By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – With a Friday night appointment, the walk-in clinic was the cure for Seymour. The Owls walked into BNL Fieldhouse, needing an offensive injection, and walked out into the winter night’s brutal cold with a surgical victory that warmed their souls.
Every scan, every test, every diagnosis came back positive for purple. The images revealed obvious issues for Bedford North Lawrence. Whatever virus Seymour’s offense was carrying, the Stars caught it.
Spurred by an early 15-0 run, the Owls were no longer quiet, stealthy watchers in the dark, they were dangerous birds of prey while sinking their claws into the Stars for a 59-40 triumph. Nate Fritsch scored 22 points as Seymour (4-8 overall) recorded its third win against Hoosier Hills Conference competition.
This was medical school, carving on a cadaver. Seymour turned six BNL turnovers into runaway points during that shifting burst. The Owls converted five bad passes into breakaway baskets. On the other side, Seymour was guilty of only one turnover – only one, on the first possession of the game – until the deep end of the bench killed off the final two minutes.
Seymour was averaging only 40.1 points per game. The Owls almost had that by halftime, built a 20-point lead in the first half, and threatened to trigger the running clock in the fourth quarter. They posted their season high in points. There was not much resistance.
”They put on a clinic,” BNL coach Jackson Ryan said. “When you give them easy opportunities to get them going, you can’t do that. On the other end, they were getting into us, and we weren’t doing anything about it. That’s very frustrating.”
The quick blast set the tone. Carter Stein stroked a trey, Gage Hillian swiped a perimeter pass for a layup, and Lakoda Leavy worked the lane for a 3-point play. Fritsch followed with a corner bomb, and Hillian drove the paint for another layup and 17-5 lead in less than six minutes. That run was followed by a 12-0 blast in the next period. Somebody pull the plug.
“We kept it together,” Seymour coach Kirk Manns said. “Sometimes when you get a lead, it’s hard. Guys want to do their own thing a little bit. But for the most part, they stayed together. We took care of it, rebounded it well. That gave us a chance.“
BNL had no chance, other than a brief surge to start the second half. Gibson Crane scored on a reverse layup, Jace Nicholson swished a trey, and Dax Short drove the lane as the Stars scrambled within 36-23. Seymour answered that with a third extended run, this one another 15 consecutive points. The biggest gap came at 56-27 midway through the final period.
Seymour’s scoring came from only four sources. Hillian and Leavy totaled 14 each while Stein drilled three treys.
“We’re building a little bit, we’re starting to see a little more consistency,” Manns said. “We got some offense from some other guys. Gage hit a couple of 15-footers, got some rebounds. We got some good play from Lakoda, and Carter hit a couple of threes. That opened it up for Nate. He’s hard to guard in there. So we got a good mix of scoring.”
Seymour was a case study in disciple. Run the offense until BNL broke down. Jump the passing lanes. Refuse to gamble on defense. Never turn in over. That works every time.
“They do a great job defensively, they get into people,” Ryan said. “We couldn’t get open, couldn’t be fundamentally sound enough to get us into something. Credit to them for that.
”That’s not a team that will set the world on fire, but when you give them four or five pick-sixes, and they see the ball go in a couple of times, that sets a tone.”
Short was BNL’s only offensive threat with 16 points, and that total included a bomb from beyond halfcourt to end the first quarter.
“I’ve always liked Short, he’s a good player,” Manns said. “You look at that team, and they’re just missing a few parts. It’s just tough, because our guys started putting the ball in the basket. When that happens, it snowballs.”
BNL fell to 4-9 overall and 0-3 in the conference. With the postponement of Saturday’s home clash with Edgewood (thanks to the predicted winter storm), the Stars will have to taste this one for a while.
”This was a big opportunity to get a home win,” Ryan said. “Now we get to sit on this one for a few days.”
The Stars will visit Jeffersonville on Jan. 30.
SEYMOUR OWLS (59)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Gage Hillian, f 0-0 7-12 0-0 6 0 14
4 Evan Unterseher, f 0-1 0-2 0-0 3 1 0
15 Lakoda Leavy, c 0-0 6-11 2-3 8 3 14
1 Carter Stein, g 3-5 3-7 0-0 2 0 9
11 Nate Fritsch, g 1-3 8-15 5-5 3 2 22
20 Chris Pumphrey 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
30 Brody Pendleton 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
5 Jake Dowell 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Jackson Fox 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Ethan Alcock 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 4-12 24-47 7-8 23 7 59
BEDFORD NL STARS (40)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Gibson Crane, f 0-0 2-6 0-0 3 1 4
10 Easton Moore, f 0-0 1-2 0-0 4 1 2
5 Dax Short, g 2-3 5-13 4-6 6 1 16
1 Parker Kern, g 1-2 1-5 1-4 2 1 4
11 Jace Nicholson, g 1-1 2-3 0-0 0 1 5
40 Ben Conner 0-0 2-4 0-0 2 1 4
12 Dayson Kirby 0-1 1-2 0-0 2 2 2
2 Driven Axsom 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 2 0
23 Jett Alvey 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
21 Rowan Miller 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
20 Jack Parsons 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
22 Garrett Chaillaux 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-10 15-38 5-10 23 10 40
Seymour 22 12 11 14 – 59
Bedford NL 10 4 9 17 – 40
Turnovers – Seymour 4, BNL 15
Field goal percentage – Seymour 24-47 (.511); BNL 15-38 (.395)
Free throw percentage – Seymour 7-8 (.778); BNL 5-10 (.500)
