BELLEVILLE — When high-scoring Clear Fork junior guard Kadin Chrastina went to the bench with his second foul three minutes into the game Saturday night, Loudonville coach Kelly Seboe thought his team had the Colts right where they wanted them.
Someone forgot to tell a bunch of other Colts, who canned six triples to more than compensate in an easy 67-46 non-league victory.
Seniors Brandon Luers, Jordan Ridenour and Sam Van Dyke combined for 17 points in the first half, supporting top-scoring Ridge Winand’s 10, as Clear Fork raced out to a 32-12 lead at the intermission.
“We told our guys that Loudonville was going to try to stop Kadin and Ridge with their triangle-and-2. When Kadin went out, they shifted it to Brandon. But our role players all stepped up and hit shots,” Clear Fork coach Steve Bechtel said.
The win was the third in a row for the Colts, now 6-7 overall. Loudonville slipped to 5-11 with the loss.
Seboe said his Redbirds executed their gameplan. But the Colts, with nine players scoring, didn’t help.
“Steve and I talked and they took those same shots in the last five years we have played,” Seboe said. “Tonight, those guys hit those shots. We hit almost all the goals we put on the board before the game.
We executed what we wanted – Clear Fork just didn’t cooperate.”
While Clear Fork was hitting 48 percent from the floor in the first half (14 of 29) and turning the ball only once, the Redbirds managed just 31 percent (six of 19) while committing nine first-half turnovers.
“We had the (slower) tempo we wanted early in the game, but we just had a lot of shots go in-and-out. If we are going to win, those need to be ins,” Seboe said. “We wanted to limit the amount of exposure we had against their pressure. To do that, we needed to slow the game down.”
After Loudonville closed the gap to 17-8 with six minutes left in the first half, Clear Fork went on a 15-4 run to end the second quarter, hitting seven of 10 FG tries, including three buckets from Winand. That run meant the issue was decided by the time the Colts pep band entertained the crowd at halftime.
The Colts ball movement in the halfcourt consistently resulted in open shots that Clear Fork knocked down.
“The last five years, (Seboe) has done the same thing (with the triangle-and-2 defense). Ridge did a great job tonight keeping his composure and getting the ball to the other open guys,” Bechtel said.
Luers ended the game as Clear Fork’s leading scorer with 14 points. Winand, the area’s leading scorer, was limited to just 12. Senior Josh Hart added nine while Chrastina and Van Dyke both finished with eight.
Sophomore point guard Garrett Quickle led Loudonville with 15 points. Senior guard Zach Stitzlein added 10 and sophomore guard Stetson Bryson added nine.
Clear Fork shot 47 percent from the field (27 of 57) and added six of nine at the line. The Colts had 30 rebounds and committed just five turnovers. Loudonville hit 38 percent from the field (18 of 47) and five of 12 at the line. The Redbirds had 32 rebounds and 14 turnovers.
The Colts face a busy February with eight more games on the schedule, including games postponed earlier this season due to winter weather. That run continues Wednesday at Ashland in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game. Clear Fork is 3-5 in the league, including a 68-58 win at Orrville on Friday night.
“We have a stretch now where we have a lot of games in not many days,” Bechtel said. “We have some momentum and it’s important the guys continue to step up.”
Loudonville plays at East Knox on Tuesday.
