Bellefontaine’s boys basketball team earned arguably its biggest win in the last several years Friday night.
The Chiefs, who came in 0-2 in Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division play, knocked off first-place Jonathan Alder 53-46 in overtime in a thrilling league matchup at BHS.
Bellefontaine improves to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the CBC. The Pioneers fall to 3-2, 2-1.
The win marked the first time Bellefontaine has defeated Jonathan Alder since the Pioneers joined the CBC in the 2017-18 season.
“This was a great team win,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “We had a lot of contributions from different players tonight, whether it was helping with scoring or rebounding and defense.”
Stolly said he felt his team came in confident after showing a lot of fight in an overtime loss to Northridge last Saturday.
“I thought we grew up in that Northridge game,” said Stolly. “We had a really good week of practice this week and our kids believed in each other tonight. I think this can be a big confidence builder. If everyone buys in and stays with the process, good things can happen for this group.”
The Chiefs were able to put a complete game together against the Pioneers.
Bellefontaine led 11-9 after one quarter and held a 19-18 advantage at halftime.
The Chiefs took a 31-27 lead after three quarters.
The Pioneers surged ahead in the fourth period, and led by four points with about a minute to go.
However, the Chiefs didn’t flinch. They were able to get within three, and sophomore Tavien St. Clair drilled a three-pointer with six seconds to go to tie the game and force overtime.
“The way the fourth quarter ended, that gave us some momentum going into overtime,” said Stolly. “In overtime, we got the tip, and we were able to take about a minute and a half off the clock, got a good shot and took the lead. That really set the tone for us in overtime.”
Bellefontaine outscored the Pioneers 10-3 during the extra period.
Carter Snapp led Bellefontaine with 18 points. St. Clair had 13 points, Jacob Salyer scored 11 points and Kaden Reames had seven points.
Peyton Heiss scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Pioneers.
“We need to continue to get better and just build on this win, starting (tonight) against Dublin Jerome,” said Stolly.
In Friday’s junior varsity game, Bellefontaine lost 53-32. Alex Crabill led the Chiefs with 17 points.
Jonathan Alder won the freshman contest 41-19. Jair Mundy led the Chiefs with nine points.
Bellefontaine hosts Dublin Jerome in a non-league contest tonight.
BELLEFONTAINE 53 JONATHAN ALDER 46
(OVERTIME)
JONATHAN ALDER (3-2, 2-1)
R. Mark 2 1-3 5; Harrington 3 0-1 6; Heiss 6 11-12 25; D. Mark 2 0-0 4; Hess 1 0-0 2; Adkins 1 2-2 4. Totals: 15 14-18 46.
BELLEFONTAINE (2-3, 1-2)
Neer 0 1-2 1; St. Clair 4 4-6 13; Salyer 4 0-2 11; Snapp 7 1-2 18; Wilson 1 1-2 3; Reames 2 3-4 7. Totals: 18 10-18 53.
Pioneers. 9 9 9 16 3 — 46
Chiefs. 11 8 12 12 10 — 53
Three pointers: Alder 2 (Heiss 2); Bellefontaine 7 (Snapp 3, Salyer 3, St. Clair). Team fouls: Alder 21; Bellefontaine 19.