Back-and-forth BNL seeking giant leap to higher orbit for Starkind with journey to Floyd Central

BNL coach Kurt Godlevske and the Stars (8-7) will journey to Floyd Central on Thursday night.

By Justin Sokeland

WBIW.com

BEDFORD – Three steps forward, two steps back. Sounds like line dance instructions. It also indicates slow progress, losing almost as much ground as what was originally gained.

That’s been Bedford North Lawrence’s standard operating procedure thus far. Win three of four games, lose three in a row. Win four straight, drop three of four. Making headway, with the winds of momentum constantly shifting, has been hard. BNL (8-7) has generally moved in a positive direction, measured in small steps rather than giant leaps for Starkind.

Now the Stars have reached a critical stage, the final month of the regular season. The launch window to reach a higher, more stable orbit is starting to get smaller.

BNL will look for a boost to a greater level of success when it makes the journey to Floyd Central on Thursday night. The Highlanders (3-13) have struggled, with only one win in their last 12 outings, but the Stars have not earned any free-ride passes to take Floyd for granted. In fact, that would be dangerous.

“It’s hard to win in the Hoosier Hills Conference,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “They’re scary, because they have size, they have athleticism. They’ve been on the cusp of being more successful than their record indicates. It’s not a great matchup for us, so we have to play well. We have to be ready to play, at their place.”

BNL (1-3 in the league) must first worry about itself. Consistency has been elusive.

BNL junior Dax Short is averaging 5.8 points per game.

“We’ve had stretches, looking at us, where we’ve played well,” Godlevske said. “And stretches where we haven’t been as effective. Some of it is the schedule. One of the things we haven’t done yet this year, which would be really nice, is maybe winning one we shouldn’t have won.

“I don’t think we’ve played as well as we could yet. We’ve had good stretches of that, but we haven’t sustained it.”

Patric Matson continues to lead BNL’s attack at 20.2 points per game, and he’s getting support from Logan Miracle (9.6 points, 6.5 boards) and Quincy Pickett (9.6 points). The Stars are averaging 53.7 points, which means their top three are contributing almost 75 percent of the offense. The other key stat has been turnovers. BNL has averaged 15 per game in its losses.

“We’ve learned a lot, what other teams have keyed on,” Godlevske said. “Quincy, Dax (Short) and Patric have been the focal point of other teams. When you take guards out of play, you can make things difficult on any team. We have to play better and play more efficiently.”

Floyd will feature sophomore Landon Reed (16.6) and senior Isaac Kaiser (11.6) as its main scorers. The issue for the Highlanders has been defense. They’re allowing 68.8 points per game.

BNL won last year’s clash 68-46. Matson scored 27 points and Miracle added 17, and the Stars shot a sizzling 60 percent. Sam Higgins paced the Highlanders with 11 points.

BNL’s Logan Miracle scored 17 points during last year’s win over the Highlanders.

BNL at FLOYD CENTRAL

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Records: BNL 8-7 (1-3 in HHC); Floyd Central 3-13 (0-5 in HHC)

Sagarin rating: BNL 76.17; Floyd Central 64.99

Series: BNL leads 35-18

Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Stars cruised to a 68-46 triumph. Patric Matson scored 27 points and Logan Miracle added 17 for BNL, which shot a crisp 60 percent from the floor. Sam Higgins had 11 points for Floyd Central.

Previous game story: Stars fly in Top Gun mode

Game notes: All three Floyd wins this season have come at home. The Highlanders are allowing 68.8 points per game, and seven opponents have scored 75-plus points.

BNL statistics

Floyd Central statistics

Starting lineups

Bedford NL Stars

F – Dax Short 6-1 Jr.

F – Isaiah Sasser 6-0 Sr.

C – Logan Miracle 6-5 Sr.

G – Patric Matson 6-5 Sr.

G – Quincy Pickett 6-3 Sr.

Floyd Central Highlanders

F – Logan Young 6-5 Jr.

F – Sam Higgins 6-5 Sr.

G – Landon Reed 6-3 So.

G – Isaac Kaiser 6-4 Sr.

G – Jaxon Stone 6-2 So.