By CHUCK BANAS
Daily Herald Sports Writer
It was frigid, ice cold, chilled, sub zero and that was all in the Bellwood-Antis High School gym last evening as the Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils had all they could handle from an inspired Williamsburg team. The first time around the Blue Devils had won by twenty points. This time they would escape with a four- point win.
Bellwood-Antis has lived by the three-point play all year. The first half of last night’s game saw the Blue Devils die by the three point as they missed their first four three point shots. The first was on the Blue Devils first possession and Williamsburg came down and hit a short jumper to go up 2–0. This was the first time in thirteen quarters of basketball that Bellwood found themselves behind on the scoreboard.
The Blue Devils would answer with a six point run to go up 6–2. The Blue Pirates would come right back on a five point run of their own to go up 7–6. Bellwood would score two more jump shots to Williamsburg’s one in the period, as the first frame ended with Bellwood up by one at 10–9. The usual point spread that the Blue Devils have been reaping due to the three-point shots was missing tonight, and the Blue Devils found themselves in a game.
“I give Williamsburg all the credit in the world tonight. They came here to play,” said Bellwood head coach Tim Keech. “We were rushing our shots and then we seemed to loose confidence. We just did not hit the open shots that we normally hit,” said Keech.
If you thought it had to get better in the second period, well you would be wrong. Williamsburg totally outplayed the Blue Devils in the quarter. The cold shooting continued, as the Blue Devils could not buy a basket. With only :04 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter Bellwood had scored zero points. Ben Hatch went to the line for two foul shots and would miss them both but with :02 on the clock Alan Wertz would put in the offensive rebound and give Bellwood it’s only two points of the quarter.
Williamsburg would outscore Bellwood ten to two in the quarter to go into the half up 19–12.
Bellwood-Antis would shot a dismal twenty-four percent from the floor and was zero for two from the foul line. The Blue Devils had missed all nine of their attempted three–point shots in the first half.
“We did not adjust very well in the first half, and that is my fault,” Coach Keech added.
The third quarter was going to continue as an epic as to who would miss the most shots. After three minutes of basketball Bellwood had score a total of three points on Tyler Elvey’s first made three-pointer of the night for Bellwood-Antis. Williamsburg on the other hand was not burning the nets off the rim either. They had scored only two points.
The quarter mercifully came to an end with Williamsburg still ahead 25- 21. Bellwood-Antis’ woes from three- point land had continued as the Blue Devils ended the third quarter making one of fourteen three-point shots. They were very lucky to be only down by four.
Blaze Winterstein started things off in the fourth for Bellwood by hitting a three-point shot from the corner to make it 27–24 Williamsburg with 6:35 remaining in the game.
Williamsburg would come down and hit for two to go up 29–24. The Blue Devils would force a turn over and come down to hit a jumper to pull within three 29–26. After a missed Blue Pirate jump shot, Ben Hatch would bury a three-point shot to tie it at 29–29 with 3:47 remaining.
The pressure defense would result in another Williamsburg turnover and Tyler Elvey would hit Bellwood’s second consecutive three-point shot. Just like that the Blue Devils had gone on a six point run to take the lead at 32–29 with 3:14 left.
Dan Eastep of the Blue Pirates would answer with a lay-up to bring Williamsburg right back to within one at 32 – 31.
Then came what may have been the key play of the game for Bellwood-Antis. On the next possession, Paul Christner’s three-point shot rattled out, but Blaze Winterstein came flying in backside and made the offensive rebound tap in while hanging in mid-air. The Blue Devils were up 34–31 and the crowd was brought back into the game. It just jump- started the Blue Devils.
Williamsburg would commit another forced turnover. Ben Hatch would then be fouled while shooting a three-point shot and would go to the line for three foul shot attempts. Hatch would make two of the three and Bellwood was now up by five 36–31 with 1:38 remaining.
Then came a scary moment as Dan Eastep of the Blue Pirates would be fighting for a rebound and come down hard to the floor striking his head. He would lie there several minutes before being able to sit up. He needed to be helped from the floor to the locker room.
Bellwood-Antis would hang on and escape this night with a 40–36 victory over the Blue Pirates. During the post game comments, I asked Coach Keech what he thought about the twenty-five percent shooting from the floor. He could only shake his head.
“You know, I think I would rather win ugly then loose pretty,” Keech grinned. “I thought that Blaze Winterstein’s mid air offensive rebound in the fourth quarter was the play that gave us what we needed to win this game,” concluded Coach Keech.
Bellwood moves to 15–3 (13–1 Juniata Valley League). Williamsburg headed home at 10–10 (8–7 JVL).
Game notes: Blaze Winterstein led Bellwood-Antis in scoring with eleven points. Alan Wertz had a game high fourteen rebounds for Bellwood. Preliminary reports from the Williamsburg locker room indicated that Eastep would be okay. Jordon Greaser would lead Williamsburg with nine points. Williamsburg’s Junior Varsity team would come out with a 58–53 victory over the Blue Devil J. V. team. Nate Gray would lead Bellwood with 20 points. The Bellwood-Antis J.V. record dips to 7–8 on the year.
Bellwood-Antis 40 Williamsburg 36
Williamsburg: Eastep 3 0–1 6, Greaser 3 2–2 9, Yeager 3 0–0 6, Miller 2 0–0 4, Dowey 3 0–0 6, Detwiler 2 0–0 5 Totals: 16 2–3 36
Bellwood-Antis: Christner 3 3–4 9, Winterstein 4 2–2 11, Hatch 3 2–6 9, Wertz 2 1–3 5, Elvey 2 0–2 6 Totals: 14 8–18 40
Williamsburg 9 10 6 11 – 36
Bellwood-Antis 10 2 9 19 – 40
Three point shots: Williamsburg: 2 (Greaser, Detwiler)
Bellwood-Antis: 4 (Winterstein, Hatch, Elvey 2)
