By ANDREW FEEBACK
DECATUR – The effort was certainly there for the Bluffton Tigers Friday night, but a lot of little mistakes added up in a 57-47 loss to the host Bellmont Braves.
“Overall, I’m really proud of our guys, they played very well tonight, against a very good team,” coach Karl Grau said. “It’s the little things, like execution, taking care of the basketball, understanding what we’re doing when we come out of a timeout … those kinds of things are what cost us the game tonight. It was a two or three possession game, and we were right there. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Bluffton (3-17) struggled on the boards, had some untimely turnovers and also finished quarters poorly.
In spite of that, the Tigers led most of the first quarter and had a chance at taking the last shot, but were whistled for a five-second violation near mid-court.
They blocked a shot out of bounds with two seconds left, only to see the Braves (10-9), inbound it to Andrew James on the wing for a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Max Stoppenhagen caught fire in the second quarter, hitting four straight shots to give the Tigers a 26-24 lead.
The Tigers again found themselves holding for the last shot, and after a helter-skelter possession where no one could get open, Tucker Jenkins was forced to fling one from the volleyball line that missed.
Bellmont scored 6 straight to open the second half, all courtesy of three Tiger turnovers. It was a costly sequence for the Tigers after turning it over just four times in the first half.
Bluffton responded with a 9-2 burst to pull within 38-37, thanks to a pair of triples from Andrew Ball. The Tigers had three chances to claim the lead, but weren’t able to do it.
For the third time, the Tigers worked for a shot to end the quarter. They got a better look this time, but shot too soon, leaving just enough time for the Braves to rebound a miss and throw it downcourt to James for a layup at the buzzer and a 42-37 advantage.
“They got a bucket at the end of each quarter, and we had the ball both times,” Grau said. “Those things can’t happen. Honestly, that was the difference in the game.”
Isaiah Wellman, who led the Braves with 15 points, took charge in the fourth quarter, scoring all but the last 3 Bellmont points. His 3-pointer from the corner stretched the lead to 47-39, then after the Tigers scored 4 straight, he notched two more buckets, the second with a free throw, to push the lead to 9.
“Containing penetration early on killed us,” Grau said. “We had to help, and when we helped up, we didn’t rebound well. But I was proud of how our guys fought.”
Ball led all scorers with 17 points, while Stoppenhagen added 14 and Harrison Schreiber had 12.
Bellmont also got 11 from Jack Scheumann and 9 from James.
The Tigers were 16-of-37 from the field and made 9 of 13 free throws.
Bluffton will host Mississinewa tonight.
The JV game went to Bellmont, 61-24. Andrew Hunt scored 7 points, while JD Beer and Lukas Gehrett both scored 4.
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BELLMONT 57, BLUFFTON 47
At Bellmont High School
BLUFFTON (3-17): Chanceler Baldauf 0-0 0-0 0, Max Stoppenhagen 5-12 3-4 14, Eli Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison Schreiber 4-6 3-4 12, Sam Baumgartner 0-2 0-0 0, Fletcher Wenger 0-1 0-0 0, Markis Crosbie 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Hunt 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Wenger 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker Jenkins 1-4 2-4 4, Carter McConnell 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Ball 6-11 1-1 17, Lukas Gehrett 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16-37 9-13 47.
BELLMONT (10-9): Andrew James 4-9 0-1 9, Trent Geimer 1-1 0-0 2, Jack Scheumann 4-12 2-2 11, Isaiah Wellman 5-9 4-5 15, DJ Kitson 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Krull 0-2 0-0 0, Kord Fuelling 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Lenegar 2-5 2-2 6, John Ulman 3-5 2-2 8, Eli Laurent 2-4 2-5 6, Adrian Ortega 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-47 12-17 57.
Bluffton 13 15 11 8 –– 47
Bellmont 14 16 14 13 –– 57
Three-point Goals: Bluffton 6-19 (Ball 4-9, Stoppenhagen 1-5, Schreiber 1-1, Jenkins 0-2, Baumgartner 0-1, Fletcher Wenger 0-1), Bellmont 3-16 (Wellman 1-3, James 1-4, Scheumann 1-6, Krull 0-2, Ulman 0-1). Rebounds: Bluffton 18 (Schreiber 5, Jenkins 5, Stoppenhagen 4, Baumgartner 2, McConnell 2), Bellmont 28 (James 5, Laurent 5, Scheumann 5, Ulman 4, Lenegar 4, Wellman 3, Krull 1, Fuelling 1). Turnovers: Bluffton 12, Bellmont 11. Fouls: Bluffton 14, Bellmont 10. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Bellmont 61, Bluffton 24.
