Semoball

Bell City snaps 31-game losing streak, beats SCAA rival Puxico 46-39

Bell City’s Nate Stone (25) closely guards Puxico’s Kyle Holden during the first quarter Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2020, at Bell City High School.
DEXTER STATESMAN/Kyle Smith

BELL CITY — The Bell City boys basketball team made a living from the free-throw line, and junior Bryson Maddox put the team on his shoulders down the stretch.

As a result, the Cubs snapped a 31-game losing streak, beating SCAA rival Puxico 46-39 Tuesday night at Bell City High School.

The Cubs hadn’t won since taking home the consolation trophy from the Oran Invitational with a 55-42 win over Chaffee on Dec. 6, 2019.

“Our kids are working hard. They’re busting their butts every day at practice,” Bell City co-coach Matt Asher said. ““I can’t say enough about their defensive pressure today. We were really good defensively today. We don’t score very (well) but if we defend hard like that we’ll be in some games.”

The Cubs held Puxico to 24% (10-of-41) shooting for the game and kept the visitors off the board on offense.

“What we figured out when we played zone early in the year, we didn’t know who we were supposed to be blocking out,” said Asher, whose team switched to a man-to-man defense. “We put a lot of emphasis on blocking out in practice. You’ve got to block out your man. If you’re guarding an individual man, there’s no reason you shouldn’t know who you’re supposed to block out.”

The Cubs went 21-of-30 from the free-throw line but had to hold off a stiff challenge from Puxico in the final quarter.

Bell City took an eight-point lead into the fourth and extended it to 12 on two free throws by Wyatt Griffin and a driving layup by Nate Stone.

The Indians kept fighting, cutting the lead to five points (42-37) on a 3-pointer by Dalton Andrews with less than 2 minutes to play.

Maddox, who scored 12 fourth-quarter points, followed with two free throws and Stone made two more to lock up the victory in the closing seconds.

The Cubs’ free-throw shooting cooled in the fourth quarter, as they made only 7 of 13 attempts. However, they went 5-of-8 from the field, including making their only 3-point try.

Puxico made only 5 of 19 (26%) shots in the final quarter, trying to stage a comeback.

Maddox finished with 21 points and Stone scored 13 for the Cubs, who improved to 1-10 overall and 1-3 in the SCAA.

Andrews paced Puxico (4-9, 0-1) with 21 points, including three 3-pointers.

The teams fought through a low-scoring first quarter with neither team making a field goal until 2:05 remained.

Andrews gave the Indians a 1-0 lead with a free throw 1:48 into the quarter.

The Cubs took a 2-1 lead on a pair of free throws by Jack Duenne, and they extended it to 5-2 when JT Robey took a pass inside from Maddox for the first field goal of the game.

Twenty-one seconds later, Puxico scored its first basket on a driving layup by Andrews, and Joel Bannister sank two free throws to give his team a 6-5 lead.

Duenne found Nick Heuring open inside for a layup, giving the Cubs a 7-6 lead entering the second quarter.

Andrews made two free throws 1:11 into the second for an 8-7 Puxico advantage, but Duenne sank a free throw to tie the score at 8. Stone made two more to give the Cubs a 10-8 advantage with 4:15 left in the half.

Bell City twice extended its lead to four points: 14-10 on two free throws by Maddox and 17-13 on a 3-pointer by Maddox.

Puxico’s Cole Barnfield made a 3-pointer and Andrews converted a free throw to tie the score at 17 at halftime.

The Cubs scored the majority of their points from the free-throw line in the opening half, making 10 of 12 attempts.

“We were trying to get to the free-throw line, but Puxico was playing a little spread out on defense. That allowed us some drives. You’ve got to help anytime you break down like that, (so) you’re going to shoot some free throws,” Asher said. “We’ve been working on free throws. … We practice every day. The kids come in and shoot. They’re working hard. I can’t fault their effort.”

Neither team shot well from the field in the opening half. Bell City went 4-for-11 (36%), and the Indians went 4-for-14 (29%).

The Cubs extended their lead to eight points in the third quarter behind a jumper and two free throws by Maddox and a 3-point play and a 3-pointer by Stone that gave them a 28-20 lead entering the final quarter. Barnfield’s 3-pointer with 1:15 to play was responsible for Puxico’s only third-quarter points.

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PUXICO — Dalton Andrews 21, Cole Barnfield 6, Nolan Foster 5, Joel Bannister 2, David Holyfield 2, Devin Sexton 2, Kyle Holden 1, Eric Riddle 0, Dalton Stewart 0. FG 10, FT 13-16, F 22. (3-pointers: Andrews 3, Barnfield 2, Foster).

BELL CITY — Bryson Maddox 21, Nate Stone 13, Jack Duenne 5, Wyatt Griffin 3, Nick Heuring 2, JT Robey 2, Austin Hunt 0. FG 11, FT 21-30, F 11. (3-pointers: Maddox 2, Stone).

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