Boys Basketball Sectional Champions (Game Report, March 7)

NOMINATE FOR ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

"Casey Weaver brings the ball up, right side. Three...two...one...ballgame! Bethany wins it! For the first time since the Jordan Buller era, the Bruins are sectional 51 champions!"

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — With those words it ended. With words it had started, an hour-plus before, preceded even earlier than that with a last-second shot in December. Though Casey Weaver thrust a dagger through the Bruins' hopes that Friday night in 2008, he could not recover that magic on the Saturday of Week 35. The game began, after a nearly two-minute rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by the public-address announcer, inauspiciously for both teams. Though Bethany led 9-5 after the first stanza and 12-5 in the second quarter following a three-point goal from Seth Kauffman, the Panthers answered Kauffman's three and trailed by only two entering halftime.

The third quarter was not markedly different than the other two: Lakewood Park's zone slowed the Bruin offense, ekeing out nine points for the third consecutive quarter, and Bethany held the Panthers to only seven points in the first six minutes. The Bruins would crack, though, as layups by Brock Taulbee and Carson House brought the Panthers back to a 27-all tie in the 24th minute of play. Within two seconds of the period's end, however, the momentum began to shift: Chris Lampe picked up his fifth foul. The Panthers had used only six players to that point in the night, but continuous fouling left the Bruins in a position to seize control.

Seize control they did: Bethany took half of its fourth-quarter points from the charity stripe. The the field goals began to fall, too, as Lakewood Park abandoned its 2-3 zone to start the fourth quarter. Almost immediately, Mark DeLeeuw tipped in a Seth Kauffman attempt, followed by another Bruin bucket to stretch the lead to four. Tommy Strine answered with a three, only to be negated by four more BCHS points. After a Lakewood Park basket, Jordan Weaver led the offense through the Panthers' full-court press, and Seth Kauffman followed that with a steal-dunk combination that pushed Lakewood Park's Don Davis into calling a timeout. While I don't remember any other particular shots, the team in black went into panic mode offensively, and Bruin baskets on the ensuing possession stretched the lead to double digits. With 6.4 seconds to play, Carson House fouled Ben Bontreger, becoming the fourth player to be disqualified. Bontreger missed the first to the right, then sank the second. As the LPCS offense frantically pushed the ball up the floor, the horn sounded.

Seemingly just a piece of the scoreboard, the horn set off a celebration not seen in Bethany's ranks since 2002, reverberating from the blue sideline fronting the bleachers up through row L and the gym's cinder block walls. After the teams shook hands, the fans were invited to the floor to take photographs and meet the team. At least a hundred did so. (The results of Bleeding Bruin Blue's foray to the hardwood can be seen here.) As the Bruins cut down the net that had seen only five second-half field goals from Lakewood Park, their next mission became clear: next Saturday, 10:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Eastern, against Triton and Bowman Academy, in Bourbon, Indiana. Stay tuned to Bleeding Bruin Blue's Tournament Central for more information.

(Box Score)

Bethany 53, Lakewood Park 35
Lakewood Park: Tommy Strine 3-8 6-9 14, Brock Taulbee 2-2 1-2 5, Carson House 3-5 3-4 9, Cody Strahm 1-5 1-2 3, Chris Lampe 1-1 0-0 2, Casey Weaver 0-5 2-2 2. Jordan Brooker, Billy Blunier, Andrew Parish, Rob Lauter all 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-37 (27.0%) 13-17 (76.4%) 35.
Bethany: Mikey Kelly 1-11 3-8 6, Jordan Weaver 3-7 4-5 10, Seth Kauffman 7-12 1-2 16, Jesse Ramer 0-0 0-0 0, Mark DeLeeuw 5-7 5-6 13, Luke Slagel 1-2 2-2 5, Ben Bontreger 0-0 1-2 1. Tim Gautsche, Jared Christophel, Hamilton Thorne, Derek Plaster all 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-39 (43.5%) 16-25 (64.0%) 53.
Scoring By Quarters
LP 5 11 11 08 — 35 (14-9)
BC 9 09 09 26 — 53 (15-8)
Three-point goals — Lakewood Park 2-9 (Strine 2-5, House 0-1, Lauter 0-1, Strahm 0-2), Bethany 3-13 (Kauffman 1-1, Slagel 1-2, Kelly 1-8, DeLeeuw 0-1, Weaver 0-1). Fouled out — House, Lampe, Taulbee, Strine.
Rebounds — Lakewood Park 26 (Taulbee 8, Strahm 7), Bethany 32 (DeLeeuw 9, Kauffman 8, Slagel 4, Weaver 4). Turnovers — Lakewood Park 12, Bethany 9. Dunks — Kauffman 2 (school record). Total fouls — Lakewood Park 23, Bethany 16.
Officials — Mike Fuqua, Steve Keck, Bud Wolf.

(Photo credits — scoreboard: Tony Miller; team: Lyle Miller; net: Lyle Miller)


Bruins' defense the difference (Elkhart Truth)
Celebration at Bethany (The Goshen News)
Bruins defeat Panthers for title (DeKalb County Evening Star; subscription required)