BHS gets revenge over Shawnee in tourney win
Bellefontaine’s boys basketball team felt like it owed Springfield Shawnee some payback for a pair of regular-season losses. The Chiefs delivered that Saturday in a Division II sectional tournament opener.
Bellefontaine, which lost to the Braves 72-36 on Dec. 2 and 46-42 on Jan. 20, played a crisp game from start to finish for a 46-37 victory at Springfield High School.
“We talked before the game and at times during the game when Shawnee would make a run, that we’ve been there before against them and we can’t let off the gas,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “We didn’t want to let what happen those first two games impact us this time. The guys had a great week of practice and played with a great focus, especially on the defensive end, throughout the game.”
The 14th-seeded Chiefs, now 11-12, advance to play seventh-seeded Dayton Ponitz at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Springfield.
Shawnee, which was seeded 11th, ends its season with a record of 13-9.
Bellefontaine did a good job keeping Shawnee standout Zion Crowe in check.
Crowe, the leading scorer in the Central Buckeye Conference at 20.4 points per game, was held to three below his average at 17. The rest of the team mustered just 20 points.
“With a player like that, you know you can’t shut him down,” said Stolly of Crowe. “What you want to do is make him work for everything he gets. I thought our guys did a good job contesting his shots and of doubling him in the post. His points were pretty spread out.”
Bellefontaine set the tone for its big win early on, jumping out to a 13-5 lead after the opening quarter.
“I thought that was big,” said Stolly. “Tavien gave us a really good spark in that first quarter and that really got our confidence going.”
BHS sophomore Tavien St. Clair had six of his team-high 14 points in the first period.
Bellefontaine stayed in control in the second period to lead by nine points (22-13) at halftime).
Shawnee trimmed three points off the Chiefs’ lead to make it 32-26 after three quarters.
But Bellefontaine outscored the Braves 14-11 in the final quarter to wrap up the win.
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Chiefs. In addition to the 14 points from St. Clair, they received 12 from C.J. Wilson and 10 from Carter Snapp.
“Carter hit some big shots for us in the second half and C.J. has really been playing well,” said Stolly. “He probably had his best rebounding game of the year and he again did a good job of getting to the foul line.
“The rest of the guys did well their jobs and did the little things that you need to beat a team like Shawnee.”
Bellefontaine will now turn its attention to a talented Ponitz squad for Wednesday’s sectional semifinal. A member of the Dayton City League, Ponitz is 15-7. The Panthers beat Bethel 95-40 on Saturday in their tourney opener.
“They are very quick and they want to speed you up,” said Stolly. “But we have to take good shots and make good decisions with the basketball. On defense, we have to do a good job of getting back in transition and getting set. We can’t afford to give up a lot of easy layups in transition.”
BELLEFONTAINE 46, SHAWNEE 37
BELLEFONTAINE (11-12)
Neer 0 1-2 1; St. Clair 6 2-3 14; Scott 1 0-0 2; Salyer 2 0-1 4; Overton-Story 1 1-2 3; Snapp 4 0-0 10; Wilson 4 2-4 12. Totals: 18 6-12 46.
SHAWNEE (13-9)
Crowe 5 5-8 17; Houseman 1 0-0 3; Sieman 1 0-0 2; Powell 3 0-0 7; Dixon 2 4-7 8. Totals: 12 9-15 37.
Chiefs 13 22 10 14 — 46
Braves 5 8 13 11 — 37
Three pointers: Bellefontaine 4 (Snapp 2, Wilson 2); Shawnee 4 (Crowe 2, Houseman, Powell). Team fouls: Bellefontaine 17; Shawnee 13.