By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Propane burns hot, that unmistakable blue flame on the grill reaches a temperature over 3,500 degrees. Hot enough to melt glass. That’s Bedford North Lawrence’s explosive offense right now. The Stars are cooking with gas.
Glowing with high-octane energy, BNL turned the dial on high to barbecue Silver Creek on Saturday night. Dragons spew flames, but even that mythical creature can’t match the firepower of the sizzling Stars.
With Noah Godlevske scoring a career-high 30 points, BNL torched Silver Creek 72-60, winning the third straight in the series. Patric Matson added a smokin’ double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Stars (3-2) went over 70 in back-to-back games for the first time in six seasons.
BNL opened on fire and never cooled. The Stars blasted to an 8-0 lead in 90 seconds, burned to a 10-point advantage after eight minutes, extended that margin to 16 midway through the second quarter, and never allowed the Dragons (6-2 and about to slide down from No.3 in Class 3A) to get within single digits from that point.
After the incredible shooting performance against Columbus East last week, which is usually not sustainable, the Stars kept the afterburners lit. They shot a crisp 61 percent, drilled nine treys, and left the young Dragons choking on the fumes of the vapor trail.
“It’s our pace of play, and playing with purpose,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “In the first couple of games, we were guessing if what we were doing was right. Now we’re comfortable with what we’re doing. The kids are embracing and valuing each possession.”
The first 90 seconds foreshadowed what followed. Godlevske worked open on the deep right wing. Boom. Next possession, left alone at the key. Swish. Third trip down, Matson blocked a shot, scooped the rebound and scampered to a pull-up 15-footer. Bang. Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman called timeout to sit tight and access, not wanting to look up at the scoreboard. But the BNL asteroid was already on the radar.
“They did exactly what we said they would do,” Hoffman said. “Everybody knows he (Godlevske) is one of the better shooters in the state. Lo and behold, the first two possessions he gets two wide-open looks. That shows we weren’t mentally dialed in from the start. We just weren’t ready to go.“
Godlevske continued his assault, making three free throws when he got decked on a long-range jumper, driving to a 3-point play, and burying another bomb. When the smoke cleared, he had 15 points during BNL’s 25-point beginning, and the end was already near.
The Dragons briefly cut the margin back to single digits, the last time at 30-21. Then Matson erupted for a trey from the corner, another transition jumper after skying to steal a pass, and finally a 15-footer for a 37-21 lead.
“We had to play from behind against a good team, and that’s tough,” Hoffman said. “We shot ourselves in the foot by giving up open looks to their best guys.”
The Stars pushed to their biggest lead at 58-41 on Matson’s rebound and coast-to-coast jaunt to a layup. In the fourth quarter, BNL shifted to close-out mode and did exactly that.
“One of the things we need to grow into is closing out games, and offensively I thought we did a very good job of doing that,” coach Godlevske said.
Silver Creek, coming off a 75-48 loss at Jeffersonville on Friday night, started two sophomores and a freshman. Brandon Hunter, the youngest of that trio, had 24 points, while Kasen Daeger added 17.
“When you’re this young, you’re either winning or learning,” Hoffman said. “Losing is never fun. We’re not particularly used to it. When you get yourself behind the eight ball against a team that’s really good at ball control, it’s tough. They won’t give up too many leads.“
Godlevske hit six treys. BNL converted 25 of 41 shots, which means the Stars have made a ridiculous 46 of 70 during the last seven quarters and hit 18 of 28 from long range during the last three halves.
“Noah saw the ball go in last week, and he’s played very confident,” Godlevske said. “Our shot selection has gotten so much better, that’s a big reason why. It’s been fun to watch.”
BNL will be back on the court at Mooresville on Wednesday.
SILVER CREEK DRAGONS (60)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
13 Walker Hoffman, f 0-0 2-2 0-0 2 0 4
33 Nate Davidson, f 0-2 1-4 4-4 3 3 6
12 Brandon Hunter, g 4-7 10-15 0-0 3 4 24
10 Kasen Daeger, g 3-10 5-14 4-7 3 1 17
2 Dane Sprigler, g 1-1 3-6 2-2 2 1 9
22 Dane Caldwell 0-1 0-2 0-0 3 0 0
30 Jerron Miles 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
40 Jayce Just 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
15 Jackson Lewis 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
5 Brody Oliver 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 0
14 Brody McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 8-24 21-46 10-11 20 13 60
BEDFORD NL STARS (72)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Patric Matson, f 1-3 9-13 4-4 10 2 23
31 Logan Miracle, f 0-0 2-4 0-0 5 2 4
11 Noah Godlevske, g 6-12 8-16 8-8 0 3 30
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-0 1-1 0-0 5 1 2
12 Maddox Ray, g 0-0 3-3 0-0 0 4 6
22 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
3 Quincy Pickett 2-3 2-3 0-0 0 1 6
5 Dax Short 0-0 0-0 1-2 2 0 1
Totals 9-18 25-41 13-14 22 14 72
Silver Creek 15 15 11 19 – 60
Bedford NL 25 15 18 14 – 72
Turnovers – Silver Creek 12, BNL 12
Field goal percentage – Silver Creek 21-46 (.457); BNL 25-41 (.610)
Free throw percentage – Silver Creek 10-11 (.909); BNL 13-14 (.926)
