By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
HUNTINGBURG – School was in session. A defending state champion, with class designation having nothing to do with the standard of excellence, administered the test. Bedford North Lawrence did not receive a passing grade.
Orleans brought the bling, Class A state championship rings from a year ago, and the zing. The Stars lacked sting, shooting their way into trouble and finding no answers. Their next assignment will be a refresher course in basic offense. Move more, dribble less, shoot better, score. No matter which way BNL turned, Orleans was waiting.
With a devastating run to begin the third quarter, the Bulldogs rumbled to a 54-32 victory over BNL in the third-place game of the Baird Classic on Saturday night. Alex DeWitt, one of the holdovers from the state title, scored 19 points as Orleans, ranked No.7 in Class A, led from wire to wire.
Surprising? Not really. Orleans has experienced success. The Stars missed their first nine shots, and they were fortunate the margin was not greater when they briefly challenged for the lead. Twice BNL scrambled within a possession, the last time with the first basket of the second half. Then came the harder questions. Orleans (7-2) had all the correct responses.
While BNL (2-6) went silent and stagnant for four minutes early in the third quarter, Orleans made the noise with a 14-2 explosion. When the Stars applied desperate defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, Orleans closed with a 13-1 run for an exclamation point on an essay in patience, poise and execution.
“Bottom line, you have to credit Orleans,” BNL coach Jackson Ryan said. “They were physical, it took us way too long to adjust. They kicked us in the teeth. We have a locker room that’s very disappointed.“
Yep, the Stars got a few molars loosened. They fell back 8-0 right away, discovering an enforcer in the paint when they challenged Orleans stopper Mason Freed (a 6-7 obstacle in the way). Then they got bitten when Orleans swingman Nate Brown dashed with a steal for a dunk, stroked a 15-footer and buried a bomb during the third-quarter run.
This was typical Orleans execution. Get the great shot, even when missing a few layups in the first half. Never get caught out of defensive position. Discipline, unwavering and constant. Veteran coach Tom Bradley saw a few lapses in focus, but only the trained eye would notice.
“Last year, in this tournament (which included a loss to BNL), it really helped us at the end of the season,” Bradley said. “And this year, I think it’s the same thing. If we ever get where we focus for the entire game, I think we’ll be pretty good.”
BNL could not argue that. The Stars never recovered from the 6 1/2 minutes of scoreless struggles to start. They finished 11 of 38 from the field, and added 17 turnovers. If not for 20 points from Dax Short, it would have been a brutal beatdown.
”Every coach in Southern Indiana knows, you have to have a great start against Tom Bradley,” Ryan said. “If you play from behind against a team like that, they’re so fundamentally sound, you shoot yourself in the foot and it’s hard to come back.
“We have to hit shots from the perimeter to open things up. If we’re not doing that, it’s a slippery slope. We have to have a great start and make teams chase us. If we do that, good things happen. If we don’t, it can snowball pretty quick.”
In addition to DeWitt, Brown totaled 16 points, Dane Freed (one of the newcomers in the rebuilt backcourt from a year ago) stroked three treys and totaled 11 points. Mason Freed did his unsung work with three blocked shots and 8 rebounds. The Stars managed only four offensive boards.
“They rely a lot on their 3-point shooting,” Bradley said after shutting down the Stars. “We had a size advantage inside, where we could protect the rim on their drives, make them shoot shots from outside.“
Short had seven of BNL’s 11 baskets.
In the other games, South Ripley topped Forest Park 71-64 for fifth place in the six-team event, while Southridge won its own title with a 36-34 triumph over Providence in the championship clash.
BNL will return to action on Tuesday, hosting Trinity Lutheran.
ORLEANS BULLDOGS (54)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Alex DeWitt, f 0-0 6-15 7-9 7 2 19
15 Nate Brown, f 1-2 6-8 3-4 5 2 16
25 Mason Freed, c 0-0 2-3 0-0 8 2 4
4 Dane Freed, g 3-5 4-6 0-0 7 2 11
11 Nolan Robbins, g 0-0 1-3 0-2 0 2 2
22 Troy Dille 0-0 0-1 2-2 0 1 2
5 Owen Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
20 Kaden Berning 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
10 Reece Petty 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Blaise Tolliver 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 4-7 19-37 12-18 27 11 54
BEDFORD NL STARS (32)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
40 Ben Conner, f 0-0 0-1 2-2 6 2 2
24 Gibson Crane, f 0-0 1-5 0-0 6 3 2
5 Dax Short, g 3-9 7-18 3-5 1 4 20
1 Parker Kern, g 0-2 1-6 0-0 1 3 2
11 Jace Nicholson, g 0-2 0-4 0-0 1 2 0
10 Easton Moore 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 3
2 Driven Axsom 1-1 1-2 0-0 1 5 3
12 Dayson Kirby 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 2 0
23 Jett Alvey 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
20 Jack Parsons 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 5-16 11-38 5-6 23 21 32
Orleans 8 8 21 17 – 54
Bedford NL 3 9 11 9 – 32
Turnovers – Orleans 10, BNL 17
Technical foul – M. Freed
Field goal percentage – Orleans 19-37 (.514); BNL 11-38 (.289)
Free throw percentage – Orleans 12-18 (.667); BNL 5-6 (.833)
