By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For all the banter about Benter, for all the shots Brownstown’s sensational Purdue recruit has made – and will make as his viral career continues – it was one Jack Benter missed that doomed Bedford North Lawrence.
For want of a rebound, a game was lost. When Brownstown sophomore center Colby Hall stepped unchecked into the lane and won a reach battle (with his 6-6 frame) for a Benter pressured air ball and a crucial offensive rebound, he drew a foul during that toughness check. He made a free throw during a clutch check with 2.1 seconds left.
That was the difference. The anticipated clash between a Class 2A power and one of southern Indiana’s hottest teams was decided by a short shot and a long wingspan as the No.6 Braves cooled off the Stars 47-46 on Friday night. Benter scored 29 points, including 15 of the victor’s 16 points in the final quarter, to snuff out BNL’s seven-game winning streak.
Just seconds after Noah Godlevske’s contested corner bomb forced a 46-46 deadlock and sent BNL Fieldhouse into noisy bedlam, awakening echoes of past memorable triumphs, Benter went on the attack, rising for a long jumper from the right corner. He got immediate attention from BNL’s Colten Leach, who forced Benter to pause and launch an off-balance bomb. It was well short.
Hall was in perfect position under the rim. With nobody to check him out, he was the first to see the trajectory, first to the rebound, and he made the last point. He missed the second free throw purposely, and Leach’s desperate heave from 70 feet was harmless.
Before Benter’s miss, he didn’t miss much during the final frame, personally powering the Braves (15-4) in front with a 12-2 run that included a momentum-shifting four-point play. Before the frenetic final 30 seconds, it was two Hall offensive rebounds that kept a huge Brownstown possession alive, that ended with two Benter free throws.
“That was the difference in the ballgame,” BNL coach Jeff Hein said. “Two things that hurt us. One was the four-point play. And two was the offensive rebounds.”
BNL led 35-31 early in the fourth when Benter erupted. Until then, he had converted only 4 of 19 shots. Not that he cared, or was counting. Then he stroked a 12-footer, then he buried a bonus bomb from the right wing while drawing a foul. Then he posted on the right baseline for three straight unstoppable baskets, and the Braves were on control for the final three minutes.
“We were down, so I had to get us back in the game,” Benter said, “scoring a couple of baskets, getting some offense to get ahead. Any time I have a smaller guy on me, I try to take advantage.”
That put BNL in chase mode, and the Stars (13-6) did catch up. Leach smashed through the lane for a basket, Colton Staggs drove twice for buckets, and Godlevske followed a rare Benter miss at the free-throw line with that deep jumper from the left corner. Boom. The rafters shook a little. Then Hall quieted all that thunder. He finished with 8 points and 7 boards.
“He was great for us all night,” Brownstown coach Dave Benter said. “He scored early, and it was good to see him make the hustle plays. He played exceptionally well. The 50-50 balls, the extra possessions we got, were huge.“
The Stars were also outstanding, for the longest time. With Kaedyn Bennett swishing two early treys, with Leach working the lane, BNL bolted to a 16-11 led after the first quarter. Leach popped a 15-footer for the biggest lead at 18-11. After the Braves scratched back within 22-21 at the half, Staggs started the third with six points, and Leach tipped in his own point-blank misfire for a 33-29 advantage.
Brownstown, one of the state’s prolific offensive teams, couldn’t make BNL play a high-octane game, but the switch to a 1-3-1 trap forced BNL out of its comfort zone. The Stars had only 8 turnovers, but three came in the fourth quarter during the Benter blast.
“Their trap was really good, the best we’ve seen all year,” Hein said. “They’re so long, and they got us standing. We didn’t do a good job of moving and getting in position to do something.
“We controlled the game well, put ourselves in position and had a chance to win. We just didn’t get it done.”
Leach finished with 13 points, Bennett totaled 12, and Staggs added 10 for BNL.
Benter, who is averaging 30 points per game, had to take a ton of shots (10 of 28) to reach that level against the Stars. But when his team needed him, he was huge. He found a home on the low block and did his damage over smaller defenders.
“That’s tough for us to guard, with the tallest guy at 6-2,” Hein said. “He just went right at us. There’s not a lot we could do about it. He’s a good player, he can score in many ways.”
“It was a physical game on the perimeter, it was a struggle for him,” Benter the coach (and father) said., “He had trouble getting in a comfort zone. He had a size advantage, and maybe an athletic advantage, so we made a conscious effort to get him the ball.”
BNL is only the second opponent to hold Brownstown (third in the state in scoring at 71.7) under 50. The other was Greensburg (with Benter absent after suffering a cut during the now-famous dunk and shattering of the backboard). Benter was the constant target of physical defenders and double-team pressure. Didn’t faze him much.
“You have to get used to it,” Benter said. “A lot of teams are throwing two or three guys at me, so you have to look for other guys.” And do the misses matter much? “Naw, you just have to put them behind you,” he said, smiling with that shooter’s smirk and mentality. “You have to keep shooting.”
“Bedford is too good,” coach Benter said. “We knew we couldn’t come in here and magically get this game in the 70s or 80s. We didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half and they had a lot to do with that.”
BNL will return to action on Tuesday, visiting Evansville North.
BROWNSTOWN BRAVES (47)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
33 Chace Coomer, f 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
32 Jakob Arthur, f 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 0
34 Colby Hall, c 1-2 2-4 3-4 7 2 8
14 Jack Benter, g 2-9 10-28 7-8 5 1 29
10 Parker Hehman, g 0-2 2-4 0-1 1 1 4
23 Carson Darlage 0-0 1-1 2-2 6 1 4
44 Adam Stahl 0-0 1-1 0-0 3 3 2
24 Micah Sheffer 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 3-13 16-39 12-15 29 13 47
BEDFORD NL STARS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Kaedyn Bennett, f 2-3 3-5 4-4 3 4 12
2 Colten Leach, f 0-1 6-16 1-3 6 4 13
22 Colton Staggs, g 0-1 4-6 2-2 1 5 10
1 Trace Rynders, g 1-6 1-6 0-0 2 1 3
11 Noah Godlevske, g 2-3 2-4 0-0 1 0 8
14 Kole Bailey 0-1 0-2 0-2 3 2 0
34 Jett Jones 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 5-16 17-39 7-11 19 16 46
Brownstown 11 10 10 16 – 47
Bedford NL 16 6 11 13 – 46
Turnovers – Brownstown 11, BNL 8
Field goal percentage – Brownstown 16-39 (.410); BNL 17-39 (.436)
Free throw percentage – Brownstown 12-15 (.800); BNL 7-11 (.636)
