By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Welcome to the Lawrence County basketball edition of Family Feud.
Jackson Ryan wore a Bedford North Lawrence jersey during his playing career, coached at Mitchell for four seasons, now he guides his alma mater. Former BNL head coach Jeff Hein is now the athletic director at Mitchell. Many Bluejackets have migrated south from origins in the BNL program to play for Mitchell over the years, and that has not changed. The intertwined rivalry is like a family tree with few branches.
For the 52nd time, the Stars and Bluejackets will clash on the court, with BNL lugging the weight of a heavy streak for the neighborhood renewal on Friday night. Mitchell owns only one win in the series history, as the Stars have won 39 straight since that legendary meeting in 1986.
“It’s considered a rivalry,” Mitchell coach Clint Roesler said. “I don’t know if you can consider it a rivalry until we win again.”
Is this the year? BNL (3-7) seems vulnerable with its early struggles. Mitchell (5-8) has lost four of its last five, so there’s no real momentum advantage for either side. That means it will come down to pride, discipline and defense.
For the Stars, their focus is internal. Ignore the rivalry buzz, concentrate on eliminating the turnover clusters and shooting slumps (they’re converting only 41 percent this season) that have been common themes during recent losses.
“We’re worried about us, and continuing to grow, to get better,” Ryan said. “It’s a big game, a great atmosphere. But we’re just approaching it as another game. We need to continue to grow.
“That goes back to consistency. That’s the name of the game for us. At the beginning of the year, it was defensively. Now it’s executing well enough on offense to win. That’s the next step for us, taking care of the basketball. If we can put it together on both ends, that’s taking the next step.”
For the Bluejackets, their goal is connecting their best moments on offense (80 points against North Knox) and defense (43 points allowed against Salem) for a complete performance. Turnovers were a problem during the latest loss, a 74-44 setback to Paoli. “If we can put it together,” Roesler said, “we’ll have something.”
Mitchell’s success centers on senior scoring leader Gavin Robinson, who is contributing 20.5 points per game. The other starters had to learn new roles.
”Gavin’s done a good job,” Roesler said. “He’s been able to shoulder the load. Last year he had complementary pieces around him. This year he had to step up and do a lot of everything, because we were so young and inexperienced at the varsity level.
”I can’t ever question our fight. It’s just learning the speed of varsity basketball, it was a different change for most of the guys. We’re starting to realize what our strengths are, versus our weaknesses. We’re trying to lean on our defense as much as we possibly can. That’s how we have to be successful.”
Of course, Ryan knows the Mitchell personnel quite well. Families hide no secrets.
“It’s funny watching them on film, just the growth they’ve had,” he said. “They’re similar to us, with what they graduated, replacing a lot of production. They’ve had guys stepping up into bigger roles. It starts with Gavin. He’s a special player. We will have our hands full with him.”
BNL will counter with an attack that features senior Dax Short (the lone double-digit scorer at 13.5) and junior Parker Kern (9.7).
“Their guard play is pretty good,” Roesler said. “Dax has stepped up. Parker is a kid we can’t let get hot, because he’s talented. They battle really hard. They fight every single game. It will be a dogfight. It means a lot to a lot of kids. I expect us to be fully prepared.”
BNL won last year’s encounter 64-52. Patric Matson paced the Stars with 31 points while Logan Miracle added 16. Austin Mosier led Mitchell with 26 points while Robinson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bluejackets could not erase BNL’s early advantages as the Stars stormed to a 16-3 lead and built an 18-point gap in the first half.
BNL at MITCHELL
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: BNL 3-7; Mitchell 5-8
Sagarin ratings: BNL 68.11; Mitchell 54.34
Series: BNL leads 50-1
Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Stars prevailed 64-52. Patric Matson scored 31 points and Logan Miracle added 16 for BNL. Austin Mosier totaled 26 points and Gavin Robinson added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Mitchell.
Previous game story: BNL still king of the county hill
Game notes: BNL has won 39 straight in the series, which is the sixth-longest current streak in the state. Mitchell’s only win came in 1986.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Easton Moore 6-2 So.
F – Gibson Crane 6-3 Sr.
G – Dax Short 6-1 Sr.
G – Parker Kern 6-1 Jr.
G – Jace Nicholson 6-1 Jr.
Mitchell Bluejackets
F – Gavin Robinson 6-0 Sr.
F – Kaden Mullis 6-0 Jr.
C – Blake King 6-3 Jr.
G – Gavin Martin 5-10 Jr.
G – Caedon Goldsberry 6-1 Sr.
