LUERS WINS CONTENTIOUS GAME AGAINST BELLMONT

FORT WAYNE—Bellmont traveled to Bishop Luers Saturday night to take on the Knights in basketball action. Luers is more known for success in football, but they were able to put those gridiron skills to use in a very physical fourth quarter comeback victory over the Braves 58 – 51.

Bellmont led twelve to seven after quarter one, 31 – 23 at half-time, and 43 – 38 after the third. However, Luers outscored the Braves 20 to 8 in the final stanza to pull out the rough and tumble home win.

The Knights used pressure defense throughout the game and it paid off early as they scored the first five points of the game. Bellmont quickly responded with an eight to zero run. Following a basket by Cadelle Wallace, the Braves ran off nine more points to take a tenpoint lead at 17 – 7 early in the second period. Andrew James had eight points and D.J. Kitson four during the opening runs while defensively, the Bellmont 3-2 zone kept the Knights at bay.

Luers scored twice to cut the lead to five and the game would stay in single digits the rest of the night. Bellmont’s patience allowed them to find Kitson and Dylan Velez inside and they effectively used shot fakes against the taller more aggressive Knights to score. The Bellmont guards also found space on the perimeter as James, Jack Scheumann, Kord Fuelling and Gavin Krull each hit a trey in the first half. Bishop Luers also found their offense in the second period as they tallied sixteen points, mostly in the lane. Both teams were playing hard and it made for an entertaining first half.

In the second half, Luers stepped up their defensive aggression and the game turned physical as the Knights extended their pressure. To counter, the Braves drove the lane. James and Scheumann each scored as both teams traded baskets. Then, on back-to-back possessions, Bellmont rebounds turned into Nick Thompson scores as the Knights aggressively stripped the ball away. As the action intensified, the Braves held their own as Scheumann and Fuelling found their way through uncalled contact to the basket and the Braves held a

five-point lead at 41 – 36.

Following a call against Bellmont on one end, coach Jonathon Fuelling asked one of the referees to make the same calls on both ends. A technical foul was called and Danny Kelly hit the free throws, but the Knights could not convert on the possession. With time running out, Fuelling made a great hustle play on a missed shot and flicked the ball to James who converted giving Bellmont the five-point lead at the quarter break.

“I am very pleased with the patience and poise our guys showed the entire night. I thought we did a really good job of playing through things, especially when things escalated in the second half,” said coach Fuelling.

With the players allowed to be physical without penalty, the bigger, stronger Knights were able to take advantage in the fourth quarter with an 8 – 0 run to take a three-point lead, their first since the opening minutes. A trey by James tied it up, but Thompson muscled in for an offensive rebound putback to regain the lead. When Scheumann was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing play, the Bellmont faithful disagreed and the Bellmont bench was hit with another technical foul by the same official. While the game was not out of reach, the Braves could not get closer than four points in the last two minutes as the Knights hit free throws to maintain their advantage.

“There were just too many hurdles to overcome in the third and fourth quarters to pick up a tough road win, but proud of our never-die effort under the circumstances. It will definitely help us down the road.”

James led the Braves with twenty points. Velez tallied eight, Scheumann and Fuelling had seven each. Kitson with six and Krull with three rounded out the scoring for Bellmont.