Bellefontaine’s boys basketball team made its return from a virus-related quarantine Wednesday, and struggled to find its rhythm.
The Chiefs who had not played a game in over two weeks and went through a 10-day shutdown without any basketball activities, fell behind by 17 points at halftime and could not recover en route to a 64-39 loss to visiting Kenton Ridge in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division game.
The Chiefs drop to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the CBC, while the Cougars improve to 2-3, 2-1.
“Being our first time (through a quarantine), we knew it would be a challenge,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “We were off for 10 days and then were able to get three practices in. I think the fatigue from all that time off showed. Our kids have had great attitudes through all of this, but they have to realize that it’s going to take them a little bit of time to get their conditioning back.”
Bellefontaine held up early. It trailed by three (15-12) after one quarter and closed within two early in the second period.
But a cold stretch ensued over the rest of the first half. The Cougars used a 17-2 run to lead 32-15 at halftime.
“They were really crashing the boards hard and we didn’t handle it very well,” said Stolly. “They were getting two, three, four shots at a time and we were getting one. That allowed them to go on a run and we couldn’t recover.”
The Cougars further distanced themselves with a 7-0 run to start the second half. That gave the visitors a 24-point cushion.
“We talked at halftime about coming out with good intensity, but they were able to put that quick 7-0 run together and we didn’t have an answer,” said Stolly.
Hunter Warner paced the Chiefs with 15 points. Kam Smith also scored in double figures with 11 points and Jaeden Campbell added six.
Michael Severt led the Cougars with 19 points.
The Chiefs will now get back to work as they prepare for a tough Jonathan Alder team on the road Tuesday.
“We need to clean things up on offense,” said Stolly. “We have to be more patient on offense, and we also just have to keep working on getting our conditioning back. It’s important that we stay positive and keep working. Hard work and resolve will result in some good things if we keep pushing forward.”
Kenton Ridge also beat BHS in the junior varsity game 51-31. C.J. Wilson paced the Chiefs with 11 points.
In the freshman game, Kenton Ridge defeated Bellefontaine 54-20. Cooper Sterling led the Chieftains with five points.
KENTON RIDGE 64, BELLEFONTAINE 39
KENTON RIDGE (2-3, 2-1)
McKay 7 0-0 14; Rogan 2 0-0 5; Severt 8 1-1 19; Moore 4 0-0 10; Younts 5 2-4 12; White 1 2-2 4. Totals: 27 5-7 64.
BELLEFONTAINE (0-5, 0-2)
Wilson 0 1-2 1; K. Smith 4 3-4 11; Campbell 3 0-0 6; Reames 0 0-1 0; Snapp 1 0-0 2; Baughman 1 1-2 4; Warner 5 5-8 15. Totals: 14 10-17 39.
COUGARS 15 17 22 10 — 64
CHIEFS 12 3 16 8 — 39
Three pointers: Bellefontaine 1 (Snapp); Kenton Ridge 5 (Moore 2, Severt 2, Rogan). Team fouls: Kenton Ridge 14; Bellefontaine 12.