The Daily Standard
Story Archive
CELINA - It was a perfect start for the Celina boys and girls varsity basketball teams on the first night of the Smitty Way Holiday Showcase at the Fieldhouse. The event honors longtime assistant boys basketball coach Doug Smith, who died in 2023.
In the girls contest, the Bulldogs played havoc with the Bellefontaine offense, forcing nearly 40 turnovers and finishing the game with a running clock in a 60-25 win to snap a two-game losing streak.
The boys' matchup with Bellefontaine was closer, as Celina regained the lead in the third quarter and held off the Chieftains for a 59-50 win to snap a two-game skid.
The showcase wraps up today with another Central Buckeye Conference foe in Indian Lake. There will not be a girls junior varsity game, meaning the JV boys will start at 3:45 p.m. followed by varsity girls and then varsity boys games with the Lakers.
Celina 60, Bellefontaine 25
Celina's Lilly Shreffler (32) and Brinley Korte (20) battle Bellefontaine's Lexey Brown (23) and Hailee Lamb (4) for a rebound during Friday's game as part of the Smitty Way Holiday Showcase at the Fieldhouse.
It took just over two minutes for Celina to get the scoring going, but once Lilly Shreffler's free throw with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter went through the hoop, the Bulldogs were on the run.
A Brenna Korte bucket followed by two Rachel Rammel free throws made it 5-0 Celina with just under four minutes to play before the Chieftains got on the scoreboard with a Grace Brown bucket with 3:16 to go. The Bulldogs defense made it tough for Bellefontaine to even get looks at the bucket. In the first quarter, Bellefontaine attempted just six shots and turned the ball over 12 times as Celina opened with a 15-4 lead.
"We knew we had to come in and set the tone on defense," said Celina girls coach Bret Baucher. "I think our pressure got to them at times."
Bellefontaine managed to get a little more offense in the second and third quarters, but Celina was still rolling on offense and defense. The Bulldogs outscored the Chieftains 17-9 in the second quarter and forced nine more turnovers to take a 32-13 halftime lead.
Celina's Alaina Vehorn (14) goes up for a shot against Bellefontaine.
The Bulldogs continued to build the lead through the third quarter to take a 48-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was the coup de grâce, as Celina outscored Bellefontaine 12-2 with all the scoring coming in the opening 3:10 of the quarter. Brenna Korte's free throw with 4:50 to play gave Celina a 35-point lead, reaching the threshold for a running clock the remainder of the game as the Chieftains recorded 37 turnovers, the same amount of shot attempts in the game.
"I wish we were a little more sharp on offense," said Baucher, whose squad shot 22-of-67 (32.8%) from the field. "We got the looks we wanted, but have to get a little more efficient. I was proud of the way we came out. Tough (playing) on the day after Christmas."
Alaina Vehorn scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to lead Celina. Rachel Rammel added nine points with Shreffler scoring nine points.
Lexey Brown scored 11 points to lead Bellefontaine (1-7).
Celina 59, Bellefontaine 50
Celina's Parker Wynk (1) goes up for a layup as Bellefontaine's Grayson Lotts defends.
The two-day Christmas break looked to be just what the Bulldogs needed at the opening tip.
Parker Wynk opened the scoring with a baseline drive for a layup 1:09 into the game. The next points came just over 1 1/2 minutes later on free throws from Gavin Wicker, then he hit a 3-pointer and layup to make it 9-0 with 3:43 to play in the quarter before Blake Loomis got a hoop-and-harm 3-point play with 2:42 to play for the Chieftains' first points.
"We shot a lot of inside shots tonight, which is good for us," said Celina boys coach Adam Johns, a nod to the Bulldogs attempting just seven 3-pointers - making two - on the game. "We have that ability and the guys who can do it. We had a lot of guys around the lane to finish."
Both teams worked hard to contain the other team's top player. Caleb Schlater played solid defense on returning CBC first-team honoree Jair Mundy, who entered the game averaging 12.2 points per game. Mundy was held scoreless in the first half. The Chieftains worked hard to check Wicker, who entered the game averaging 18.8 points per game.
"It's the first time someone's (challenged Wicker)," said Johns of Wicker, who finished with seven. "He had to adjust his game, becoming more of a screener and facilitator, which he did a pretty good job."
With the two bottled up a bit, others stepped up. CJ Butler caught fire from the 3-point line for Bellefontaine in the second quarter, knocking down a trio of treys as they came back. Grayson Lotts, Bellefontaine's leading scorer at 15.2 points per game coming in, tied the game at 21 with two minutes to play, then 13 seconds later got a steal and basket to give the Chieftains their first lead at 23-21. Schlater knotted the game up again with 1:14 left in the quarter to make it 23-all at the half.
Butler's bucket 39 seconds into the third quarter briefly gave Bellefontaine the lead back, but Schalter got the old-fashioned 3-point play to put Celina back in front 26-25, then a give-and-go play resulted in a Logan Billerman bucket a few seconds later made it a three-point game. After several minutes of back-and-fourth scoring that kept Celina in front, the Bulldogs went on a tear at the end of the third quarter. A 39-38 lead turned into 46-38 lead at the end of the quarter as Wynk had four points and Braylon Parker hit five big points in the final 63 seconds to give Celina a firm lead.
The Chieftains tried to come back again, getting to within two points with just over three minutes to play in regulation as Mundy got the hoop-and-harm 3-point play, but Schlater's bucket with 2:24 to play made it a 52-48 game, then after a Bellefontaine turnover, Wynk scored to make it a six-point lead. Mundy hit two free throws with 71 seconds to play to get Bellefontaine to within four, but Wicker, Hudson Grieshop and Wynk hit free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Celina's Hudson Grieshop (35) tries to shoot over Bellefontaine's Jair Mundy.
"If they're going to give other guys room to operate, we've got some guys who can put it in the basket," said Johns.
Wynk led Celina with 14 points. Schlater scored 13 with Grieshop coming off the bench for a 12-point, 10-rebound effort.
Butler led the Chieftains with 15 points. Mundy finished with 14 points, all coming in the second half.
