SPRINGFIELD — Bellefontaine was hoping its first win of the season Tuesday against Graham would be a springboard to more success. That didn’t happen here Friday.
The Chiefs fell behind 18-2 after one quarter and they could not recover en route to a 64-49 loss to Springfield Shawnee in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division boys basketball game.
Bellefontaine is now 1-18 overall and 0-9 in the league, while the Braves improve to 11-8, 4-5.
“We lacked energy in the first quarter,” said Bellefontaine head coach Jason Calton. “We didn’t execute on the offensive end and our defense wasn’t very good either.
“I thought our guys continued to fight and they didn’t quit, but we have to play with that kind of energy for four quarters.”
Bellefontaine could not get anything going in the opening period. A basket inside by Declan Ashcraft at the 3:38 mark accounted for the team’s lone points.
“We didn’t take good shots and we made too many mistakes,” said Calton. “We turned the ball over too much and we rushed our shots.”
The Chiefs warmed up in the second period, outscoring the hosts 15-12 to make it a 30-17 score at halftime.
Bellefontaine got to within 11 points twice early in the third period, but a 9-0 spurt by the Braves pushed their lead to 20 with 1:45 left in the quarter. Shawnee led 48-28 at the end of the third period.
The Chiefs were unable to get closer than 13 points in the final stanza.
Declan Ashcraft and Maverick Calton led the Chiefs with 15 points apiece. Jarrid Baughman added seven points.
In junior varsity action, Shawnee won 59-33. Jason Willoughby led the Chieftains with eight points. Bellefontaine travels to West Carrollton on Wednesday for non-league play.