Bulldogs hold off Rockets in 5-AA clash
Jefferson-Morgan's Rich Henneman makes the layup as Beth-Center's Dean Holt tries to stop him at Jefferson Friday evening.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Travis Taylor (11) attempts a shot over three Beth-Center players in a game Friday, Dec. 21, at Jefferson. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Beth-Center's Anthony Gilpin (1) looks for a teammate, as Jefferson-Morgan's Nathan Bianchi (3) attempts to stop him at Jefferson Friday evening.
Beth-Center's Dean Holt (15) scores over Jefferson-Morgan's Christian Randolph at Jefferson Friday evening.
JEFFERSON – The frigid temperature outside wasn’t the only thing cold last Friday night, as Beth-Center tallied a 45-32 victory over Section 5-AA rival Jefferson-Morgan.
The Bulldogs (5-2, 2-1) have won three of their last four games and are currently a game above .500 in Section 5-AA. B-C was led offensively by Anthony Gilpin (11 points) and Adam Waters (10 points) in the low-scoring affair.
“We figured it was going to be a low-scoring game,” B-C coach Gary Amos said. “Both teams were averaging around 50 points a game and we knew we were going to have to rely on our defense. In the second half, we were patient and worked the ball around for the clean shot.”
After beating Carmichaels in non-section action earlier this week, the Rockets (3-5, 0-3) couldn’t muster back-to-back wins and dropped their third straight section contest. Travis Taylor was the leading scorer for J-M with eight points.
“We lacked intensity tonight and were flat at the beginning of the game,” J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. “We got up for Carmichaels and were ready to play, but tonight was a different story. We got down early and started to beat ourselves. We were not looking for good shots and we didn’t rotate the ball well against their zone.”
B-C scored the game’s first points on a trey from Walters, but J-M countered with baskets from Chas Matish and Rece Henneman to give the home team a 4-3 lead.
Trailing by one, the Bulldogs went on a 9-3 spree to end the first quarter. Cody Durant had six of his eight points in the opening eight minutes for B-C.
In the second, the Bulldogs tallied the first seven points, courtesy of a bucket from Gilpin, a three-pointer from Ryan Beyer and a basket from Dean Holt.
The Rockets countered with seven consecutive points, via a pair of free throws from Taylor, a transition lay-up by Dominique Cage and a trey from Austin Clark to cut the deficit to 19-15.
B-C’s Zach Miller scored an inside basket for the final points of the first half and the Bulldogs held a 21-15 edge at intermission.
“We were in a zone defensively and it seemed to work,” Amos said. “We wanted them to beat us with their outside shot. We packed it inside and stopped penetration from the perimeter.”
After a bucket from the Rockets to start the third quarter, the Bulldogs nailed consecutive shots from beyond the arc by Walters and Gilpin to give the visitors a 27-17 advantage.
The teams traded baskets the rest of the third, as B-C carried a 33-21 lead after three.
J-M grabbed a 9-6 run to start the final stanza and brought the margin down to 39-30 with 2:32 remaining.
With less than two minutes remaining, Taylor collected an inside bucket to make the score 40-32, but B-C made enough free throws in the late stages of the game to secure the win.
The Bulldogs made five-of-eight from the charity stripe in the final minutes of the game.
“We like to be balanced on offense and so far that’s the way it has been for us,” Amos said. “We have four guys that are close to double figures in scoring. We hit some free throws down the stretch and were able to close out the game.”
“We just have to get back to running our sets and trusting in them,” Niemiec said. “We have to have trust in our system, make the extra pass and make the shot. Sometimes it’s that simple.”