While Bellefontaine remained winless Friday night, the Chiefs took a step in the right direction against a strong Kenton Ridge opponent.
After falling behind by 15 points in the third quarter, the Chiefs closed within a point with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
However, the visiting Cougars refused to relinquish the lead and held on for a 58-51 victory in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division game.
Bellefontaine drops to 0-15 overall and 0-8 in the CBC, while Kenton Ridge is now 11-4, 5-2.
“Our kids battled like they have all year,” said BHS head coach Jason Calton. “Over this recent stretch, we have stayed with the best teams in the league. I was very proud of the kids for their effort tonight.”
The Chiefs came out playing well early with a 10-8 lead after one period.
Led by 6-7 standout senior wing Tyler Eberhart, the Cougars warmed up in the second period to jump in front 32-21 at halftime.
The Cougars in the third quarter pushed their lead to 15 at 46-31 before Bellefontaine closed the stanza on a 5-1 spurt to make it a 47-36 score.
Junior guard Jarrid Baughman shot Bellefontaine back into the game in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Baughman buried three straight three-pointers to pull Bellefontaine to within two points (47-45) with 6:29 remaining.
After the Cougars converted one of two free-throw attempts, Bellefontaine’s Kam Smith knocked down a jumper to slice the Kenton Ridge lead to one (48-47) at the 5:57 mark.
“We were able to rattle them a little with our pressure and we had some guys step up and make some shots,” said Calton. “I thought Kam Smith played his best game as a Chieftain tonight. He played great defense and just played with a lot of confidence.”
The Cougars quickly regained their composure, using a 6-0 run to lead 54-47 with 2:29 left to play.
A pair of Declan Ashcraft buckets got Bellefontaine to within three (45-41) with 54 seconds remaining. However, Eberhart iced the win for the Cougars with four consecutive made free throws.
Eberhart poured in a game-high 35 points.
“Eberhart is a tough matchup for us,” said Calton. “He has really good size and he has a really nice shooting touch. He’s a very difficult guy to defend.”
Maverick Calton led the Chiefs with 15 points. Baughman had 14 points and Ashcraft added 10 points.
In the junior varsity game, Kenton Ridge won 56-28. Dylan Breckler led the Chiefs with 12 points.
Kenton Ridge won the freshman contest 37-32. Declan Shannon had 12 points to lead Bellefontaine.
The Chiefs return to action Tuesday at home against Urbana.
KENTON RIDGE 58, BELLEFONTAINE 51
KENTON RIDGE (11-4, 5-2)
Dotson 1 0-0 3; McKay 0 0-4 0; Houseman 2 5-8 9; Younts 2 0-0 4; Sevart 1 0-0 3; Eberhart 13 8-10 35; Perkins 2 0-0 4. Totals: 21 13-22 58.
BELLEFONTAINE (0-15, 0-8)
Smith 1 0-0 2; Ashcraft 5 0-0 10; Baughman 5 0-0 14; Calton 6 0-0 15; Belser 1 1-2 4; Warner 3 0-0 6. Totals: 21 1-2 51.
Cougars 8 • 24 • 15 • 11 — 58
Chiefs 10 • 11 • 15 • 15 — 51
Three pointers: Kenton Ridge 3 (Dotson, Sevart, Eberhart); Bellefontaine 8 (Baughman 4, Calton 3, Belser). Turnovers: Kenton Ridge 11; Bellefontaine 8. Team fouls: Kenton Ridge 7; Bellefontaine 21.