The Blue Devils basketball team has struggled with consistency on offense. Thursday evening, the boys team faced off against Penns Valley at home. B-A’s offense couldn’t get going in the first half but ultimately found it’s rhythm in the second half a bit too late.
Bellwood-Antis dropped their fourth in a row to open the season with a 68-53 deficit.
Senior guard Holden Schreier returned in a big way Friday after recovering from a foot injury. Schreier entered this season as the team’s top returning scorer. Friday was no different. He led the team’s offense with 18 points.
“It felt good to finally be out there playing again, and I hope that we can build on the good things that we did to start getting some wins,” Schreier stated.
Sophomore Jackson Dorminy also showed some promise adding on 10 points of his own. B-A as a team picked up 11 three pointers in the loss.
Penns Valley guard Spencer Althouse carried the Rams offense Friday by registering 23 points. Junior Carter Ironside followed in his footsteps putting up 11 more.
The game moved into the half with a 28-15 P-V advantage.
“Early in the game we struggled to find rhythm on the offensive end,” Coach Tyler Mertiff said.
The Blue Devils were then able to find some success in the second half. The boys tried to lessen the deficit by tacking on 38 points in the remaining two quarters.
“In the second half, the guys started to trust the game plan and hit the open shots,” Coach Mertiff added. “Hopefully that can translate to future games.”
The Rams countered B-A’s offensive surge by forcing turnovers down the court. Penns Valley was able to rack up 40 points in the second half and finalize the game at 68-53 P-V.
The B-A boys now look to pick up their first win in tournament play during the Northern Blair Kiwanis Tournament at Tyrone. There, the Blue Devils will open against Claysburg-Kimmel on December 28 at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs are currently 1-5 on the season.
