Bulldogs go 2-0
PHOTO BY RICH FOWLER
Batesville boys basketball picked up two wins over nearby foes this past week to get themselves back over the .500 mark early this season.
The Bulldogs had lost two-straight the week prior but bounced back on Thursday night with an 83-64 victory at Milan and followed it up with an Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference win at home over East Central by a 60-56 final.
12 made 3-pointers and a 53 percent clip from beyond-the-arc propelled Batesville in Thursday night’s win over Milan. The Indians hung tough early and led 19-17 through one quarter soon after the Bulldogs got hot from the field and never looked back, stringing together back-to-back runs of 27-12 and 30-15 in the two middle frames. Milan’s offense scored 18 points in the final eight minutes to bring the margin down after trailing by as many as 30 points.
Trenten Luers hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead Batesville in scoring. James Hughes and Brayden Maple each added 13 points for the Bulldogs and both Cayden Drake and Kamryn Holcomb put in 12 points apiece. Cade Kaiser’s eight points and Ethan Schneider’s two points rounded out Batesville scoring.
Maple added team-highs of nine rebounds and six assists. Hughes and Kaiser combined for 13 rebounds and Luers paced the defense with three steals.
Milan got a team-high 22 points from Micah Norman in the loss, Ethan Clark scored 16 points and John McKeown totaled 10 points. The Indians also got seven points from Jackson Voss, six points by Ben Knowlton and three points from Josh Pettit.
The Indians (3-3) are home on Saturday night against Eastern (Pekin).
Both East Central and Batesville shot over 50 percent from the field on Saturday and the two combined for 19 3-pointers in a game that saw the Bulldogs survive multiple charges from the Trojans.
Batesville led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a 42-35 lead into the final quarter but East Central made things interesting in the final stanza, cutting the deficit down to a single possession on multiple occasions. The Bulldogs were able to hit free throws in the final seconds to stretch the game back out and secure a win.
Kaiser posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists, three steals and two blocks and Maple led all scorers with 19 points. Hughes and Holcomb sat at eight points and seven points respectively while Luers at five points, two points by Drake and one point from Schneider rounded out Batesville scoring.
East Central (1-4) saw Eli Selhorst and Joel Richter each hit four 3-pointers and finish with 19 points and 16 points respectively.
Batesville (3-2) was home on Monday against South Ripley in a rematch of last year’s Ripley County Tournament Championship and will host the Batesville Invitational on Friday. The Bulldogs play Mt. Vernon (Fortville) in round one while the other opening round contest features Indianapolis Roncalli and Columbus North.
