By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The ancient series, dormant for over a decade, dates back to Bedford North Lawrence’s inaugural season. It’s always represented the classic David-and-Goliath battle, and Bloomfield has been known to slay a few giants over the years.
For the first time in 15 years, the Cardinals – always fearless in their scheduling – and Stars will collide, renewing the rivalry in BNL Fieldhouse on Saturday night. BNL has dominated the series, but each of Bloomfield’s six wins – including two overtime triumphs and a conquest of one of the Damon Bailey teams in 1988 – have been memorable, reminders of the danger inherent in overlooking the Greene County neighbor.
Both teams started this campaign with quality victories. Bloomfield debuted on Wednesday night with a 52-32 triumph over Owen Valley, as new coach Nate O’Neall won his opener with his alma mater, while BNL bounced Bloomington North 49-38 on Tuesday.
BNL’s win didn’t exactly follow the expected script. The Stars could have one of the more explosive offenses in recent years, while their defensive toughness and ballhandling decisions were unknown. Against the Cougars, they committed only 8 turnovers (as North unveiled fullcourt pressure), limited North to 32 percent shooting, and battled even on the boards. That’s the formula for a lot of success.
“What surprised me the most was how well we rebounded defensively,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “We put an emphasis on that in practice, but as you go into the season it’s like putting a band-aid here and there to get ready. We really stressed it, so I appreciate what they did.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it was at a high level that made things difficult for North. For us to contain them was big kudos to our kids. Being able to apply what they saw against the press, knowing how to attack that after working on it for about 15 minutes, that’s what you do with seniors. That makes a big difference.”
BNL also displayed scoring balance. Patric Matson led the way with 17 points, but four others were only one basket away from double digits as Quincy Pickett (8 points), Logan Miracle (8), Dax Short (7) and Isaiah Sasser (7) all proved to be capable weapons.
“BNL is no slouch, they have a good team,” O’Neall said. “We’ll have a tough time. But you want those games, regardless if you win or lose, to compete. It will make you better for March. Just the atmosphere of playing at BNL, it’s always cool. So we’re excited to start this up again.“
The Cardinals will counter with one of the best scorers in program history. Junior forward Blake Neill, a 6-6 force, averaged 24 points per game last season and is fast closing in on 1,000 for his career. He’s on track to shatter Shane Miller’s school record of 1,476 points.
“Neill is an outstanding player, a D-I caliber player,” Godlevske said. “Their size (with 6-6 junior Owen Medina) will present similar problems to what we have with other conference schools. Bloomfield also has great tradition. We expect a totally different style and pace of game, but it will be really good basketball.”
Bloomfield’s task will be getting offense from other sources to take pressure off Neill.
“Blake is very talented,” O’Neall said. “We will try to use him a lot, but teams will try to take him away. We need to build more confidence in the other four on the floor, to help him out. Sometimes we will play games where the tempo needs to be slowed down, sometimes we might need to speed it up. I’m more of a defensive coach, I just want to stop people.”
BNL will start a seven-game road trip following the test against Bloomfield and won’t return home until Jan. 11.
BLOOMFIELD at BNL
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Bloomfield 1-0; BNL 1-0
Last meeting: BNL prevailed 50-41 during the 2009-10 season.
Series: BNL lead 27-6
Game notes: Bloomfield is making its first trip to BNL Fieldhouse since the 2008-09 campaign, and the Cardinals posted a 45-43 overtime victory over the Stars that season. Bloomfield coach Nate O’Neall, who previously coached at Shakamak for six seasons, is a 2004 Bloomfield alum. BNL is seeking its first 2-0 start since 2017.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Dax Short 6-1 Jr.
F – Isaiah Sasser 6-0 Sr.
C – Logan Miracle 6-5 Sr.
G – Patric Matson 6-5 Sr.
G – Quincy Pickett 6-3 Sr.
Bloomfield Cardinals
F – Owen Medina 6-6 Jr.
F – Blake Neill 6-6 Jr.
G – Tyler Patterson 5-6 So.
G – Hunter Abner 6-11 Jr.
G – Lance Workman 5-10 Sr.
