56
Bedford NL 4 11 13 18 – 46
Seymour 14 11 14 17 – 56
Turnovers – BNL 19, Seymour 8
Technical foul – BNL bench
Field goal percentage – BNL 15-35 (.429); Seymour 20-39 (.513)
Free throw percentage – BNL 10-14 (.714); Seymour 11-19 (.579)
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