Bulldogs hold off Mikes to win tourney, 44-41
CARMICHAELS — For the second consecutive year, the Beth-Center boys’ basketball squad outlasted Carmichaels in the King Coal Lions Tournament championship game with a 44-41 triumph Tuesday night.
It was also the second straight season that the title game was contested in a defensive struggle, as both teams had difficulty maintaining a consistent offense.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we are learning how to win these close games,” B-C coach Greg Golembiewski said. “We just played OK tonight and we made some youthful mistakes at the end that could have cost us. This group is a resilient bunch right now that just needs to listen to what the coaches are saying and believe in the offense.”
Three of B-C’s five wins this year has come by five points or less.
After the teams battled to a 10-10 deadlock in the third quarter, the Bulldogs (5-2) opened the fourth period with a 6-3 rally that was started with a trey from JJ Green.
The Mikes (4-4) countered with a 5-2 run and trimmed the deficit to 43-39 with 1:07 left in regulation.
B-C missed some free throws in the final minute, but a foul shot by Andrew White gave the visitors a five-point lead before Carmichaels’ Nick Mundell scored the final basket with an inside hoop as the final buzzer sounded.
“Our offense was once again inconsistent,” Carmichaels coach Don Williams said. “That has been the story for us the whole season. We missed some easy baskets to start the third quarter and that killed us. We hustle and I like the way we play defense, but our shots are not falling right now. We can’t get any flow on offense.”
After the Bulldogs started the game with back-to-back buckets, the Mikes responded with five straight points via an inside hoop by Liam Shea and a 3-pointer by Mundell.
B-C carried the play the rest of the opening quarter and regained the lead at 10-7 at the end of one after treys from Brady McDonnell and Nick Pryor.
The Bulldogs scored eight of the first 10 points in the second quarter, but once again the Mikes regrouped and battled back by ending the period on a 12-7 spree.
B-C clung to a 25-21 halftime lead before an evenly played third quarter that set up a back-and-forth final eight minutes of action.
McDonnell led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while Luke Hess added eight. Green and White tallied six points apiece in the win.
“Our offense will come and go, but I was really happy with our defensive effort,” Golembiewski said. “Carmichaels is a tough team to defend and they have a lot of shooters. We pressed them a little and I thought our half-court trap sped them up some. We forced some turnovers and played them man-to-man most of the night.”
Mundell finished with a team-high 15 points for the Mikes. Blake Conard and Shea collected eight and seven points, respectively.
Both teams will see each other in seven days, as Carmichaels hosts B-C in a Section 4-AA contest next Tuesday.