Bethany boys edge Clinton

Sports

February 2, 2010

By Greg Keim The Goshen News Tue Feb 02, 2010, 11:57 PM EST

Mikey Kelly saved his best for the fourth quarter.

The 5-10 Bethany Christian senior tossed in 14 of his career-high 17 points in the final period as the Bruins defeated the Clinton Christian Couriers, 62-52, in a high school boys basketball game Tuesday night at Bethany.

The Bruins led 42-40 after three periods before Kelly was 5-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range in the last one.

“The last five games Kelly has been shooting like that, just not often enough,” Bruin coach Jim Buller said. “Tonight he pulled the trigger at the right time.”

Kelly’s previous high was 15 points in a 65-56 loss to Fremont last season.

Bethany was leading 46-42 at 7:21 of the fourth when Kelly drained the first of his treys.

“Clinton kept coming back on us and that ‘3’ by Mikey fueled our defense,” Buller said. “It gave us a big lift.”

Clinton was 15-of-29 shooting over the first three periods, answering every scoring run the Bruins had. In the fourth, the Couriers were 5-of-13 and couldn’t respond to Bethany’s 12-6 run over the final 4:30.

“We couldn’t buy a basket in the fourth,” Clinton coach Chad Schrock said. “We had a nice run in the third, but Bethany kept hitting from outside. We were not xpecting Kelly to shoot like that.”

Bethany (7-7) travels to Elkhart Christian Friday. Clinton (12-5) visits Howe Military Saturday.

Six-four senior Seth Kauffman netted 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Bruins.

“Seth is not averaging 24 or 25 points per game anymore, but we are developing more scoring balance,” Buller said. “(Six-seven senior) Hamilton Thorne is coming along as a post player. With Kauffman and Thorne both in the game it opens up the outside shooting.”

The Bruins were 23-of-47 shooting (48.9 percent), including 8-of-15 (53.3) from beyond the arc.

“We had a number of kids relax and shoot the ball,” Buller said. “We knew coming in we would have to hit some shots from outside. Clinton is a which that likes to collapse on the post. Kauffman (six assists) is getting adept at passing the ball from the inside.

“The good news is that we took very opportunistic shots. We have players who are capable of shooting. Earlier in the season we were struggling with when to shoot.”

Thorne added seven points, 5-8 junior Ben Bontreger six and 5-11 sophomore Femi Hollinger-Janzen five for Bethany.

Leading scorers for Clinton were 6-4 senior Jordan Bontrager 17 points, 5-9 senior Dustin Yoder 14 and 6-3 junior Judson Yoder 10.

Bethany defeated Clinton 55-47 when the two squads meet in the Bethany Holiday Tourney in December.

“This game was a lot like the first one. We had to pull away at the end,” Buller said.

The teams have only played five times with the Bruins winning four of them.

“The matchup certainly has all of the makings of a rivalry,” Buller said. “Clinton plays fundamental basketball and they bring a good crowd. The one thing it lacks is they are not in our sectional. If they become IHSAA eligible, that could change.

“Since we are they bigger school we feel more pressure about having to win. We have a lot of respect for the kind of basketball Clinton plays.”

Schrock said, “We only have about 50 kids in our whole school. Bethany is a bigger school so they are under more pressure to win. Coach Buller does a very good job with his team.”

Text Only

Sports

COLLEGE CONNECTIONS: Ex-Raider Troyer excels for Wesleyan
Senior Derrick Troyer (Northridge) poured in 21 points for the NAIA D-II No. 14 ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats in a 94-87 Mid-Central Conference win over the Bethel Pilots.

February 13, 2012 4 Photos
FROM THE SIDELINES: EN trip triggers hoop memories
Visiting the “Big Blue Pit” in Kendallville on Saturday for the Goshen-East Noble boys basketball game stirred up a multitude of memories.

February 13, 2012 1 Photo
OUTDOOR COLUMN: Replacing the new with the old
If the statement came from any other angler, I would have instantly dismissed it. But Russell Chatham is no ordinary fisherman. He knows whereof he speaks.

February 13, 2012 1 Photo
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Gridiron Knight
One of the most disruptive parts of Concord’s “Strike Force” defense over the past two high school football seasons — Jarrett Settles — has decided to take his football talents to Marian University in Indianapolis.

February 12, 2012 1 Photo
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Panthers roll
Using some of the best parts of their arsenal — superior size, quickness and speed — the NorthWood “Black Swish” jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in winning the program’s 22nd high school girls basketball sectional championship Saturday night in the Class 3A final at Wawasee.

February 12, 2012 2 Photos
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Heartbreak for Raiders
Oh, so close.
The Northridge girls basketball team was within sight of a Class 4 sectional championship Saturday night at Goshen High School.

February 12, 2012 1 Photo
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Leafs drop a heartbreaker
Last time the Goshen College men’s basketball team faced MCC foe Spring Arbor University, the Maple Leafs had their worst offensive output of the 2011-12 season in a 60-48 loss on the road.

February 12, 2012 1 Photo
GIRLS BASKETBALL: On to the finals
Northridge’s very young girls basketball team — a squad without a single senior — has the Raiders within one victory of the school’s first-ever sectional championship.

February 11, 2012 2 Photos
Panther-Charger final
The No. 3-ranked NorthWood “Black Swish” survived an upset bid by a determined group of Fairfield Falcons Friday night in the high school girls basketball Class 3A sectional at Wawasee.

February 11, 2012 2 Photos
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Kelly, Irish reshuffle coach lineup
When a football team falls short of its goals, changes are often made to the coaching staff.

February 11, 2012 1 Photo
More Sports Headlines

The Goshen Housing Authority has a $571,050 shortfall. Should the Goshen City Council use money from its $4.7-million “rainy day” fund to pay the debt and maintain the current level of service provided by the voucher program?

Sports

Search Results

Bethany boys edge Clinton

The Goshen Housing Authority has a $571,050 shortfall. Should the Goshen City Council use money from its $4.7-million “rainy day” fund to pay the debt and maintain the current level of service provided by the voucher program?

Site Map