By RYAN WALKER
There was a breath of fresh air over the Bluffton boys’ basketball team with a 24-point home victory over North Miami Saturday afternoon — its first win since the season opener over South Adams on Dec. 2
Perhaps nobody was more relieved to get a victory after a 10-game losing skid than head coach Karl Grau.
“It’s good for our guys,” he said after the game. “They’ve been workin’. The one thing I like about this group is that they’re sticking together and they keep working hard. It’s always fun to be rewarded with a good, positive outcome.”
The ending of the 10-game losing streak was led by a 30-point performance by Tucker Jenkins, who scored 26 Friday night against Adams Central. The junior forward added six rebounds to the night and has been a tough defender to get by.
Does Grau believe he has found a go-to guy in the offense now?
“Oh yeah, no question,” he said. “He’s athletic. He’s a big strong kid. He scores in the post. He does a lot of great things for us. He’s an anchor for us, so it’s fun to have him playing the way he is. It gives our guys confidence.”
Even with a large margin of victory, it wasn’t quite reflective of it until late in the third quarter due to a series of short comebacks from the Warriors.
Bluffton (2-10) took an early six-point lead in the first quarter before Jake Riley of North Miami (1-14) hit one of his three triples to keep the score close. Sam Baumgartner’s three and Fletcher Wenger’s bucket held the lead to five by the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers looked at a lead that got as high as double digits in the second, but the Warriors would fight back to keep their head above water. Riley’s 10 points in the quarter would bring the score to a manageable 30-23 at the break.
What North Miami couldn’t manage from that point forward was Jenkins, who had a second-half explosion despite the fact that he was held to just six points in the first two quarters.
In the third quarter alone, he scored 16 points on 8-12 shooting and eight free throws. Seemingly every time he got the ball, he got right to the basket and bullied defenders in the paint.
The only answer they had was to commit fouls, some of which were on made buckets. Before you knew it, the Tigers had a 13-point lead and never looked back.
He added eight more points in the fourth, while teammate Fletcher Wenger nailed a three-ball to add to his 10-point performance. Baumgartner tallied four points in the quarter, and Nolan Lambert hit a three of his own.
Overall, Bluffton’s effort Saturday was a team effort, according to Grau, reducing turnovers from the previous night and winning the rebound battle.
“It’s always good when you have great energy. It’s always good when you play together. It’s always good when you make a mistake, and you come back, and you correct it, or you play better, or you play harder,” Grau said. “Don’t dwell on your mistake. Just come back and play different.”
The Tigers junior varsity team won 63-35. Nolan Lambert scored 16 points to lead the way, and Declan Grieser had 12.
Bluffton will host Wabash at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24.
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BLUFFTON 69, NORTH MIAMI 45
At Bluffton High School
NORTH MIAMI (1-14): Jake Riley 8-19 2-3 22, Landen Hunt 7-21 3-4 18, Ray Pickett 1-7 1-2 3, Drew Wright 0-4 0-0 0, Isaac Floyd 0-1 0-0 0, Brayden Binnion 0-6 0-0 0, Dolan Blakely 0-0 2-2 2, Bryce Gosnell 0-1 0-0 0, Preston Wilcox 0-0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 16-59 9-13 45.
BLUFFTON (2-10): Tucker Jenkins 11-19 8-10 30, Fletcher Wenger 5-5 0-2 10, Sam Baumgartner 3-7 2-5 9, Hunter Wenger 2-5 0-0 4, Kaden Grau 2-5 0-0 4, Eli Garrett 1-4 0-0 3, Nolan Lambert 1-1 0-0 3, Hutch Craighead 1-3 0-0 2, Andrew Hunt 0-2 2-2 2 Jude Baumgartner 0-1 0-0 0, Ben Maggard 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-54 12-19 69.
No. Miami 10 13 12 10 –– 45
Bluffton 15 15 18 21 –– 69
Three-point FG: North Miami 4-19 (Riley 3-8, 1-6, Wright 0-1, Pickett 0-2, Binnion 0-3), Bluffton 4-9 (S. Baumgartner 1-1, Garrett 1-2, Lambert 1-1, F. Wenger 1-1, Craighead 0-1, Grau 0-1, Jenkins 0-1, J. Baumgartner 0-1). Rebounds: North Miami 28 (Hunt 8, Riley 6, Floyd 3, Pickett 3, Wilcox 2, Blakely 2, Wright 2, Binnion 1, Gosnell 1), Bluffton 32 (Hunt 8, Grau 6, Jenkins 6, S. Baumgartner 3, H. Wenger 3, F. Wenger 3, Garrett 2, Craighead 1). Turnovers: North Miami 12, Bluffton 11. Fouls: North Miami 10, Bluffton 9. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
