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Mississinawa
Valley senior drives the lane Friday against Bethel. In
his last game at MV, Dane
Blumenstock netted 15 points as the Hawks
fell 75-51 in Cross County Conference action.
CNO Photo by Dylan Knoop
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Bees buzz Hawks
Nest
By George Starks
UNION CITY- It’s no secret to Cross County Conference teams that Bethel
can put points on the board in a hurry.
Friday night, it was no different for Mississinawa Valley.
Trailing 34-25 at the break, Mississinawa scored the first points of
the third quarter on a three by Carson Stump.
That trey would get the Hawks to within a 34-28 count.
That would be as close as the Blackhawks would get the rest of the
night as the Bees would go on a tear and roll to a 75-51 CCC victory.
Before Rodney Saintignon could think about what his next move would be,
Bethel had jumped all over MV and a six point deficit had escalated to
11 at the 6:17 mark, 39-28, then went up 48-28 before senior Dane
Blumenstock was able to stop the bleeding with a deuce in the paint,
48-30 in favor of the Bees.
“We cut it to six and within a blink of an eye, I looked up and we were
down twenty,” said Saintignon. “I am so proud of my seniors tonight
because they never gave up. We had our moments when we messed up a
little bit too much. With a team like Bethel, they will take advantage
of every mistake you make.”
Taking advantage of the Hawks mistakes in the third frame is exactly
what the Bees did.
Mississinawa Valley committed seven turnovers and by the end of the
third frame, Bethel went from a 34-28 lead to a 66-39 blow-out.
“Bethel is a very good, disciplined, quick, good transition basketball
team,” Saintignon stated. “They were just a little too much for us
tonight. I’ve told my kids many times and I told them tonight that when
we are playing our best, we can beat any team and I believe that with
all my heart and I’m proud of these kids for the way they played
tonight.”
It was a night when the Bees shot lights out.
Bethel hit 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from three point
land while the Hawks could only muster 18 percent from the field but
shot better seven from outside the arch of 23, (30.4 percent).
“This is what happens when you play good teams like Bethel,” said
Saintignon. “We had it down to six and it went to 12, then to 14 then
20 points. We made some big mistakes.”
With eight seniors on the team, Dane Blumenstock led the group with 15
points, with Conner adding 11 in support.
“I’m so proud of Conner,” said Saintignon. “He really stepped it up
tonight. He’s had some other games where he’s really played well. His
playing time has been limited and I wish I could have gotten him out
there more. We have three more games and the tournament, so I’m sure he
will get out there more often.”
Conner and Blumenstock were just two of eight seniors as Mississinawa
Valley honored Zach Armstrong, Jacob Breymier, Alex Brooks, Cesar
Delgado, Dakota Hines and Carson Stump.
The loss dropped the Hawks to 8-11 and 6-5 CCC while Bethel went to
14-3, 9-2 CCC, setting the Bees up with a huge showdown with Franklin
Monroe Friday.
The Jets, coming off a big win over Covington Friday, will host the
Bees Friday.
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