The Blackford Bruins Basketball program hosted one of their Conference rivals Friday night in the Eastbrook Panthers. The Bruins entered Friday night coming off a stellar performance last Saturday evening, defeating the Monroe Central Bears 65-55. Blackford has won 6 out of their previous 8 games entering Friday night, as they looked to continue to improve their play during the stretch run of the season. The Bruins knew they would have their hands full, playing one their arch rivals in Eastbrook, a school with a lot of young talent that has played several of the top teams in the Conference right down the wire this season. The Bruins were looking to avenge a loss to Eastbrook during the summer months, where the Bruins were defeated in overtime vs Eastbrook at a Huntington shootout in the month of June. Blackford was welcoming the return of Senior Center Vince Oxley, Oxley had sat out the previous two games with a back injury. He was cleared to practice Wednesday and returned Friday night, playing off the bench for the Bruins.
The Bruins were able to jump off to a quick 4-0 start vs the Panthers, as Gage Baker drove the middle of the lane for a basket. Blackford was then able to get a stop defensively and Baker launched a pass up to midcourt to Jacob Leas, Leas drove the ball to the rim before finding Kitterman running the floor for a layup. Eastbrook was able to rattle off the next 5 points, taking a lead before Kian Wells made a nice drive to the foul line area, before dishing it off to Kitterman for his 2nd layup. About 3 minutes into the first quarter, Gage Baker was whistled for his 2nd foul on an offensive rebound attempt, sending him to the bench for the remaining part of the quarter. Baker entered the game as the Bruins leading scorer (12.5 points per game) and leading rebounder (7 rebounds per game). The Bruins have at times struggled on the offensive end and rebounding with Baker off the floor. Friday night was a different story, as Blackford fell behind 7-6 to Eastbrook before going on a massive run. Eastbrook quickly switched to their 1-3-1 half court trapping defense; the Panthers have had a ton of success playing their 1-3-1 throughout the season.
Blackford was able to execute offensively vs the 1-3-1 trapping defense, with Kian Wells punching the ball to the right elbow area before finding Ethan Morris on the left wing who instantly swung the ball to the left corner to Jacob Leas who drilled a 3-pointer, giving the Bruins a 9-7 lead. The Bruins would not surrender their lead from this point forward, as they played some of their best basketball of the season for the rest of the evening. On the very next Panther possession, the Bruins press was able to get a trap out high on the floor leading to Ethan Morris stealing a pass and taking it the distance to finish an And-1. Eastbrook was able to answer with a basket of their own, giving Blackford an 11-9 lead. The Bruins once again took advantage of the Panthers 1-3-1 zone defense, with Ethan Morris driving the ball into the left wing area, drawing multiple defenders before kicking it out to Leas in the left corner for another 3-pointer. Morris has had a strong connection finding Leas on the perimeter for open shots this season, and Friday evening was more of the same. Morris was then able to attack and get to the foul line, extending the Bruins lead to 15-9. Blackford collected another stop on the defensive end and on the next possession exhibited beautiful ball movement against the 1-3-1 trapping defense, before Gavin Collett found Morris on a skip pass, this time Morris pass faking a pass to Leas in the corner before putting the ball on the floor to finish driving to the left side of the basket. The Bruins once again were able to get a stop on the defensive end and returned in the half court to execute another possession of terrific ball movement before Leas found Morris this time in the corner as he instantly put the ball on the floor to attack for another layup. The basket extended the Bruins lead to double digits, 19-9 over the Panthers.
The Panthers then attempted a 3-pointer with about 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Gavin Collett grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Kian Wells, before Wells launched a full court pass up the floor to a streaking Morris for another layup, giving the Bruins a 21-9 lead. The Panthers scored on the final possession, as the Bruins ended the first quarter with a 21-11 lead. On the first possession of the 2nd quarter, Blackford continued to play stifling half court man to man defense, with Oxley showing hard on a ball screen, knocking the ball away before Jacob Leas scooped up the basketball before passing ahead to Oxley for another Bruins And-1. The Bruins were then able to collect another stop on the defensive end, before Leas found Kian Wells on the left wing, Wells was able to put the ball on the floor and drive right to finish a running floater, giving Blackford a 14-point lead, 25 -11.
It was a massive run by Blackford, especially with Baker exiting with 2 fouls and the Bruins down 7-6. Gage Baker returned with about 5:50 remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Bruins outscored the Panthers 19 to 5 during the 5 minutes of him exiting with foul trouble. Oxley was able to grab a defensive rebound and pass the ball up to near mid court to Baker as he drove the basket to finish an And-1. Eastbrook answered with a 3-pointer, getting the Bruins lead back down to 10 points. Baker was then able to drive the ball from the top of the floor to finish in front of the rim. On the final possession of the quarter, Ethan Morris was able to draw a foul and make 1 of the 2 free-throws, giving the Bruins a 31-18 half-time lead.
