Bellefontaine made a long night even longer for Stebbins on Saturday.

Bus problems forced a late arrival for the Indians and the varsity game did not start until after 9 p.m. When it did get under way, Bellefontaine manhandled the visitors for a 51- 23 win in Central Buckeye Conference boys hoops action.

Bellefontaine’s Dominique Fudge puts up a shot during the first half of Saturday’s home game against Stebbins. EXAMINER PHOTO | MATT HAMMOND

After losing three in a row, Bellefontaine now has won two straight. The Chiefs were coming off a win over Urbana on Thursday.

“It’s been an up and down season,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “We are at one of the upswings right now. At this time of year you need to be on top of your game every night. We have four games left and we are going to see what kind of momentum we have been able to build up.”

Scoring has been a big problem for Stebbins lately. The Indians scored just 17 points in a loss to Springfield Shawnee on Tuesday and points were hard to come by against the Chiefs as well.

Bellefontaine took an 11-2 lead after one quarter and the Chiefs led 26-7 at halftime.

Stebbins senior forward Bryson Criddell, who has a 26- point game to his credit this season, was held to just two points on a pair of free throws.

“I was most pleased with our defense,” said Stolly. “Criddell is a very good scorer and he did not end up with a field goal tonight. Our kids did a good job of containing him.”

Bellefontaine was led by the play of senior forward Brock Mitchell. After scoring 20 points in Thursday’s win over Urbana, Mitchell tallied a game-high 15 points against the Indians. He added 10 rebounds, six blocked shots and three steals.

“Brock has put two good games together,” said Stolly. “He had a big game against Urbana and he set the tone inside tonight.”

Mitchell had a lot of support as 10 Chieftains reached the scoring column. Dominique Fudge had nine points, Michael Bean had six points and Que Carter chipped in five points.

“Overall, it was a good team effort,” said Stolly. “I thought Dominique Fudge gave us a nice boost off the bench.”

In the reserve game, Bellefontaine won 38-33. Rossi Clark led the Chiefs with 10 points.

Stebbins won the freshman game 45-33. Aaron Dunn paced Bellefontaine with 12 points.

Bellefontaine returns to action Tuesday at Tecumseh in a makeup game.

BELLEFONTAINE 51, STEBBINS 23

STEBBINS (2-13, 2-10) Witcher 1 3-6 5; Krznarich 2 0-0 4; Benge 1 0-0 2; Trego 1 0-0 2; Criddell 0 2-3 2; Kennedy 1 1-2 4; Kirkendall 2 0-0 4. Totals: 8 6-11 23.
BELLEFONTAINE (10-6, 7-5) Baughman 1 0-0 2; Showalter 1 0-0 3; Fudge 3 2-2 9; Conaway 1 0-0 2; Carter 2 1-2 5; Dodds 1 0-0 3; Mitchell 6 3-6 15; Lowe 1 2-2 4; Bean 2 2-2 6; Artis 0 2-2 2. Totals: 18 12-16 51.

Indians 2 5 8 8 — 23
Chiefs 11 15 13 12 — 51

Three pointers: Stebbins 1 (Kennedy); Bellefontaine 3 (Showalter, Fudge, Dodds).
Rebounds: Bellefontaine 26 (Mitchell 10).
Assists: Bellefontaine 9 (Conaway 3).
Steals: Bellefontaine 9 (Stockton 3, Mitchell 3).
Turnovers: Stebbins 13; Bellefontaine 11.
Team fouls: Stebbins 15; Bellefontaine 14.