By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The flame spread, growing rapidly to a four-alarm blaze, exploding to an uncontrollable inferno, raging and consuming. And it was contagious. Everybody was hot, and Columbus East couldn’t stand the heat.
With a blistering shooting display from long range, Bedford North Lawrence erupted in the second half, leaving a smoldering path of ash and destruction in its wake. And there was nothing the Olympians could do to douse the wildfire. Noah Godlevske started it, Quincy Pickett finished it, as the Stars shot their way out of a two-game skid.
In the span of 10 minutes, the Stars blasted from a single-digit battle to a burning blowout. They missed only one shot during that time span while going volcanic during a 71-38 victory on Friday night. Godlevske scored 24 points as BNL (2-2) won its Hoosier Hills Conference opener with one of the more impressive second halves in BNL Fieldhouse history. And there’s been a lot of great moments in there.
The numbers are “wow” inspiring. BNL hit 12 of its first 13 shots after intermission, connected on 9 of 10 treys in the second half, and blew East (2-2) off Damon Bailey Court. The incredible offensive firestorm overshadowed an equally devastating defensive effort as East couldn’t make a shot in the fourth quarter. The Olympians were too busy putting out multiple fires on the other end.
Godlevske has gone nuclear before, when he scored 28 and hit eight bombs at Evansville Memorial last season. But this might have been better. He hit all five he launched from the 3-line during the last two quarters, including four during BNL’s 26-point third frame. Pickett added three in a row, the last one ending the fiery furnace with a 60-35 lead. End of story.
“Things started to flow and we’re getting more comfortable with what we’re doing,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “We understand where we need to go with the ball. Everybody stepped up and took really good shots. That’s why we had the high ratio.”
The ball needs to go to whoever has the hot hand. And that was Noah. BNL owned an uneasy 28-22 lead at the half. Swish, swish. Godlevske ripped two and the margin was double digits. Swish, swish. He dropped back-to-back bombs from the corner and it’s 49-30. Then Pickett pounced, burying three in a row (a streak that carried into the fourth quarter), followed by the final Godlevske trey, and it’s 65-37.
The kid was hot tonight, and he could only smile. That was fun. That made all the gym-rat hours worth it.
“I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of shots,” Godlevske said. “Once one goes in, it’s that same motion, repeating the same thing. It just comes naturally. I was having a lot of fun out there.”
East coach Perry Nash, of course, knew about BNL’s shooting skills. And the Olympians did a remarkable jog of chasing the Stars off the 3-line in the first half. BNL didn’t even get one off in the second quarter.
“In the first half, our defense stepped out,” Nash said. “It was a key for us to take that three ball away. We did a phenomenal job. In the second half, we didn’t guard the three like we should. It’s not good enough to contest threes, we have to be able to take those away and make them do other things.”
Lost in all the bombing was the 16 points (plus 7 rebounds) from Patric Matson, who scored 11 in the first half to get BNL in front. Forgotten was the interior work by Logan Miracle, who scored 8 points. BNL was pretty good in that first half, then went other-worldly. Perhaps anyone who missed a second-half shot should run laps in practice. And anyone who set a screen should get an assist.
“We forced too many bad shots in the first half,” Noah Godlevske said. “After we talked at halftime, we had the mentality of driving and finding the open shooters when they collapsed on us.”
During BNL’s first three games, the Stars were a collective 18 of 57 (31.6 percent) from distance. Now they were a ridiculous 11 of 15 (with Matson hitting a pair). Flame on.
“When Noah gets like that, it’s fun,” coach Godlevske said. “But he will be the first one to tell you that, with what we run, he needs teammates that are willing to find people in open space. That’s where we were really good. It just validates all the work.”
Carter Patterson came off the bench to score 12 points for East.
BNL, which won a share of the league title last season, took the first step in that defense and restored confidence after the two losses last weekend.
“This one, especially being a conference win, meant a lot,” Noah Godlevske said. “It just shows that what we’re doing is really working. We’re getting there. It’s really clicking.”
BNL will return to action on Dec. 16, hosting Silver Creek.
COLUMBUS EAST OLYMPIANS (38)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
30 Keaton Lawson, f 0-1 2-8 2-2 4 1 6
21 Ethan Bumbalough, g 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
11 Jack Fischvogt, g 1-5 4-10 0-0 2 1 9
1 Mason Reeves, g 1-2 2-3 0-0 1 2 5
13 Danny Coriden, g 1-1 1-3 0-0 1 3 3
34 Carter Patterson 0-0 5-8 2-2 3 2 12
24 Kadin Lobdell 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
2 Anthony Cowan 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
31 Alex Duncan 0-0 1-1 1-2 1 0 3
35 Grayson Watters 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
0 Jayden Thompson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-8 15-35 5-6 16 13 38
BEDFORD NL STARS (71)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Patric Matson, f 2-2 7-11 0-0 7 2 16
31 Logan Miracle, f 0-0 4-5 0-0 2 0 8
11 Noah Godlevske, g 6-8 8-13 0-0 2 0 24
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-1 1-4 0-0 3 0 2
12 Maddox Ray, g 0-0 2-3 2-2 1 4 6
3 Quincy Pickett 3-3 3-4 0-0 3 1 9
22 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 0-1 2-2 2 2 2
5 Dax Short 0-1 2-3 0-0 0 1 4
20 Jonah Bailey 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 11-15 28-45 4-4 21 10 71
Columbus East 13 9 13 3 – 38
Bedford NL 16 12 26 17 – 71
Turnovers – East 18, BNL 9
Field goal percentage – East 15-35 (.429); BNL 28-45 (.622)
Free throw percentage – East 5-6 (.833); BNL 4-4 (1.000)