At the start of the 2nd half, Blackford continued displaying excellent ball movement in the half court on offense, with Leas finding Baker on a dribble hand-off as he drove down the left side of the lane to finish a basket, extending the Bruins lead to 33-18. Baker then found Ethan Morris running off a double screen to drain a 3-pointer, giving the Bruins a 36-20 lead. The Panthers were able to answer the 3-pointer by Morris, drilling a 3-pointer of their own. Blackford once again displayed solid ball movement in the half-court, this time Kian Wells driving down to the left block before kicking the ball out to Leas, Leas quickly put the ball on the floor and attacked toward the left elbow drawing Wells's defender, Leas found Wells relocating on the left wing for another open 3-pointer, Wells drained it! Blackford held a 41-27 lead with about 4:30 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Panthers 3-point shot was off the mark, Leas grabbed the rebound before launching a baseball pass up the floor to a streaking Morris. Ethan Morris had one of the top moves of the night as he made a nice shot fake and stepped through around the defender to finish with his left hand at the rim. Blackford collected another stop on the defensive end and with about 3:15 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Kian Wells drove the lane and delivered a behind the back pass to Mason Kitterman for a wide-open layup. The pass received some ewww's and ahhh's from the crowd, as it was probably the fanciest pass of the year from any Bruin. Blackford extended their lead to 45-27 off the pass from Wells. Blackford continued to answer any basket by the Panthers in the 3rd quarter. Oxley was able to grab an offensive rebound off Collett's 3-point attempt to finish at the rim, giving hte Bruins a 16-point lead. On the next possession, Morris drove right baseline and delivered a nice bounce pass to Collett for an open layup. The Bruins ended the 3rd quarter, with a commanding 52-34 lead.
Blackford dominated the 4th quarter vs the Panthers, displaying great ball movement, as almost their entire roster contributed. Baker started the 4th quarter driving left baseline and finding Collett on the right block for a basket. On the next possession Baker dribbled up the floor and delivered a nice bounce pass to Leas cutting the basket before Leas drew multiple defenders and delivered a pass out to the top of the floor to Baker trailing the play for a wide open 3-pointer, the 3 by Baker was all net, extending the Bruins lead to 59-37. Baker was then able to find a cutting Kian Wells towards the right block area, Wells finished a jump shot from about 8 feet away. Gage Baker then drove hard down the middle of the lane to finish a floater, extending the Bruins lead to 63-39. A few possessions later, Baker drove hard to collapse the defense before turning in midair and finding a wide-open Leas in the left corner as he drained his 3rd 3-pointer of the evening. Blackford kept their gas on the pedal, as Ethan Morris was able to push the ball up the floor in transition before finding Baker for a layup, extending the lead to 68-44, with about 2 minutes remaining. On the next Bruins possession, Baker drove the ball from the top of the floor to finish an And-1 with 1:45 remaining in the 4th quarter. Blackford finished the rest of the game with their reserves playing. Congratulations to Kentral Toomer, hitting his Varsity 3-pointer of his career late in the game. The Bruins defeated the Panthers 76-47. Blackford is now 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the Conference. The Bruins play tonight at Jay County.
Varsity Game Stats:
Gage Baker - 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and one 3-pointer
Ethan Morris - 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and one 3-pointer
Jacob Leas - 11 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists (CAREER HIGH in ASSISTS - congrats on first double-double of his career), 3 steals & three 3-pointers
Kian Wells - 9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, and one 3-pointer
Mason Kitterman - 8 points, 2 steals and 1 block
Gavin Collett - 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Vince Oxley - 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block
Kentral Toomer - 3 points, 1 rebound, and one 3-pointer
The Bruins shot a season high 67% from the floor tonight as a team. According to Tony Uggen, the school record for a team is 68%! The Bruins also collected the most assists of any team in the past 3 seasons with 23 assists as a team!
In Junior Varsity action, the Bruins defeated Eastbrook 59-43. Blackford's Junior Varsity almost hit the 60-point total again, which would've been the 4th time this season, the Bruins JV only hit that mark 1 time over my first two years at Blackford. The Bruins were playing without their star Center Jacob Dillon. Dillon has entered concussion protocol, as he collided with a teammate in practice. Blackford dominated from the middle of the 2nd quarter on, as Kentral Toomer and Reggie Duren both got hot from the 3-point line. Toomer drilled five 3-pointers and Reggie Duren made four 3-pointers in the win. The Bruins are now 9-7 overall and play tonight at Jay County High School. JV tips off at 6:30 pm.
Stats from JV game:
Kentral Toomer - 24 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, one steal and five 3-pointers
Reggie Duren - 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and four 3-pointers
Mason McFeely - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and one 3-pointer
Eli Morgan - 2 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jayveon McPhaul - 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Ryan Gorrelll - 2 points, 1 steal
Jacob Barry - 2 rebounds
Comments