For most of the season Bellwood-Antis has been struggling making free throws and getting production from their bench. With the help of 13 points from reserve Tyler Elvey and an 11-15 performance from the charity stripe, the Blue Devils overcame both of these issues in a 58-50 victory over Everett.
“Tyler was the offense tonight. There were times when our offense was stagnant, he came in when we had people in foul trouble, and he came in, and he was able to knock them down, and it was huge, because it gave people who are normally on the floor a chance to rest, and it really picked up everyone\’s spirit on the floor,” Bellwood-Antis Head Coach Tim Keech said.
Long before Elvey was on the court, Paul Christner gave the Blue Devils an early lead with a 3-pointer to begin the scoring, but Everett fired back with a 6-0 run.
A 7-1 run near the end of the quarter gave Everett a 15-8 lead, but Elvey hit the first of three 3-pointers, and Ben Hatch, who led Bellwood-Antis with 14 points, made a layup to bring the Blue Devils within two after the first quarter.
Everett clung to their slim lead for most of the second quarter, but with 1:37 left Blaze Winterstein made two free throws to bring Bellwood-Antis within one, and Hatch hit a jumper from the free throw line as time expired in the half to give the Blue Devils a 25-24 advantage heading into the break.
“Ben\’s shot was real big not just to have the lead, but to get us in a positive frame of mind coming back out for the second half,” Keech said.
Boyd Beegle, the game\’s high scorer with 22 points, gave Everett the lead with a basket to start off the third quarter. Hatch answered with a layup for Bellwood-Antis before Beegle struck back with another of his own to give Everett a 28-27 lead, but it would be the last time the Warriors held the lead.
Winterstein scored on a layup to start a 14-0 Blue Devil run which featured eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, from Elvey. A Brandon Shaw basket halted the Blue Devil run, but Elvey countered it by nailing two free throws to close out the quarter with the score 43-30.
A 6-0 Everett run ending with 1:28 in the fourth quarter brought the Warriors within eight, but Hatch and Christner were 4-4 from the free throw line to hold off the late rally.
“We\’re starting to get a little more confidence as a team. The last two days we spent at least two different sessions shooting at least 20 free throws, so I think that whole positive frame of mind, it really helps,” Keech said.
The win continues the Blue Devils\’ momentum from the second half of their game against Penns Valley in which they outscored the Rams\’ 30-28 in the second half.
“The second half against Penns Valley we played a really good game, and today they did the things to win the game, and yeah I think it could be the start of a nice momentum swing,” Keech said.
Bellwood-Antis (6-8) travels to Mount Union today. Tip-off for the junior varsity game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Tyler Elvey scored 11 points while carrying the Bellwood-Antis junior varsity team to a 36-27 victory over Everett. Christ Pittman led all scorers with 13 points in a losing effort.
Bellwood-Antis 58 Everett 50
EVERETT – Kalfas 1 0-1 2, Beegle 10 2-4 22, Decker 0 0-0 0, Grimes 2 0-0 4, McCahan 2 0-0 4, Shaw 1 0-0 2, Pittman 1 0-0 3, Rakoczy 4 2-2 11, Snyder 1 0-0 2, TOTALS 22 4-7 50
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Hatch 5 3-7 14, Winterstein 3 4-4 10, Christner 2 2-2 7, Seidel 2 0-0 4, Wertz 5 0-0 10, Elvey 4 2-2 13, McCrum 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 21 11-15 58.
Score by Quarters
Everett 15 9 6 20 – 50
Bellwood-Antis 13 12 18 15 – 58
Three-point goals: Everett 2 (Rakoczy, Pittman).
Bellwood-Antis 5 (Elvey 3, Christner, Hatch).
