Bellevue connects from long range, beats Clyde

BELLEVUE — Bellevue didn't shoot the basketball particularly well in its first three games of the season, but that all changed in the second quarter Wednesday against Clyde. The Redmen made eight 3-pointers in a decisive 6 1/2-minute span. They scored 28 points in the second period and turned back Clyde 69-59 in the first edition of the Battle of Route 20. The game served as the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division opener for both teams. "It's always nice to get our Rivalry Rock back," Bellevue coach Ed Rich said. "I give our guys credit. They shot it with a lot of confidence." Ike Brown finished with 20 points to lead Bellevue (2-2, 1-0 SBC Lake). Brown scored the first 11 points for the Redmen and had his team's only field goal in the tight first quarter. Sam Bollinger added 17 points for Bellevue, including seven in the fourth quarter as Clyde made a charge. "Our coaches said to shoot with confidence," Bollinger said. "We kept shooting and our confidence was boiling. The whole team was excited. It was all energy. "This game always is rough. I'm proud of us for how tough we were." Clyde grabbed an early 11-3 lead when Karcen Garner scored in transition. That was as good as it got for the Fliers as Bellevue scored 37 of the last 48 points in the first half. The Redmen were 8 for 12 from distance in the second quarter. Hudson Smith's 3 gave Bellevue a double-digit lead at 30-20 with 3:25 left in the first half. Bollinger built the lead to 36-25 with two 3s in 30 seconds. Bellevue led 40-25 at halftime and grabbed its largest lead — 22 points at 49-27 — on a JJ Vogel 3-pointer two minutes into the second half. Vogel finished with 13 points. "We have guys who can shoot it," Rich said. "We were unconscious for a little bit, which is something we needed against an explosive Clyde team." Bellevue finished with 13 3-pointers — 10 in the first half. "Some uncharacteristic things happened tonight," Clyde coach Jared Shetzer said. "We knew they could shoot it. I didn't anticipate them shooting like that. If that's what it takes to beat us, that's what it takes. "We had a lot of resilience and were able to fight back." Clyde put up a good fight, rattling off an 8-0 run to end the third quarter. The Fliers (1-2, 0-1) went on a 15-2 run late in the third and early in the fourth. Their full-court press got to Bellevue and a couple Aric Kauble steals made believers of Clyde. Kauble, the Fliers' top defender picked up two early fouls but was a factor defensively in the second half. An offensive rebound basket by senior center Chase Castle and a drive to the hole by Max Swander got Clyde to within 55-50 with 4:49 to play. A Bollinger 3 cooled Clyde's run and gave Bellevue a 58-50 lead with 4:13 to play as the Redmen slowed the tempo. "We started shooting 3s after one pass and they made a run," Rich said. "We did not go to a stall game, but we went to a continuous motion so we could maybe get some back cuts." Clyde, which forced 15 turnovers and committed only seven giveaways, was hurt by poor free throw shooting. The Fliers converted just 11 of 26 tries from the stripe. "That just killed us," Shetzer said. "That's something we do every day and our goal is 70 percent. Sometimes you have to lose to learn. Unfortunately we had to lose to learn some lessons." Oscar Webb led Clyde with 16 points. Castle added 15 — 11 of them in the second half. "He's really come around and put the work in," Shetzer said. "He got going and that was really helpful. He has to show he can hold a seal and finish." Karcen Garner had 10 points for Clyde and Michael Scruggs, a physical 6-foot senior, finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. Castle's left-handed basket with 2:22 to play got Clyde to within 60-53 before the Redmen sealed the satisfying win at the free throw line. The Fliers — who made 16 3-pointers last Saturday in a win against Ashland — have a break before hosting Norwalk in SBC Lake Division action next Friday. Bellevue hosts Port Clinton at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a SBC crossover. CLYDE (1-2) Max Swander 2 0-0 4, Oscar Webb 6 3-6 16, Aric Kauble 1 2-2 4, Michael Scruggs 3 2-5 9, Chase Castle 6 3-7 15, Karcen Garner 4 0-4 10, Jonathan Lantz 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 22 11-26 59 BELLEVUE (2-2) Sam Bollinger 5 3-6 17, Ike Brown 6 4-5 20, JJ Vogel 4 2-2 13, Reid Claus 1 2-3 4, Elijah Turinsky 2 1-1 6, Braiden Hill 1 1-2 3, Hudson Smith 1 2-4 5, Owen Hancock 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 20 16-25 69 Clyde 13 12 18 16 — 59 Bellevue 12 28 13 16 — 69 Three-point goals: Clyde 4 (Garner 2, Webb, Scruggs); Bellevue 13 (Bollinger 4, Brown 4, Vogel 3, Smith, Turinsky)