Columbus East’s Julius Dailey shoots a free throw against Bedford North Lawrence at Columbus East, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Columbus East was cold Friday night.
The Olympians had a cold night of shooting, and it plagued them throughout the game. Bedford North Lawrence had its shooting woes, as well, but the Stars snapped out of the drought quicker, thus handing East a 59-48 Hoosier Hills Conference loss in the Orange Pit.
“They shot the ball well, and we didn’t. We had some good looks, and we’ve got to knock them down. We’ve got to get some other guys to step up and knock down some shots – bottom line,” East coach Brent Chitty said.
It was cold shooting starting out by both teams, but Noah Godlevske, who made his first start for BNL (1-2, 1-0) finished with 11 points in the first half, with nine of those coming from the perimeter. The Olympians (1-5, 0-1) led 12-10 after the first quarter following a steal and basket from Mason Reeves.
The shooting woes for East continued when it managed only one field goal in the second quarter, but the Stars poor shooting, too, allowed the Olympians to take a 16-12 lead. BNL finished the first half on a 7-0 run with Godlevske scoring the last five points to put the Stars ahead 19-16.
BNL shot the ball better in the second half and started to pull away for its largest lead of the game at 32-22 midway through the third quarter. East cut it to 34-28 following a basket from Julius Dailey, but a four-point-play from Godlevske with 4.4 seconds left gave the Stars a 38-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Kaedyn Bennett, who had only two points in the first three quarters, scored the first nine points under the basket for BNL in the fourth quarter to help build the largest lead of the game for the Stars at 44-30. The Olympians got as close to seven, but couldn’t get any closer than that to finish the game.
“At the end (of the game) defensively, we let the ball get to the middle. When we do that, we’re done, especially with a team like BNL,” Chitty said. “They spread you. They‘ve got some guys who can knock down from outside. They handle the ball extremely well. They were just more physical than us. Until we become a more physical team, it’s going to be a long season.”
For East, Ben Sylva led the way with 19 points. Dailey finished with 17, and Zane Moravec added nine.
For BNL, Colten Leach finished with a game-high 24 points. Godlevske finished with 18 and Bennett added 11.
Next up for the Olympians is a date with crosstown rival Columbus North on Friday.
Bedford North Lawrence 59, Columbus East 48
Bedford NL;10;9;19;21;—;59
Columbus East;12;4;12;20;—;48
Bedford North Lawrence (1-2, 1-0): Noah Godlevske 6 1-1 18, Colten Leach 8 8-9 24, Kaedyn Bennett 5 1-2 11, Trace Rynders 0 0-2 0 Colton Staggs 2 0-0 4, Jett Jones 0 0-0 0, Kole Bailey 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 10-12 59.
Columbus East (1-5, 0-1): Mason Reeves 1 0-0 2, Zane Moravec 4 0-0 9, Ben Sylva 6 6-6 19, Jackson Fischvogt 1 0-0 2, Keaton Lawson 1 0-0 2, Jake Gilbert 0 0-0 0, Julius Dailey 4 5-7 14, Pete Coriden 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 11-13 48.
3-point goals: Bedford North Lawrence 5 (Godlevske 5); Columbus East 3 (Sylva, Dailey, Moravec).
