(Belpre, OH) After losing not one, but two double-overtime games to Belpre Christian Academy last season, Bloomingdale Baptist (3-1) got their first road win of the year against the Patirots 57-41. While The Bloom led the entire game, the Patriots were always within reach. They just couldn’t get their offense going enough to make any big runs.
The Patriots started the game in a man to man defense, and The Bloom took advantage of it with a 12-2 scoring run. Coach Fullerton called a timeout and switched to a 3-2 zone, which really slowed down The Bloom’s offense. Bloomingdale also struggled with rebounds, giving the Patriots a lot of second chance opportunities. What ultimately kept the Patriots at bay was The Bloom’s smothering defense that resulted in 20 steals.
With this being the Patriots’ first game of the season, Bloomingdale Head Coach Tom Roten felt that their experience also played a role in giving them the win. “The game and atmosphere were intense, as expected. Coach Fullerton always has his kids ready to play. The fact that we had three games under our belt gave us a slight advantage.”
Bloomingdale was led defensively by Marc Brown (Jr., G), who had 20 points to go along with his 10 steals. Sutton Roten (Sr., F) led the team in scoring with 21 points along with 8 rebounds. Dorian Reese (Jr., G) also filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals.
Belpre Christian was led by Elijah Ansel with 14 points. Elias Mays also contributed 13 points.
The Bloom will be in St. Albans Tuesday night taking on the Ignite Flames at 7:30. The Patriots will take a short drive across the Ohio River Monday night to Parkersburg Christian at 5:00. All Bloom games are livestreamed on their Facebook page. You can also find more stats on MaxPreps.
Bloomingdale: Roten 21, Brown 20, Reese 12, McClung 2, Backus 2.
Belpre Christian: Ansel 14, Mays 13, Queen 6, Lemon 4, Wanstreet 4.