By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Problem solving can be broken down to four steps. Analyze, plan, implement and evaluate. Bedford North Lawrence’s recent two-game skid had not reached a crisis level, but it caused enough concern for a mid-season system check.
The analysis? Get back to basics. The plan? Keep it simple. The implementation? The Stars rediscovered their offense and shooting strokes. The evaluation? A victory that was a reminder of what makes BNL so explosive and dangerous.
What did Rooster tell Maverick in the Top Gun sequel? “Don’t think, just do.” The Stars were high-flying aces in a court dogfight while shooting down Floyd Central on Thursday night. Patric Matson gunned his way to a career-high 27 points, Logan Miracle added a career-high 17, and BNL took flight with a 68-46 triumph over the young Highlanders.
This performance was reminiscent of the eight-game winning streak earlier this season. BNL had missile lock and didn’t miss. And the Stars never left their wing man, executing with discipline and determination. BNL shot a blistering percentage and restored some cracked confidence.
“We kind of took a step back, kept it simple,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. Life got hard when he made it too hard, that was his self-critique. “We tried to get back to the basics of the way we were playing early. Trying not to make it too complicated. Defend and run our stuff. The kids were really good. I was proud of the way we played.”
BNL (11-5 overall, 3-2 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) never trailed. Noah Godlevske ignited a fast start with three quick bombs, Matson got hot and dazzled with some long-range blasts and aerial twists in the lane, and Miracle muscled his way to points in the paint. The Highlanders (6-10, 0-4) were easy targets for this next-generation attack.
If BNL had lost any magic during the recent setbacks, that wasn’t obvious. Godlevske drilled three straight treys during an early burst to a 19-7 lead, while Floyd’s ultra-young lineup (two freshmen and two sophomores started) fueled the barrage with seven turnovers. In the second quarter, Miracle scored twice from point-blank range, Matson buried two from deep, and he capped the half with a beautiful bucket off a lob pass as the Stars cruised to a 33-20 lead.
Then came the best Miracle moments. He converted a Matson pass for a layup, maneuvered the baseline for a reverse layup, then gathered a gorgeous slip pass from Godlevske for a three-point play. After Miracle scored again in the post, Godlevske knocked down a 15-footer and added a trey off a Matson steal for a 49-28 lead midway through the third.
With all the perimeter firepower, Miracle can sometimes get lost in the lane traffic. Rather than bystand or drift, he was active, a force in the paint.
“He did his job,” Godlevske said. “Over the last couple of weeks, we had kids that were doing things that we had not been teaching. Tonight he was much more disciplined, and got great looks because of it. And the kids did a great job of finding him. Post player can’t do that without someone throwing them the ball.”
Miracle was already a 70-percent closer this season, so his 7-for-9 night was not extraordinary. His quantity matched his quality. Confidence was not the issue. Effort was the difference.
“We knew what we needed to improve on, went through film, figured out what we needed to fix and correct,” Miracle said. “Mostly it was just moving the ball, playing defense like we should. Effort was a big thing. We fixed that, and it really helped. The energy we will get from this game, and the confidence, will be a lot.“
Matson scuffled early, hitting one of his first four. Then he caught fire and finished 11 of 16. The Matson-Miracle combination was the main reason BNL hit 28 of 47 shots. Godlevske finished with 14 points.
“For the most part, why our percentage was so high, we took good quality shots,” Coach Godlevske said.
Floyd’s problem was defining its identity, especially with big man Brock Conrad still sidelined by injury. During a recent win over Evansville Reitz, freshman Landon Reed had 29 points. He was limited to 7. Sam Higgins came off the bench as the lone double-digit scorer with 11, and Austin Cardwell added 8.
“Any time you play a team like Bedford, a disciplined program, we’re still in the process with our younger guys of getting on that level,” first-year FC coach Fonso White said. “It’s playing with that type of discipline as far as our passing and ball handling. It’s a young team and a learning curve.”
BNL will seek to continue in bounce-back mode when it hosts first-time foe Crawfordsville on Saturday afternoon.
FLOYD CENTRAL HIGHLANDERS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Jaxon Stone, f 0-1 0-1 2-2 3 0 2
23 Carter McQuigg, f 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
3 Landon Reed, g 1-2 2-5 2-2 3 2 7
4 Jude Vetter, g 0-0 2-2 1-2 0 1 5
24 Tristan Robertson, g 1-3 1-6 0-0 1 1 3
30 Sam Higgins 1-3 5-10 0-0 7 0 11
5 Nathan Rushing 1-3 1-6 2-2 0 1 5
21 Calvin Floyd 0-0 1-4 0-0 3 1 2
13 Austin Cardwell 1-2 3-7 1-1 0 2 8
33 Ryan Floyd 0-0 1-2 1-2 3 1 3
Totals 5-14 16-44 9-11 23 12 46
BEDFORD NL STARS (68)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Patric Matson, f 3-5 11-16 2-2 3 1 27
31 Logan Miracle, f 0-0 7-9 3-3 1 0 17
11 Noah Godlevske, g 4-10 5-13 0-0 3 0 14
1 Trace Rynders, g 0-1 1-2 0-0 2 2 2
12 Maddox Ray, g 0-0 1-2 0-0 3 1 2
22 Isaiah Sasser 0-0 0-1 0-0 2 3 0
3 Quincy Pickett 0-1 1-2 0-0 1 2 2
40 Kline Woodward 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 1 2
5 Dax Short 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 3 0
20 Jonah Bailey 0-0 1-1 0-1 1 0 2
Totals 7-17 28-47 5-6 22 13 68
Floyd Central 9 11 16 10 – 46
Bedford NL 19 14 24 11 – 68
Turnovers – Floyd Central 16, BNL 11
Field goal percentage – Floyd Central 16-44 (.364); BNL 28-47 (.596)
Free throw percentage – Floyd Central 9-11 (.818); BNL 5-6 (.833)
