Monday Morning Match Memories: Special Edition

This is what it is all about. This is the reason that we play. Congratulations to a second Bethany Christian team winning a Sectional crown this year! And congratulations to Mikey Kelly for being the only Bethany athlete involved with both championships!

Today we take a hiatus from the tennis memories to blog a bit about the Sectional 51 final between Lakewood Park and Bethany Christian. Tomorrow we'll return with the 12th installment of regular Monday Morning Match Memories, even though it will be Tuesday. But today, we celebrate our friend's achievements.

MMMM #11.5: Basketball Sectional Champions!

Saturday night, the Bruins found themselves up against a well-prepared, well-coached, well-disciplined team of Lakewood Park Panthers. But at the end of the game, it was the aggressiveness of the Bruins that broke through for a Sectional title.

The pressure games usually award the aggressor, and it was no different in the Blackhawk Christian Sectional Final. Lakewood Park had to take their chances by playing a laid back zone, trying to take away the inside from the talented and athletic Bruin big men, Seth Kauffman and Mark DeLeeuw. The zone held up very well for the Panthers in the first half. In fact, the Bruins were having all sorts of difficulty finding ways to get easy shots. In the first half, most Bruin attempts came from outside the three point line. Two point opportunities came rarely, and even then from the fast break or from offensive rebounds.

Still, in the early going it looked like the Bruin defense might make the game a yawner anyways. The Bruins allowed only 5 points in the first quarter and into the second quarter. A minute into the second frame a Seth Kauffman 3 pointer from the left corner put Bethany up 12-5 and it looked as if the Bruins were developing some breathing space.

And yet, the Panthers continued to push. Their star player, Tommy Strine, knocked down a three with a hand in his face to quickly pull the Panthers back into the game. And their run didn't stop there. After the Bruins established the 7 point lead on Kauffman's 3-ball, Lakewood Park went on a 11-6 run to close the half. But it could have been much worse. The Bruin defense held the Panthers to only 16 points in the first half total, and thus it was the Bruins who held a 2 point lead at the intermission.

Defense had created for the Bruins in the first half, aggressive defense causing steals and turnovers. Off one of these turnovers, Seth Kauffman had been able to free himself for a two-handed slam in front of "Jim's Jungle." It was quick, forcing plays like these that were keeping the team in black off balance. Their passes were nervous and nothing came easy for the Panthers in the first half.

On the flip side, the zone was beginning to bother the Bruin shooters. No team wants to throw up threes all game long, and the Bruins were falling into these tendencies. In the third quarter, the unfortunate trend continued. Stymied in their attempts to find an inside presence, the Bruins again only managed 9 points in the quarter. On the other end, the Panthers were able to find their inside presence and bang home a couple of layups to tie the game at the end of the quarter. Still looking out of rhythm offensively, both teams defenses had allowed for a close low scoring game heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started oddly. The Panthers abandoned their zone defense, that had enabled them to shut down the Bruins inside scoring. Immediately, Bethany took advantage. First a drive to the basket was converted by Mark DeLeeuw on a tip-in. Another basket put the Bruins up by four, before another Strine three cut the lead to one. Then Bethany went on there final run.

Two DeLeeuw free throws and another Kauffman lay up put the Bruins up five, then Strine hit another free throw so the lead was four. Lakewood then tried to switch to a press, which the Bruins broke as Jordan Weaver attacked the rim and hit a layup to push the lead to six. After a Panther timeout, aggressive defense forced another steal, and Kauffman's second slam of the evening followed, ignited the Bruin crowd. More aggressive defense forced more bad shots and blocked shots, and the lead grew to 10, 12. All the sudden, the clock showed only 2:00 remaining and the Sectional was in the grasp of the Bethany blue!

As I watched the game, I marveled at the way Kauffman, DeLeeuw, and Weaver took the ball right at their defenders when they got inside. On Weaver's layup to break the press and force the Lakewood timeout, Strine had been directly between Weaver and the basket. Jordan had not backed down however, taking the ball right at Strine's chest and causing him to move and actually commit an uncalled foul, as well as making the basket. Time and time again in the fourth quarter, hounding defense and strong offensive moves on the interior provided the Bruins with easy baskets and separation on the scoreboard.

I realized as I watched that all sport is so much the same. The team that believes, executes with passion and aggression, and stays focused on those tasks; they usually win. That was very sweet to watch.

So, one more time, congratulations to the boy's basketball champions! Let's keep the tradition alive and win some more Sectionals yet this year!