Bulldogs hold off Pioneeers, 45-41
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Beth-Center’s Brody McDonnell (5) steals a pass by West Greene’s Kyle Shough (21) during their non-section game Tuesday at Beth-Center High School.
Beth-Center's Tyler Ross (1) looks to drive with pressure from West Greene's Buea Jackson (32) during their non-section game at Beth-Center High School Tuesday.
West Greene's Beau Jackson (32) looks for an opening to pass the ball while surrounded by Beth-Center players during Tuesday's non-section game at Beth-Center High School.
With pressure from West Greene's Kolton Rush (13) and Beau Jackson (32), Beth-Center's Ryan Beyer (2) tries to go to the hoop for the Bulldogs during Tuesday's non-section game at Beth-Center High School.
FREDERICKTOWN — After collecting eight 3-pointers in the first half, Beth-Center was able to hold off a second-half comeback by West Greene and evened its record on the season with a 45-41 non-section victory Tuesday night.
As a team, the Bulldogs (3-3) nailed 10 shots from beyond the arc, while overcoming their struggles at the free throw line (three-for-10).
If the outside shot was B-C’s catalyst, West Greene’s offense was centered in the paint and solid free throw shooting (nine-for-13).
Brody McDonnell led all scorers with 20 points, including six treys, for the Bulldogs. Luke Hess added 10 points, while Ryan Beyer tallied nine.
“We have not been shooting the ball well at all this season,” B-C coach Gary Amos said. “But tonight was our first home game, and I think we just had that comfort level of shooting at our own hoops. We’ve been streaking this year, but that first half has been the best we shot all year.”
“I like our composure in the second half. Things were not going our way, but we just continued to battle. I liked how we came back in the fourth, but we are still looking to play a complete game as a team this year.”
The Pioneers (1-5) were led by 15 points by Craig Weaver and 11 from Kyle Shough.
Through six games, West Greene has lost three games by 10 points or less.
“We changed from a zone to man-to-man defense in the second half,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “Even though they were quicker than us, we had to change it up because they were hitting too many outside shots. We wanted to put pressure on their shooters. Our inside game was steady tonight, but this one is pretty tough to take.”
After the visitors grabbed an early 6-3 advantage to start the game, B-C rallied back with an 11-3 rally to grab a 14-9 edge at the end of one. In the rally, Hess hit three treys.
McDonnell had three of his 3-pointers in the second stanza, and the last one gave the Bulldogs a 23-14 lead.
West Greene countered with a couple of long shots of their own, as Shough and Kolton Rush made 3-pointers to trim the deficit to 23-20.
B-C ended the second on a 7-2 spree and carried a 30-22 lead into halftime.
The scoring touch for the Bulldogs went missing in the third quarter, and the Pioneers took full advantage of it with a 9-2 scoring edge in the period. Weaver recorded seven of those points and West Greene trailed 32-31 going into the fourth.
After a lay-up by Beyer gave B-C a 34-31 lead, West Greene countered with five straight points, courtesy of a bucket from Bray Jackson and an old-fashioned three-point play by Rush to give the visitors their first lead, 36-34, since 2-0 in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run via inside hoops by Tyler Ross and Evan Shoop plus a 3-pointer by McDonnell for a 41-38 advantage.
“We had a miscommunication on defense late in the fourth and they were able to score five straight points that killed us,” Romanus said. “We had to get more dribble penetration by our guards because we were just passing the ball up top all night. We have to work on our turnovers and clean up our offense in late game situations.”
After Jackson knotted the contest up with a trey for the Pioneers, McDonnell hit his final shot from beyond the arc to give B-C a 44-41 lead with 1:19 left.
“Brody was our spark plug,” Amos said. “This is his second year starting for us and we depend on him as a scorer. This year he has struggled with his shot, but he got out of his funk tonight. He was pretty consistent and we hope we can get him back on track.”
The Bulldogs were able to secure the non-section win by hitting a free throw and holding the Pioneers scoreless in the final minute of play.