By RYAN WALKER
Norwell defeated Bluffton in boys basketball 105-53 Wednesday night at the Castle in a Wells County rivalry game.
Seemingly everything was going right for Norwell — shooting 68 percent from the floor, forcing 21 turnovers to just its 2, and hitting triple digits.
“I thought our kids came out with good aggressiveness,” head coach Mike McBride said after the game. “We shared the ball really well, and I thought we were moving the ball really well. I thought defensively we wanted to pressure them — we know they struggle a little bit against pressure coming in — we didn’t want them to get comfortable.”
Head coach Karl Grau had nothing but praise for McBride’s Knights after the game.
“They’re really good, and they showed how good they are,” he said, “They’re just really good, and they played great. We did not play well, and we really hurt ourselves in a lot of areas, but they had a lot to do with that.”
Norwell had the advantage right from the opening tipoff. Bluffton’s Tucker Jenkins won the jump over Brody Bolyn, but the ball went right into the hands of Jake Parker towards the basket, who then scored on a layup within the first few seconds.
That bucket would spark a 24-0 start for the Knights before the Tigers’ Hunter Wenger hit a three at the 3:55 mark.
Bluffton would hold its own, at least offensively, for the rest of the quarter, considering it being halfway done to that point, scoring 13 points since breaking the scoreless streak.
“Well, we didn’t turn it over,” Grau said. “Most of their points in the first half were off of turnovers. You can’t defend like that. You’re not going to be able to defend that.”
By halftime, Norwell had a 70-31 lead and was shooting lights out.
“Our big thing is we want to get good shots every time down the floor, and a lot of times when you’re focused on getting good shots, you are getting good ball movement, and you are sharing the ball. That’s an important part of what we want to do in our offense is let the basketball move and find the guy that’s open.”
Luke McBride tallied 18 points at the break as he patrolled an offense that assisted on 20 made baskets.
Perhaps one of the only bright spots for the Tigers was Jenkins, who had 10 points at the half — not afraid to be physical down in the paint and finished the game with a team-high 15.
“He tried to be very aggressive tonight, and he competed. He gave everything he had and did a good job,” Grau said.
The final score ended up favoring Norwell by 52, and McBride said a lot of that contributed to his group of seven seniors compared to Bluffton’s one.
“Coach Grau’s working really hard with his guys,” he said. “They’re kind of young and going through some inexperience. They’re going to continue to get better, but it made it a bit of a challenge for them just the youth that they had compared to the experience that we had.”
Bluffton will be off until the new year, when the Tigers travel to Central Noble at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Norwell will head down to Columbus North High School to play Noblesville after Christmas at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27.
The Norwell junior varsity won 47-44, with Adam McBride leading the way with 13 points. Brady Smith added 12, while Kaeden Quintanilla scored 10. For Bluffton, Jude Baumgartner put up 11 points, and Jordan Fear scored 10.
sports@news-banner.com
NORWELL 105, BLUFFTON 53
At Norwell High School
BLUFFTON (1-6): Tucker Jenkins 6-9 3-3 15, Sam Baumgartner 3-4 0-0 8, Kaden Grau 3-6 0-0 8, Hunter Wenger 3-5 0-2 6, Fletcher Wenger 2-2 0-0 5, Andrew Hunt 1-2 1-1 3, Kaleb Green 1-1 0-0 3, Eli Garrett 0-2 0-0 0, Hutch Craighead 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-36 4-6 53.
NORWELL (7-1): Luke McBride 8-11 3-3 22, Lleyton Bailey 7-9 3-3 20, Gavin Hoeppner 5-6 1-2 16, Cohen Bailey 6-9 2-2 16, Jake Parker 5-9 2-2 12, Brody Bolyn 4-5 1-1 9, Luke Graft 2-4 0-0 4, Kaedyn Quintanilla 1-2 0-0 3, Adam McBride 1-1 0-0 3, Brady Smith 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 39-57 13-15 105
Bluffton 13 18 4 18 –– 53
Norwell 41 29 16 19 –– 105
Three-point Goals: Bluffton 7-12 (Grau 2-4, Baumgartner 2-2, Green 1-1, F. Wenger 1-1, Garrett 0-1, Jenkins 0-1), Norwell 14-25 (Hoeppner 5-6, L. McBride 3-6, C. Bailey 2-3, L. Bailey 2-4, A. McBride 1-1, Quintanilla 1-1, Parker 0-1, Graft 0-1, Bolyn 0-1, Smith 0-1). Rebounds: Bluffton 15 (H. Wenger 6, F. Wenger 3, Jenkins 2, Baumgartner 1, Craighead 1), Norwell 17 (C. Bailey 5, L. McBride 4, L. Bailey 3, Graft 3, Hoeppner 1, Parker 1). Turnovers: Bluffton 21, Norwell 2. Fouls: Bluffton 11, Norwell 4. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
