BELLBROOK — Coach Donnie Tate and his Bellbrook players will scrutinize a little more than four minutes of third-quarter videotape heavily, after the team’s 49-34 home loss, Jan. 20, to Germantown Valley View. That’s about the time it took for the Spartans to take control of Friday’s game.
While Valley View held a 10-point lead at the break, Bellbrook went on a little 5-0 run to begin the second half. Ethan Savey canned a 3-pointer from the left corner; then a few seconds later, Nathan Cordonnier hit a jumper. Suddenly, Bellbrook had cut the lead in half and momentum seemed to be turning the Golden Eagles’ way.
Then Bellbrook’s momentum ran out a back doorway.
With 3:44 left in the quarter, Valley View took advantage of three Bellbrook turnovers while reeling off a 12-0 run.
Austin Clark drained a 3-pointer, Levi McMonigle scored after rebounding a missed Clark three attempt, Tyler Whiteman put in a bucket from inside right, then he hit another inside score off a nifty assist from Clayton Erbaugh, and then Ben Herman swished a three from the left wing.
Just like that, Valley View had doubled Bellbrook’s score, and led 34-17.
“We just talked about that in the locker room,” Tate admitted. “We’ll be watching to see what happened in that span, offensively and defensively. We have to clean that up to not let that happen again. But that’s probably our best defensive effort of the season.”
The Spartans had been scoring an average of 60.2 points per game, so they were well below their typical offensive output. At the same time, Valley View held Bellbrook roughly 13 points below its normal output of 47.5 points.
While it’s the second lowest amount of points the Golden Eagles have given up in a game this season (they held Monroe to 37 on Jan. 10 in Monroe), it’s also the lowest scoring total for Bellbrook’s offense this season.
“We just had a tough time scoring. Our game plan was to attack the inside, even with their size. … We just didn’t finish when we were inside. So it’s frustrating for all involved when that happens,” Tate said. “You feel like you’re getting good looks, but they’re just not falling.”
Savey and Donnie Crouch both finished with 11 points to lead Bellbrook (4-7, 2-5 Southwestern Buckeye League, Southwestern).
Whiteman and McMonigle led the Spartans (9-4, 5-2 SWBL Southwestern) with 12 each, and Clark finished with nine.
“We don’t win over Bellbrook very often, no matter how good we are. So any time we can leave Bellbrook with a win, we’re happy. And it’s not often that we can get two wins in a season against them,” Valley View coach Ben Buehner said. His Spartans won over the Golden Eagles, 61-49, in Germantown on Jan. 3. “We have some things to work on, namely being consistent in finishing off games, but we’re still a work in progress. It’s just good to get out of here with a win.”
The Bellbrook players will have to watch the game tape next week, however, or maybe after tonight’s game. Bellbrook plays host to Tipp City Tippecanoe for a nonleague contest at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 21.
