Belbrook sophomore Austin Webb (5) looks on as he hits one of his four three-pointers in a 74-51 win against Eaton in the Division II sectional tournament.
Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Driving to the basket to score Bellbrook’s opening two points is senior Carson Labensky (15).
Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Bellbrook sophomore CJ Scohy (0) looks for space in Friday’s game against Eaton.
Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
SPRINGFIELD — Bellbrook head coach Donnie Tate wishes his team could find smart ways to take more threes.
Who could blame him when the Golden Eagles are so proficient at shooting them?
Bellbrook made 11 of its 20 shots from deep in the Division II sectional tournament opener against Eaton and was hardly challenged in a 74-51 win at Springfield High School on Friday.
A 17-0 run after halftime extended what was already a 14-point lead for the Golden Eagles at the break and was fueled by a flurry of shots from downtown.
“I told them they’re going to have to start extending and trying to get steals,” Tate said. “It’s just the nature of being down. Start to press and get out of your gaps and the answer is there and that’s what we got.”
Austin Webb tied his season-high with 26 points and scored 14 within the third quarter with three makes from beyond the arc.
“I feel like I just need to hit one and they’ll keep going in,” Webb said. “We were moving the ball really well only giving up four points in the second quarter really helped us. We just kept on moving on from there.”
With 198 makes in 23 regular season games, Bellbrook (14-9) shot better than 40 percent as a team while averaging just over 21 attempts per game. It’s the best percentage and most makes of any team in the greater-Dayton area.
Webb shot just under 50 percent to lead the SWBL with the second most attempts of all players. CJ Scohy was right behind and Carson Labensky also bested the team average.
“Everyone can make them on the team,” Webb said. “Get Carson in the middle to kick it out when needed and everyone can hit’em.”
A brief drought to start the final quarter brought Eaton as close as 16 after trailing by 31. Scohy countered by draining another three to cap a 7-0 run to end hopes of a comeback.
“It was nice to see them not get frustrated with each other or anything like that,” Tate said. “It could have gotten worse but they stayed mentally tough.”
Kellen Solomon joined Labensky with 14 points and Scohy had 10.
Bellbrook awaits a rematch from last year’s tournament as No. 3 Alter is next on Tuesday. Alter made the most threes in the GCL this season.
If the game comes down to whichever team makes more shots from beyond the arc, Bellbrook may be the best suited team in the area for that type of matchup.
“As a team I knew we’d be able to shoot it, but for a high school team to shoot like 41 percent, that’s just insane,” Tate said.
