PLAIN CITY — Bellefontaine’s boys basketball team again found it difficult to put points on the scoreboard against Jonathan Alder on Friday.
The Chiefs, who averaged just 30 points in their two games vs. the Pioneers last season, struggled to get into an offensive rhythm en route to a 41-21 loss in a Central Buckeye Conference opener.
Bellefontaine, which made just six shots from the field, drops to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the CBC.
“We had some flashes of really good defense tonight,” said Bellefontaine head coach Jason Calton. “We switched up our defenses on the fly a little bit, and that isn’t something we practice much. I thought the guys did a good job with that, but on the flip side, we were not aggressive on the offensive end. We rushed shots and just couldn’t get anything going.”
Alder ran away early. The Pioneers scored the first eight points of the game and went on to lead 16-2 at the end of the opening quarter.
The hosts led 20-2 at the 5:33 mark of the second quarter before Bellefontaine warmed up a bit. The Chiefs closed the half on a 9-7 spurt to trail 27-11 at the break.
Jonathan Alder didn’t let up in the second half. The Pioneers opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run to build a 22-point advantage.
The Pioneers led by 23 (38-15) at the end of the third period.
“We have to continue to get better handling the basketball and executing our offense,” said Calton. “We really struggled with our offensive execution tonight. I thought we were a little weak mentally and we lacked confidence. We have to play with more mental toughness.”
Bellefontaine did not have a scorer reach double figures. Carter Sterling had eight points and Declan Ashcraft and Brett Belser added three points each.
Jackson Izzard paced the Pioneers with 15 points.
Bellefontaine lost the junior varsity game 43-28. Jason Willoughby led the Chiefs with 10 points.
In the freshman game, the Pioneers won 44-28. Kaden Reames had 13 points to lead Bellefontaine.
Bellefontaine returns to action Friday at Kenton Ridge.
JONATHAN ALDER 41, BELLEFONTAINE 21
BELLEFONTAINE (0-3, 0-1)
Stolly 1 0-0 2; Ashcraft 1 1-2 3; Sterling 3 2-2 8; Gross 1 0-0 2; Calton 0 1-2 1; Belser 1 0-0 3; Warner 0 2-4 2. Totals: 7 6-10 21.
JONATHAN ALDER (1-0, 1-0)
Welsch 2 2-2 7; Walker 2 0-1 4; Santa-Emma 4 3-4 11; Izzard 5 3-3 15; Begin 1 0-0 2; Stevens 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 8-10 41.
Chiefs 2 9 4 6 — 21
Pioneers 16 11 9 3 — 41
Three pointers: Bellefontaine 1 (Belser); Jonathan Alder 3 (Izzard 2, Welsch). Turnovers: Bellefontaine 15; Jonathan Alder 7. Team fouls: Bellefontaine 10; Jonathan Alder 11.