Benjamin Logan’s young basketball team took a big step forward while Bellefontaine took another painful step backward Tuesday night.
The host Raiders overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and then made some clutch plays in the extra period to pull out a 56-53 victory over their county rival.
“These kids have a ton of fight,” said Ben Logan head coach Cam Saylor, who saw his squad snap a three-game losing skid. “We have talked a lot about growing up as a team. Tonight we responded to a lot of adversity. I feel like we grew up a lot.”
For the Chiefs, it was another disappointing result as they dropped to 0-9 on the season.
“Give Ben Logan a lot of credit,” said BHS head coach Jason Calton. “They weren’t afraid to take shots and they knocked down some big shots.
“Our guys are fighters and I know they will be ready to get back to work. We just have to keep working.”
Without a senior and lacking size inside, the Raiders lost seven of their first 10 games. Despite falling behind 16-8 to start the game and later trailing by double digits in the second half Tuesday, they kept their composure to rally for what could turn out to be a season-changing victory.
“This is huge,” said Saylor. “You lose a game like this and it’s tough to recover from. But now our guys will go into our Urbana game Friday with a lot of confidence. This is definitely a game that can be a springboard for us.”
A 14-2 run to end the first half allowed the Raiders to jump ahead 22-18 at halftime.
Bellefontaine outscored the hosts 21-9 in the third quarter to grab a 39-31 advantage.
A three-pointer by the Chiefs’ Jarrid Baughman early in the fourth period pushed the lead to 11 at 42-31.
Ben Logan did not score in the fourth until a three-pointer by Trey Allen with 4:43 left in regulation. Keaghan Stahler followed with a pair of three-pointers that brought the Raiders to within two (42-40) with 1:18 remaining.
Two Maverick Calton free throws at the 1:04 mark gave Bellefontaine a four-point cushion, but the Raiders responded with a three-point play from Davontae Fahle to make it a one-point game with 54.8 seconds left in the fourth.
Baughman converted both ends of a 1-and-1 at the free-throw line to increase the Bellefontaine lead to three (46-43) with 46.5 ticks remaining on the clock.
The Raiders had another answer, though, as Ethan Ricketts knocked down a three to tie the score with 32 seconds remaining. Neither team scored again in regulation to force overtime.
“We had a really good third quarter and a good start to the fourth quarter, but then we kind of lost our punch,” said Calton. “We tightened up and they took advantage of it. They made more plays than we did.”
Bellefontaine scored the first four points in OT on a pair of Declan Ashcraft free throws and a layup by Calton.
However, Ben Logan wasn’t fazed. Ricketts was fouled while making a basket and added the ensuing free throw to get the Raiders within a point (50-49) with 2:47 left in OT.
After Bellefontaine’s Declan Ashcraft made one of two free throws, Allen hit a three-pointer to put the Raiders ahead 52-51 with 1:25 remaining.
“Trey has been playing really good basketball the last couple of weeks,” said Saylor. “His confidence is through the roof right now. He hit some huge shots for us tonight.”
Ashcraft scored inside with 44 seconds remaining to put Bellefontaine back in front at 53-52.
Allen responded with another big bucket, swishing a jumper with 24 seconds left to give the Raiders a 54-53 lead.
Bellefontaine ran the clock down to 6.8 seconds and then called a timeout to draw up a final play.
When action resumed, the Chiefs drove the ball into the lane and put up a runner that didn’t fall. Ben Logan corralled the rebound and Stahler was fouled with 1.5 seconds left. He then made two free throws to ice the game.
Ben Logan had four players score in double figures, with Allen leading the way with 17 points.
“We have four guys that are pretty good scorers,” said Saylor. “When those guys are on at the same time and when our defense shows up, we can be a pretty good basketball team.”
The Raiders had just four two-point baskets but made up for it with 12 three-pointers.
“That’s our identity,” said Saylor. “We shoot a lot of threes. It fits our skill set. We have six or seven guys that can make them consistently. When we are knocking them down, it keeps us in games.”
Stahler finished with 13 points, Ricketts had 11 and Fahle scored 10 for the Raiders.
Baughman had a game-high 20 points to pace the Chiefs. Ashcraft tallied nine points and Calton chipped in six.
In a touching moment immediately after the contest, balls signed by both teams were presented to the parents of Robbie and Wyatt Smith, the Ben Logan students who were killed in a car accident in November. Brett Belser, a cousin to the Smith brothers, plays for the Chiefs.
“As hard as it to lose another tough game, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when you see something like that,” said Calton. “I told our guys after the game that what we are going through pales in comparison to what the Smith family has had to endure. We just play a game. A couple of parents lost their children. That takes precedent over losing a basketball game.”
In Tuesday’s junior varsity game, Ben Logan won 69-50. Kaden Arn led the Raiders with 30 points and Jaeden Campbell had 19 points for the Chiefs.
The Raiders also won the freshman game, taking a 56-41 decision. Ty Anspach led Ben Logan with 15 points and Kaden Reames had 15 points.
Both teams are back in action Friday. Bellefontaine visits Tecumseh and the Raiders host Urbana.
BEN LOGAN 56, BELLEFONTAINE 53
(OVERTIME)
BELLEFONTAINE (0-9)
Smith 0 2-2 2; Stolly 1 0-0 2; Ashcraft 3 3-6 9; Sterling 2 0-0 5; Baughman 7 4-5 20; Calton 2 2-2 6; Belser 2 0-0 5; Warner 1 2-2 4. Totals: 18 13-17 53.
BEN LOGAN (4-7)
Fahle 3 2-3 10; Munz 0 0-1 0; Allen 5 3-4 17; Hunt 1 0-0 3; Vance 0 2-2 2; Stahler 3 4-4 13; Ricketts 3 1-1 11. Totals: 16 12-15 56.
Chiefs 11 • 7 • 21 • 7 • 7 — 53
Raiders 5 • 17 • 9 • 15 • 10 — 56
Three pointers: Bellefontaine 4 (Baughman 2, Sterling, Belser); Ben Logan 12 (Allen 4, Stahler 3, Fahle 2, Ricketts 2, Hunt). Turnovers: Bellefontaine 12; Ben Logan 11. Team fouls: Bellefontaine 18; Ben Logan 16.