SCOTTSVILLE – In a battle between two of the season’s top performers in Region 4, it was Bowling Green that prevailed.
Taking on Allen County-Scottsville in a big regular-season contest on Saturday evening, the Purples made the big plays when they mattered most, held the sharpshooting Patriots to just 38 percent shooting and delivered the final punch in a 59-54 win at Patriot Gym.
One night after earning a marquee 54-48 victory over District 14 rival Warren Central, BGHS likes where it’s heading.
“That’s been two tough games back-to-back for sure,” Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb said. “(Allen County-Scottsville) is a good basketball team. They shoot it and pass the ball well. That’s a good win for us to come over here after Central and have our guys sit down and guard. We challenged our guys to be really good defensively and go crash the glass, and for the most part tonight I thought we did that.”
Bowling Green (18-3) trailed 17-13 after the opening quarter but outscored ACS 13-3 in the second to take a 26-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Purples and Patriots went back-and-forth throughout the second half, but BGHS was able to make the clutch plays and earn the win.
Three different Purples finished in double figures, as Isaiah Mason and Turner Buttry each scored 12 points and Conner Cooper tallied 11.
Jax Cooper finished with 15 points to lead Allen County-Scottsville (17-4), while Mason Shirley and Brett Rippy each added 13.
“We came into this game knowing they were a really good basketball team,” Mason said. “They play smart and don’t really do too much flashy things, so we just knew that we had to stick together and talk through everything and just stay together no matter what.”
Bowling Green started fast and jumped out to a 7-2 lead at the 3:47 mark of the first quarter after Cooper made a 3-pointer and Mason scored on a drive inside. Soon down 10-4, Allen County-Scottsville responded with a 6-0 run to jump in front at 12-11 at the 1:04 mark.
Back-to-back baskets from Cooper and Rippy to close the period put the Patriots up 17-13, but the Purples regrouped and fired back in the ensuing frame.
After ACS made a pair of free throws to open the second, Bowling Green put together a commanding 11-0 run and found itself leading 24-19 with 1:30 left in the half. Shirley’s free throw brought the Patriots within 24-20, but Mason followed up with a score on the next possession to put the Purples up 26-20 at the break.
Rippy was up to 12 points after two quarters, while Mason had scored eight.
The two sides played a competitive, back-and-forth second half.
A pair of baskets from Gray to open the half extended Bowling Green’s lead to 30-20 at the 6:40 mark of the third quarter. Buttry’s 3 made it 35-23, but Allen County-Scottsville answered with scores on back-to-back trips to get within 35-26 at the 4:21 mark.
“To me, they never looked frustrated,” Clubb said of ACS. “They just kept coming at us – that’s what it felt like from over on the sideline. They mixed defenses up on us quite a bit tonight and kept us off balance. They’ve got good size and they play hard and do a great job over here. To put them in a stretch like that was good for us.”
Gray’s layup just over two minutes later pushed the Purples’ advantage to 40-28, but Cayden Ross quickly scored on the other end to make it a 10-point affair. Buckets from Cooper and Ross on the Patriots’ next two possessions cut BG’s lead to 42-34 entering the fourth.
Cobi Huddleston’s layup off the right side of the glass put Bowling Green up 46-38 with 5:22 remaining before a pair of Shirley free throws brought ACS within 46-40. Jordan Dingle knocked down four straight free throws to push the Purples’ lead to 50-40, but Shirley answered with a big triple to bring the Patriots within seven with 4:22 left.
Five straight points from Cooper – highlighted by a tough basket in the lane – cut BG’s lead to 54-49 with 2:26 left. Mason responded with a layup on the other end to put the Purples up 56-49 – and although ACS was able to get within 56-52, Bowling Green’s defense stood tall and the Purples made late free throws to come out on top.
“Our kids had fight all night long,” Allen County-Scottsville coach Brad Bonds said. “I thought the physicality of the game was an advantage for them, specifically on the boards. They just wore us down. Their hands were in our backs and there was just a lot of physical play that we didn’t really handle real well.
“This is not going to be a bad loss for our guys because we’re gonna learn from this, we’re going to grow from it and it will definitely make us a better basketball team.”
Bowling Green – 13 13 16 17 — 59
Allen County-Scottsville – 17 3 14 20 — 54
BGHS – Isaiah Mason 12, Turner Buttry 12, Conner Cooper 11, Kolbe Gray 8, Jordan Dingle 5, Cobi Huddleston 5, Trevor Dennis 3, Ivan Drobocky 3.
ACSHS – Jax Cooper 15, Mason Shirley 13, Brett Rippy 13, Bryce Carter 5, Owen Stamper 4, Cayden Ross 4.
