By ANDREW FEEBACK
Bluffton’s Declan Grieser tallied 30 points Friday night, outscoring the entire Southern Wells Raider basketball team as the hosting Tigers prevailed in the intra-county contest, 68-27.
The Tigers (4-1) won their fourth straight game since losing their season opener, while the Raiders (0-6) are still searching for their first win.
Kaleb Green notched 17 for Bluffton as well, as the Tigers spent most of the first half operating in the paint.
“Dec and Kaleb are both pretty skilled around the rim, and our goal was to establish and dominate the post area,” coach Craig Teagle said.
Every Bluffton field goal in the first quarter was a layup as the Tigers raced out to a 20-4 lead. The Tigers did not attempt a shot from beyond the arc until early in the second period, and only shot two in the first half.
Bluffton also had success in transition, which Raider coach Doug Smith felt was a problem, in addition to not making shots.
“We really had some good looks, particularly early in the game, that just didn’t fall,” he said. “If we make those shots, it’s less transition for them, and we had guys who just weren’t getting back.”
Southern Wells finished 9-40 from the field overall, including 4-24 in the first half as Bluffton stretched its lead to 37-12 by the break.
The Tigers scored the first seven points of the second half as Grieser continued to get just about anything he wanted. The junior finished 14-18 from the floor and scored his 30th point on a free throw moments into the fourth quarter before checking out for the night.
Teagle was happy with his team’s offensive output but still wants to see better on defense.
“I thought Southern Wells had some decent shots early that didn’t go in, that could have made a difference in that first quarter,” he said, echoing Smith’s earlier comments. “I thought our defensive intensity wasn’t quite where it needed to be sometimes, but some of that was them doing a good job moving the ball. Coach (Smith) has a young group, and he’s trying to fit people in, so they’re going to keep getting better all year.”
The Tigers also racked up fouls early in the game, with each starter picking one up in the game’s first three minutes.
“So far this year, we have fouled way too much,” Teagle said. “We’ve got to do a better job there.”
Bluffton pushed its lead to 53-19 by the end of the third quarter, and reserves Jonah Geisel, Gibson Grieser and Maxwell White all got into the scoring column in the fourth.
Wyatt Yoder led the Raiders with 10 points, while Hunter Durham came off the bench to add eight. Durham also knocked down a pair of threes in the seond half.
Southern Wells will be off for two weeks before hosting Union City on Jan. 3.
That’s a long time without playing a game, and Smith wants his team to use that time to focus on three things.
“One is transition defense, two is being able to guard the post better, and three, we’ve just got to find a way to knock some shots down,” he said.
Bluffton, on the other hand, will be back in action Saturday night with a home game against Garrett (6-1).
Teagle feels it will be his team’s toughest game so far.
“It will be a really tough challenge, and I hope our guys are excited about it,” he said.
Bluffton took the junior varsity game 53-42. For the Tigers, White scored 22 points and Geisel added 13. For the Raiders, Durham had 14, Jaxon Casterline had 11 and Adam Aulbach added 10.
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BLUFFTON 68,
SOUTHERN WELLS 27
At Bluffton
SOUTHERN WELLS (0-6): Trey Slusher 0-3 1-2 1, Levi Woodward 0-0 0-0 0, Wyatt Yoder 3-7 2-6 10, Rugar Holmes 0-1 0-0 0, CJ Reber 1-9 1-6 3, Landon Johnson 2-10 1-1 5, Joshua Aulbach 0-3 0-0 0, Hunter Durham 3-5 0-0 8, Gavin Howell 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 9-40 5-15 27.
BLUFFTON (4-1): Nolan Lambert 2-4 0-0 5, Cameron Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Marshall Gerber 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Geimer 0-6 1-2 1, Gavin Grieser 0-0 0-0 0, Griffin Morgan 0-2 0-2 0, Declan Grieser 14-18 2-2 30, Ben Maggard 3-7 0-1 7, Kaleb Green 8-16 1-2 17, Jonah Geisel 1-1 2-2 5, Axton Beste 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson Grieser 1-3 0-0 3, Maxwell White 1-2 0-0 2. TOTALS: 30-59 6-11 68.
Southern Wells 4 8 7 8 — 27
Bluffton 20 17 16 17 — 68
Three-point Shooting: Southern Wells 4-16 (Yoder 2-4, Durham 2-3, Reber 0-4, Johnson 0-2, Slusher 0-2, Holmes 0-1), Bluffton 4-14 (Lambert 1-2, Gibson Grieser 1-3, Maggard 1-5, Geisel 1-1, White 0-1, Green 0-1, Geimer 0-1). Rebounds: Southern Wells 18 (Slusher 6, Johnson 4, Aulbach 4, Reber 2, Durham 1, Holmes 1), Bluffton 44 (Green 18, Declan Grieser 7, Morgan 6, Geisel 3, Maggard 3, Gibson Grieser 2, Lambert 2, Geimer 2, Gerber 1). Turnovers: Southern Wells 13, Bluffton 7. Fouls: Southern Wells 9, Bluffton 15. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Bluffton 53, Southern Wells 42.
