The Blair High School boys basketball team overtook Lincoln Standing Bear during the fourth period Saturday, earning its eighth win of the season.
The 8-8 Bears outscored the Grizzlies 22-9 during the final 8 minutes to turn a 44-40 deficit into a 62-53 Eastern Midlands Conference (EMC) victory. The host team dropped to 3-11 in defeat.
Freshman Brevin Leggott led coach Chris Whitwer's team with 22 points. The guard produced 10 of his total during the fourth quarter, knocking down two 3-point attempts and four free throws.
Bo Meier, Aidan Slominski and Hayden Daggett scored during the final 8 minutes for the victors, too. Daggett finished the EMC win with 10 points, while Meier had nine and Slominski notched five.
Kalan Steinbeck also scored 11 points for the Bears. His team next plays 7:30 p.m. today at home against Council Bluffs Lewis Central. BHS will celebrate Senior Night during the contest.
No. 4 Wolves best BHS
The Bears played with Class B No. 4 Elkhorn North for a half, but a 26-4 third period doomed them at home Thursday night. The Wolves led just 32-31 at halftime, but won 73-51.
After the game, Coach Whitwer said he wanted his team to remain confident and to keep playing together.
His team first fell behind 10-2, but battled back during the first period with 3-point makes by Steinbeck and Leggott. Whitwer, however, said he was disappointed with the defensive showing during the first 8 minutes as North built a 22-16 advantage.
“Luckily we did enough offensively,” he said. “We had some shots fall early on.”
The coach was impressed, though, with the Bears' 15-10 second period.
“We got locked-in,” Whitwer said, noting how players more-closely followed the scouting report. “I felt like our guys really upped their level of play on both sides of the floor.”
Daggett — who finished with a team-best 15 points — and Steinbeck hit 3s during the quarter, while Meier made a bucket inside and three free throws. Daggett, Steinbeck and Slominski contributed points from the foul line, too, as BHS pulled within a single point.
The home team would never overtake the Wolves, though.
The visitors dominated the third period, pushing their lead out to 58-35. Whitwer said the Bears allowed too many second-chance points, gave up easy access into the lane and committed too many turnovers during the quarter.
For its part, Elkhorn North played well offensively during the third and throughout the game, sinking 10 3-pointers. Sutton Piatkowski knocked down four in totality and finished with 27 points altogether.
“When they're hitting 3s like that, it's adding pressure on us defensively because we're afraid that, if we get out of position, we're going to give up a wide-open look,” Whitwer said.
He said coaches continue to work with BHS players to anticipate defensively rather than react.
“When we do it, we show up for a quarter or a half and we play with teams,” the coach explained.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Saturday
Blair 62, Lincoln Standing Bear 53
BHS (8-8) 12 11 17 22 — 62
LSB (3-11) 17 11 16 9 — 53
Scoring: BHS — Brevin Leggott 22, Kalan Steinbeck 11, Hayden Daggett 10, Bo Meier 9, Aidan Slominski 5, Andrew Smutny 3, Colin McCabe 2.
LSB — Coen Lambie 12, Carlos Risueno 12, Paul Hart 10, Parker Fellers 7, Sawyer Osborn 7, Trey Galloway 5.
Thursday
No. 4 Elkhorn North 73, Blair 51
EN (12-3) 22 10 26 15 — 73
BHS (7-8) 16 15 4 16 — 51
Scoring: BHS — Daggett 15, Steinbeck 10, Meier 9, Slominski 6, Leggott 3, Nelson Kosch 3, Isaac Field 2, Smutny 2, Ty Tessendorf 1.
EN — Sutton Piatkowski 27, Nike Orgilbold 11, Tyler Nietfeldt 11, Kellen Murphy 9, Will Farrington 6, Landon Wolf 3, Carter Peterson 3, Jase Reynolds 2, Drew Meyer 1.
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