Bentworth wins at West Greene, 55-27
ROGERSVILLE — The Bentworth boys basketball opened the basketball season against West Greene with a 12-0 run Friday night and had three players in double figures for a 55-27 non-section win.
Sam Schoedel led all scorers with 16 points for the Bearcats (1-0), while Steven Harner collected 15 and Ray Logan finished with 10. Levi Jordan added nine points.
“We played well defensively tonight,” Bentworth coach Bob Kennedy said. “We contested every shot and rebounded the ball. I liked the way we executed our offense, even though we missed a couple of easy shots. The guys maintained their composure and didn’t get rattled tonight.”
West Greene started a new lineup from last year’s team after losing four players due to graduation and junior guard Nathan Brudnock out for the game due to a lower-body injury.
“We had a lot of growing pains tonight,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “When you have a different starting five from last year, there’s going to be an adjustment period. Bentworth is senior-oriented team and they took control of the game. We got some positives out of this game, but we have plenty to work on these next couple of games.”
Joey Reed scored 12 points for the Pioneers (0-1). Christian Fox and Garrett Ross added six points apiece in the loss.
After both teams were held scoreless in the early minutes, the visitors got its offense going with a steady inside-outside game. The 12-0 run was capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play by Logan at 3:32 of the opening quarter.
“In the first quarter, we took our time on offense and moved the ball around for a good shot,” Kennedy said. “We hit our cutters and got some points in the paint. At times we like to shoot the three to just shoot the three. We have a couple of good shooters, but we always stress ball movement and finding a quality shot. We don’t want to just jack the ball up.”
A trey by Fox gave West Greene its first points of the night, but Bentworth ended the quarter on a 6-4 spurt and led 18-7 at the end of one.
The Bearcats held a 16-5 scoring edge in the second quarter and led 34-12 at halftime. Schoedel broke out with 11 points in the quarter.
“I’m glad that Sam got his points tonight,” Kennedy said. “He is our point guard and last year he didn’t score as much as we thought he could. He is a natural point guard and is always looking to pass. We emphasize to him this year to be more aggressive with his shot. He has to be a scoring threat for us all season.”
After the teams exchanged baskets to start the third quarter, Bentworth ended the frame with a 10-4 run for a commanding 46-18 lead going into the fourth.
Both squads registered nine points in the final eight minutes of play. Reed had all nine points for the Pioneers in the quarter.
“Joey had a nice final quarter,” Romanus said. “He was able to hit some shots and hopefully that will help his confidence. When we get Nathan (Brudnock) back, we are going to be a totally different team. I thought we struggled tonight with our interior defense. As the year goes on this group will get better. These are teaching moments.”
Before both teams open their respective sections later in the month, they will continue their non-section slate of games in the next couple of days. West Greene visits Beth-Center on Monday and Bentworth travels to Mapletown on Tuesday.
Non-section
Bentworth 18-16-12-9 — 55
West Greene 7-5-6-9 — 27
Bentworth: Sam Schoedel 16, Steven Harner 15, Ray Logan 10, Levi Jordan 9. West Greene: Joey Reed 12, Christian Fox 6, Garrett Ross 6. Records: Bentworth (1-0), West Greene (0-1).