Bellbrook at CJ

Final Score
Bellbrook 48
CJ 44

Bellbrook made a trip to Chaminade-Julienne for a non-league matchup headlining the Battle of the Eagles. C-J entered the game on a 2-game win streak and was sitting at 5-1 since the turn of the new year. Bellbrook on the other hand was looking to turn things around as they had lost 5 of their last 6 games.
 
C-J came out quick, using their athleticism and speed in the backcourt to pressure Bellbrook and forced 3 turnovers just to start the game. To contain the size C-J brought, Bellbrook went into a 2-3 zone defensively. Cal Weatherspoon (Sr) buried 3 3PT shots to start the game out and forced the Golden Eagles defense to account for him while they maintained their zone. C-J struggled to get a lot of ball movement against the zone and was not connecting outside Weatherspoon. C-J led after the first quarter 13-12.
 
Bellbrook was able to quickly tie the game back up to start the second quarter as they forced several turnovers with the zone. C-J would finally break away with a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter to extend the lead to 7. While the defense for Bellbrook did their part, offensively they struggled as leading scorer Kellen Solomon (Sr) struggled to get open looks and Austin Webb (Jr) also was not getting great looks. Bellbrook’s struggles allowed C-J to extend the lead 21-16 into the half.
 
Something changed in that third quarter. Bellbrook had a different feel on both ends of the floor and started to get after it on both ends. The Golden Eagles were able to match their first half scoring total in the 3rd quarter alone. C-J continued to settle for 3’s and was not connecting consistent enough to force Bellbrook out of the zone. At the end of the quarter, we were tied 32-32.
 
In the 4th quarter, Bellbrook continued to make shots and we had a back and forth game going until the final minute. With under a minute, CJ Scohy (Jr) made a double move in the paint to take the lead 46-44. C-J would draw a play up and David Cartwright (Jr) attempted the go-ahead 3 with seconds remaining, but the ball hit the back of the iron giving Bellbrook the ball back and after making 2 free throws, the Golden Eagles would go on to win 48-44 and shock the Eagles in their home gym. Weatherspoon led the Eagles with 13 points on 4-9 shooting from the floor. Bellbrook’s David Gregory (So) led the Golden Eagles with 18 points off the bench on a blistering 6-8 from the floor, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. Bellbrook’s defense did it’s part as it held C-J to 6-of-24 (25%) shooting beyond the arc.
 
Chaminade-Julienne will look to bounce back on Friday with a GCL game at home against McNicholas and another home game Saturday against Division IV power Troy Christian. Bellbrook will face Spire Academy from NE Ohio on Friday.