Bruins Fall in Season Opener 74-67 at Southwood High School
The Blackford Bruins Basketball Program kicked off their 2023-2024 season with a trip to Southwood High School Tuesday evening. The Southwood Knights are the defending state runners-up in 1A, a basketball program that has a rich tradition of winning over the last decade. Blackford hosted Southwood last season for their season opener and pulled off the win 58-55 despite committing 29 turnovers. South has won 6 out of the 11 match-ups vs Blackford over the last 35 years. The Bruins entered the game, knowing it would be a tough test to open up the season.
Blackford entered their first game of the season with a shortened rotation due to injuries. Senior point guard Ethan Morris has been out with various injuries for the last several months, most recently recovering from a rupture blood vessel in his arm. He was cleared to play but was deemed to play limited minutes. The Bruins were also without Senior forward Gavin Collett. Collett has been a solid role player for the Bruins, starting several games for the Bruins during his junior campaign. The Bruins entered the game heavily relying on their starting lineup: Senior guard Kian Wells, Junior guard Jacob Leas, Junior forward Gage Baker, Sophomore forward Mason Kitterman and Senior center Vince Oxley
The Bruins started the game, executing offensively, breaking Southwood's full court press consistently and getting multiple baskets from Oxley, Kitterman, and Baker in the 1st quarter, along with a made 3-pointer from Leas and a basket from Ethan Morris. The Bruins secured a 17-16 lead after the 1st quarter. The 2nd quarter really hurt the Bruins as they struggled on the offensive end, committing careless turnovers and struggling to make a shot from anywhere on the floor. The Southwood Knights 6'7'' Sophomore dominated the Bruins in the first half, scoring from the perimeter and dominated the paint, finishing the first half with 17 points. The Bruins finished the 2nd quarter with 2 points, leading to a 10-point deficit at half-time (29-19). The Bruins finished the first half 1-11 from the 3-point line.
The 3rd period for the Bruins was more of the same, as they continued to commit turnovers leading to lay-ups for the Knights, giving up 28 points in the 3rd period. Blackford entered the 4th quarter with a 23 point deficit. The Knights had dominated the first 3 quarters, as Blackford struggled to get anything going on either end of the floor. In the 4th quarter, the LIGHTSWITCH came on, as the Bruins competed for every second of the final quarter. Blackford extended into a full court pressure defense and came up with 7 steals in the final quarter while forcing several errant passes by Southwood. Juniors Gage Baker and Jacob Leas helped lead a massive charge by the Bruins in the 4th quarter as they scored 33 points in the 4th.
Baker had 4 total baskets in the 4th quarter (one 3-pointer), and a couple easy baskets off steals from the press. Baker also delivered a couple really nice passes to Kitterman down low in the 4th period. Jacob Leas got hot from the perimeter, draining four 3-pointers in the 4th quarter alone, including a 4-point play. Leas's last 3-pointer made was from the deep middle part of the floor near the volleyball line, he also had a nice drive and kick to Baker for his 3-pointer. Oxley was able to get in the mix during the Bruins 4th quarter charge with a couple key baskets inside around the basket. The Bruins were able to get it back to 5 points, but could not overcome a massive lead built by the Knights. The loss drops Blackford to 0-1 on the year, as they will look to bounce back vs non-conference rival Bluffton Tigers next Wednesday November 29th.
In Junior Varsity action, the Bruins kicked off their season falling 51-42 at Southwood. Blackford jumped off to a great start, building a double-digit lead. Sophomore Jacob Dillon dominated the first half for the Bruins, finishing with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Dillon controlled the first half for the Bruins, helping them extend to a 31-14 point lead at one point before finishing the half with a 31-20 lead. Dillon was only slotted to play 2 quarters last night due to the Varsity being short on players with injuries. The Bruins missed not having Dillon on the floor for the 2nd half, as it became obvious the loss of Dillon was going to hinder the Bruins significantly.
Blackford struggled to take care of the ball the entire 2nd half and had a 17-point lead wash away before losing 51-42. The Bruins will look to bounce back next Wednesday at home vs Bluffton High School. Junior Varsity will tip-off at 6:00 pm. Come out and support your Bruins!
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