By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
NORTH VERNON – In a game with a face only a mother could love, Jennings County managed to find beauty. Winning looks a lot better.
Never trailing after a fast start, the Panthers produced big shots when the circumstances got unexpectedly tight midway through the final quarter. Those big moments, and the biggest guy on the court, powered Jennings to its first Hoosier Hills Conference victory of the season.
Johnny Elkins was Johnny-on-the-spot for Jennings, and that spot was the low block as the Panthers conquered Bedford North Lawrence 48-37 on Saturday night. Elkins, a 6-foot-5 target in the post, scored 15 points while the Stars (4-8) drifted to the bottom of the league standings.
BNL never recovered from a quick 12-3 deficit, never got the offense into sync while shooting a tepid percentage and failing to crack the 40-point mark for the fourth time this year. The Stars converted only 12 of 42 shots, plus the Panthers destroyed BNL on the glass by a 35-15 count. Just from those stats alone, it’s a wonder BNL was not chased out of the gymnasium.
Credit some defensive physicality for keeping BNL within range. But when the Stars crept within 35-30 midway through the final period, JC’s Hayden Low provided a highlight with a corner trey, Elkins muscled to a 3-point play, and Jeremiah Davis probed the paint for another bucket-and-harm dagger and a 44-32 lead that was safe enough.
The first issue was the Jennings jolt in the opening minutes. Davis and Low popped treys, Low turned a back cut into a layup, and Elkins scored twice from point-blank range. BNL made only one shot until Ben Connor’s rebound and reverse layup inside the two-minute mark.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but shooting in practice this week was the best we’ve seen,” BNL coach Jackson Ryan said. “Then we couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean.”
Jennings rumbled to its biggest lead of 13 (at 26-13) and settled for a 28-19 advantage at the half. Both teams were guilty of becoming a social media meme in the third quarter, the one where a stick is used to poke a lifeless figure with the command “Do something.” They combined for 10 points on four baskets in those forgettable eight minutes.
Then BNL did something. Dax Short stroked a trey, Easton Moore buried another, and Parker Kern twisted through lane traffic for a bucket that stroked the flames of hope. They were doused with the 11-2 Jennings run that settled the issue.
Jennings coach Travis Wrightsman pointed to the Low bomb as the defining moment.
“That three was huge,” he said. “It was like ‘Uhhhh. . . . Great shot!’”
Elkins found a home drifting off screens from block to block. Davis finished with 13 points and Low added 8.
”That’s been a big focus for our guys,” Wrightsman said. “Our goal is to get it into Johnny. Our guys are starting to realize how we can get the ball to the post guys inside. That’s what I like about our guys. We kept our composure, stayed in the game. The start was really good, and we were able to maintain that.
“And we’ll take an ugly win any day of the week.”
“They were extremely poised,” Ryan said. “We were normally solid on the first screen, but with the poise they showed to do it two or three times, eventually we fell asleep. Their front court is very good.”
Short had 15 points and Kern added 7 for the Stars. BNL made only 6 of 22 shots in the first half.
“Very slow start, and we were really disappointed with the third quarter,” Ryan said. “I thought, coming out of the locker room, we were ready to go. It comes down to execution, and that falls on me. We have to be much better. In the flow of the game, if you’re not making shots, you have to be able to manufacture something.”
BNL (0-2 in the HHC) will look to bounce back against Seymour on Friday night.
BEDFORD NL STARS (37)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
10 Easton Moore, f 1-3 2-5 0-0 2 1 5
24 Gibson Crane, f 0-0 0-2 0-0 3 4 0
5 Dax Short, g 3-8 4-16 4-6 1 3 15
1 Parker Kern, g 1-4 2-8 2-4 0 5 7
11 Jace Nicholson, g 1-3 2-5 0-0 0 0 5
40 Ben Conner 0-0 1-3 0-0 5 1 2
12 Dayson Kirby 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
2 Driven Axsom 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 5 3
Totals 7-21 12-42 6-10 15 20 37
JENNINGS COUNTY PANTHERS (48)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
20 Hayden Low, f 2-4 3-5 0-2 2 4 8
21 Nate Dixon, f 1-1 3-3 0-0 5 3 7
40 Johnny Elkins, c 0-1 6-11 3-5 7 2 15
3 Cash Millspaugh, g 1-2 2-7 0-2 7 2 5
12 Jeremiah Davis, g 2-3 5-7 1-1 6 3 13
14 Omar Gonzalez 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 3 0
4 Aaron Lewis 0-1 0-2 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 6-12 19-36 4-10 35 17 48
Bedford NL 7 12 5 13 – 37
Jennings Co. 16 12 5 15 – 48
Turnovers – BNL 7, Jennings Co. 15
Field goal percentage – BNL 12-42 (.286); Jennings Co. 19-36 (.527)
Free throw percentage – BNL 6-10 (.600); Jennings Co. 4-10 (.400)
