“The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.”
That was the pregame message Bellwood-Antis head coach Tim Keech offered his players before Monday’s match-up with Juniata Valley. Coming off a last-minute, heart-breaking loss to Mt. Union in the Juniata Valley League first cycle championship game, the Blue Devils would need a strong effort against the Green Hornets in order to get back on track. And, that is exactly what the senior-dominated team delievered.
Although they trailed by 10 in the first quarter (14-4), the Blue Devils were able to overcome the early double-digit deficit and march on to a 57-48 victory over the Green Hornets, and in the process, tally their 18th win of the season.
“Before the game, I stressed to the kids that we really needed to bounce back tonight.” Keech said after the game. “We fell behind early, but this is a resilient bunch of guys. They knew what they had to do and just went out and made some plays and got themselves back in the game.”
After a Steve Crider three-pointer just before the first quarter buzzer that got B-A back into the game, Blue Devil point guard Ricky Shannon took the game over.
With his team down 16-10, Shannon threw a perfect lob pass to fellow senior Ryan Myers, who skied above the rim and then dropped it in the cylinder.
“That was the turning point in the game for us,” said Keech. “We weren’t playing all that great coming out of the locker room, and the alley-oop gave us a spark and fired up the rest of the team.”
Shannon was clearly inspired. The senior guard followed that play with nine consecutive points of his own. That included capping the run with a three-pointer from 30 feet out.
Shannon’s efforts started a 15-4 Blue Devil run to end the first half, giving them a 25-20 halftime lead.
After the break, Valley got themselves right back in the game, getting a quick three and following it with a lay-up to tie the score.
Bellwood-Antis then got hot again, boosting their lead, only to have the Hornets shoot their way back into the contest a second time. JV’s Chris Lawler hit a lay-up that got the Hornets to within one (32-31), but thanks to Steve Crider, that was as close as they would get.
Following Lawler’s bucket, Crider reeled off three straight buckets. The first was a three from the top of the circle. Then he followed it with a lay-up off a brilliant assist from Shannon. Finally, the Blue Devils’ co-captain finished his run off with another lay-in, slashing his way through the lane on his way to the hoop.
“Steve has had some tough games this year,” said Keech. “He has struggled a bit. But no matter how well he is shooting the ball, he always does the little things that help us win ballgames like rebounding and taking charges. He’s worked really hard and it’s nice to see him get back on track offensively. It’s just a credit to the type of kid he is.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Valley’s Bill McGinnis cut the Blue Devil lead to four at 52-48. But the Bellwood seniors stepped up in clutch and finished off the win at the free throw line. Nathan Carlson went 2-2 and Ricky Shannon went 4-4 in the waning minutes of the ballgame to seal the deal.
Juniata Valley was led by Pete McDowell who scored a team-high 17 points. Tony Price added 12 points, all from behind the 3-point arc. The loss drops Valley’s record to 9-10, including a 2-3 mark in the second cycle of the Juniata Valley League.
Bellwood-Antis was led in scoring by Steve Crider and Ricky Shannon. Crider provided a game-high 19 points while Shannon added 17 of his own. The Blue Devils also received 10 points from Ryan Myers and seven from Dan Smith. Carlson and Smith also helped out on the boards, pulling eight and seven rebounds respectively. Shannon dished out seven assists for the Devils, who improved their record to 18-2 on the season and 5-0 in the second cycle of league play.
First place in the second cycle of the Juniata Valley League will be up for grabs on Friday, as Bellwood will travel to Mount Union for a game that is sure to not disappoint. In two previous meetings this year, each team has tasted victory once. The first game saw B-A’s Ryan Myers win the game with a jump shot at the buzzer. Then, last Saturday night, Mount Union defeated the Blue Devils by only one point in the Juniata Valley League first cycle play-off game. The Trojans loss to B-A in December is the only blemish on Mount Union’s season (20-1) thus far.
“Friday’s game is going to be big.” Keech said. “We will have to win if we want a chance to win the Juniata Valley League. It’s going to be tough going down there, but we have three days of practice to prepare, so we will definitely be ready.
The contest will take place at the Mount Union high school gymnasium. Game time is set for 7:30 PM.
Junior Varsity
Despite 19 points from leading scorer Paul Greiner, the Blue Devil jayvee team fell to Juniata Valley, 51-48. Bellwood also received 10 points from Mark DelGrosso. The loss drops the Devils’ record to 7-10 on the season.
Juniata Valley was led by Ben Gildea, who scored 16 points.
Bellwood-Antis 57 Junita Valley 48
JUNIATA VALLEY – Price 4 0-0 12, Lawler 2 0-0 5, McDowell 7 0-0 17, McGinnis 4 0-1 8, Allison 0 0-0 0, Grissinger 0 0-0 0, McMullen 0 0-0 0, Teeters 0 0-0 0, Corbin 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 2-3 48.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Myers 4 2-3 10, Shannon 4 7-8 17, Smith 3 0-0 7, Crider 8 0-0 19, Carlson 0 4-6 4, Rogers 0 0-0 0, Hughes 0 0-0 0, Mattern 0 0-0 0, Greiner 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 13-17 57.
Score By Quarters
Juniata Valley 14 6 14 12 – 48
Bellwood-Antis 7 18 19 13 – 57
Three-point goals: Juniata Valley 8 (Price 4, McDowell 3, Lawler 1); Bellwood-Antis 6 (Crider 3, Shannon 2, Smith 1).
Records: Bellwood-Antis 18-2 (5-0 2nd Cycle JVL); Juniata Valley 9-10 (2-3)
