By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – After a dream-sequence start, Senior Night evaporated into a nightmare conclusion for Bedford North Lawrence. There was the Hamlet rub. For in the sleep of basketball death, what dreams may come. Perchance there will not be a good rest afterward.
Jasper played the spoiler role to perfection. After the Stars surged on the crest of emotional momentum to an early advantage, the Wildcats weathered all that negative energy to put BNL to bed for a fitful, toss-and-turn finish. That’s not the way BNL’s seven-man senior class daydreamed about their farewell appearance on Damon Bailey Court.
The Wildcats, a tough bunch to deflect all those headwinds, imposed their gritty will in the second half to stun BNL 60-52 on Thursday night. Jace Foy scorched his father’s alma mater for 17 points as Jasper ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak, while BNL will have to sleep on this for another week before the postseason reset.
After all the pomp and pregame celebration for the seniors, BNL charged from the gate and blasted to a six-point lead midway through the second quarter. But Jasper (9-13) seized on a taunting technical to regroup with a 10-0 run, then opened the second half with a 14-4 burst for a double-digit lead. BNL (9-12) could not erase that, even in desperate scramble mode during the closing minutes.
The silent disappointment was deafening. BNL lost on Senior Night for the first time in seven years, and Jasper won a road game in the series for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
“Whether it was the emotions of Senior Night, but overall we did not play very well,” BNL coach Kurt Godlevske said. “It could be two games in the middle of the week, but we were very sluggish, did not move well, weren’t as crisp. We were a step slow.”
Credit Jasper’s defense, basic man-to-man with a pinch of physicality added in. The Stars shot a sizzling 66 percent over the last two games, but managed to convert only 20 of 49 (including 7 of 21 from distance) against the Wildcats.
“We did a decent job of defending all night,” Jasper coach John Goebel said. “Bedford screens as well as any team on our schedule. They set a lot of back screens, down screens, rip screens, flare screens – a little bit of everything. That’s kind of a dying art in high school basketball. We handled it pretty well.”
BNL had a handle on things during the opening moments. Colton Taylor, one of the senior reserves who was rewarded with his first career start, scored BNL’s first six points, and the Fieldhouse was rocking. BNL switched to its normal lineup and rotations after that, taking control as Parker Kern converted a steal into a layup, Patric Matson swished a trey, and Isaiah Sasser popped another bomb for a 22-16 lead.
That’s when BNL’s exuberance bubbled over. The technical triggered Jasper’s response as Foy dashed to a layup, Brayden Giesler rebounded his own miss for a 3-point play, and Logan Day faked and fired from 15 feet for a 26-22 lead.
BNL pulled even at the half on Kern’s fast-break layup, but Jasper surged again in the third quarter. The Wildcats hit five treys during the frame – three by Foy – while roaring to a 43-32 lead.
“We started knocking down shots, it’s really that simple,” Goebel said. “We needed it, because Bedford came storming back. They made it hard, they were trapping and getting us out of our rhythm. We needed that third quarter to build that lead, or it could have been a different ballgame.
“We just weathered the storm.”
Jasper’s biggest advantage came at 47-34 before BNL battled back to make the Wildcats a little nervous. Quincy Pickett buried two bombs, Matson stroked a smooth 10-footer, and Kern’s steal set up Matson for a transition bucket that cut the deficit to 49-44. Jacob Ritter swished a trey that made it 51-47 with 1:52 left, but there was no miracle comeback in the script.
In addition to the Foy barrage, Giesler totaled 15 points and 10 boards, while Day added 14 points. Jasper did not look like a team that started this season 1-9.
“We lost a lot of tough games,” Goebel said. “There were plenty of games where we played well for a lot of the game and then find ways to lose down the stretch. We’ve gotten a little tougher and a little better.”
Matson paced BNL with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sasser totaled 9 points, and Kern was a spark off the bench with 7. The Stars had only 5 turnovers, but their offense hardly resembled the explosive unit from the win over Mooresville just 48 hours earlier.
“They guarded our cuts well, pushed us off our screens and cuts,” Godlevske said. “We didn’t take advantage of it.
“Rebounding was what eventually hurt us the most. We gave up way too many second-chance possessions. Their inside game, their ability to put pressure on us, kids not understanding who the shooters were, was critical. And they made some shots.”
BNL will await the Jeffersonville-Scottsburg winner in the semifinal round of the Class 4A sectional at Seymour on March 7.
JASPER WILDCATS (60)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
35 Brayden Giesler, f0-1 5-8 5-7 10 0 15
51 Jaylen Maners, f 1-3 3-9 2-4 9 0 9
5 Logan Day, g 2-4 5-7 2-2 2 4 14
13 Max Bueltel, g 0-0 1-1 1-2 2 4 3
23 Jace Foy, g 4-7 5-10 3-4 4 2 17
33 Caden Erny 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
15 Jack Levin 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
55 Kai Kunz 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 1 2
Totals 7-16 19-37 15-21 28 13 60
BEDFORD NL STARS (52)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
11 Colton Taylor, f 0-0 2-2 2-2 0 1 6
31 Logan Miracle, c 0-3 0-5 0-0 0 4 0
10 Patric Matson, g 2-6 7-18 1-2 10 4 17
12 Jacob Ritter, g 1-3 1-3 0-0 3 0 3
23 Tyler Stigall, g 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
5 Dax Short 0-2 2-8 0-0 1 3 4
3 Quincy Pickett 2-2 2-3 0-0 3 5 6
22 Isaiah Sasser 1-1 3-3 2-3 3 3 9
4 Parker Kern 1-4 3-6 0-0 1 1 7
1 Jerett Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Ben Conner 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
15 Jaden Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 7-21 20-49 5-7 23 21 52
Jasper 9 17 17 17 – 60
Bedford NL 14 12 6 20 – 52
Turnovers – Jasper 10, BNL 5
Technical foul – Sasser
Field goal percentage – Jasper 19-37 (.514); BNL 20-49 (.408)
Free throw percentage – Jasper 15-21 (.714); BNL 5-7 (.714)
