ON TO DISTRICTS...are the Bethel Bees and Jon Sutton (above) after a victory over Northridge.

Bob Moore
cccbasketball.com

Univerity of Dayton - It took the Bethel Bees some time to warm up in the sectional final of the Division III tournament at the University of Dayton Arena. Of course when you're playing a team with the nickname Polar Bears and the weather we had in February, you wondered whether you were watching a high school basketball ball game in Alaska versus Ohio, but the Bees prevailed to play another game as they defeated the Northridge Polars Bears 60-45.

Returning the Division III sectional tournament meant the Bees and their fans returned to the Arena for high school tournament action. After playing in Division IV and locations at Vandalia Butler, the depth perception at UD provided some challenges and it took the Bees some time to find their rhythm. In addition, the Polar Bears threw a different look at the Bees after playing an up and down the floor game earlier in the second game of the regular season. The Polars Bears played zone and threw in a 1-3-1 trap in the first half.

Earlier in the season at Northridge it was a fast paced game that ended with the Bees escaping with a 75-74 victory. "They pressed us and played man to man that game," noted Bethel Coach Rick Hickman. "That game was up and down the floor and I bet that neither team didn't get one pass before the ball was up in the air."

Even though the Bees got off to a rocky start, the pace of the game suited Coach Hickman. "They are athletic and very talented team that can shoot the ball. We didn't want to have anything to do with that type of game we had with them earlier in the year."

After the start the Bees had to begin the contest, you began to wonder when they were going to kick it into gear? Michael James began the contest with bucket to give the Bees the early 2-0 lead, but effect of the arena and the Polar Bear zone kept the offensive talented Bees in check for the first half of the ballgame.

The Polar Bears went on an 11-1 run with four different players contributing to their success. Grant Samuel added a free throw before leaving the game with a knee injuring, but the Bees found themselves down 11-3 before James finally added a trey to narrow the gap to five. Northridge senior Frank Spells added 2 free throws to his game high 17 points at the end of the quarter to give the Polar Bears a 13 to 6 advantage.

In the second quarter, Bee senior Scott Masin helped the Bees to maintain the pace as he added 8 of the Bees 11 points for the quarter. James added another timely trey to narrow the gap to 3 points, but Spells added 6 points of his own during the second quarter stretch that gave Northridge a 5 point lead at the break, 22-17.

In the 3rd the Bees struck first with a nice bucket by Kyle Seale off an inbounds play that inched the Bees within 3 points. Both offenses stalled until the Polar Bears big man Hussan Purdie added a nice move on the block to extend the Polar Bear‚s lead back to five. The Bees finally started to unthaw in the final minutes of the third quarter as their defense began to create scoring opportunities. James got the Bees swarming with a deep 3 ball to get them within 2 points. Daniel Yates scored on a layup after the Bees forced another Northridge turnover and the Polar Bears called a time out with 3:30 minutes to go with the game tied at 24.

The Bees forced another error on the Polar Bears and James stuck with another dagger with his fourth trey of the evening that gave the Bees their first lead since the opening bucket of the game.

The Polar finally stopped the bleeding with a four point run to gain the lead back at 27-28. The Bees started to make an impact on the offensive boards and Scott Masin was able to add a free throw to tie the game at 28. Jon Sutton ended the quarter with another bucket off a turnover and the Bees took a 30-28 edge going into the final frame.

Spells tied the game at 30 to begin the 4th quarter. James added his fifth and final 3 ball of the evening as a result of the Bees gaining a second opportunity on offensive rebounds. Masin extended the lead to 6 after converting on an old fashioned 3 point play as the Bees continued to push the ball up the court.

The Bees were able to maintain a 7 to 9 point margin into the final 4 minutes of the game. Jon Sutton added 8 points down the stretch while Seale added 6 points to keep the Bees at a safe margin leading into the final 2 minutes. The Polar Bears were able to get within 7 points after getting two steals off the Bees with their full court press, but Scott Masin went 4 for 4 in the final minute and 19 seconds of the game to seal it for the Bees.

James scored 21 points for the Bees keeping them in the game in the first half with big shots and was the catalyst for the offensive spark in the third quarter. Masin added 18 points with 10 points from the charity stripe.

The Bees earned their 18th victory of the season to advance to the District final against Cincinnati Taft. The Bees face a tough assignment as Taft finished the regular season in AP poll at #6 and is currently 19 - 2. The Bees will face Taft on 7:15, Thursday March 11th at the UD Arena. The winner will advance to the Regional at Kettering Fairmont High School on March 17th.

Scoring by quarters
Northridge .........13......22.....28...45
Bethel..................6......17.....30...60

Northridge
Brown - 6
Fleming - 8
Horton - 2
Purdie - 4
Spells - 17
Suhr - 6
Watson -

Bethel
James - 21
Masin - 18
Seale - 8
Sutton - 7
Yates - 4
Samuel - 1
Elam - 1

3 point goals
Northridge: 4 (Brown 2, Suhr 2)
Bethel: 6 (James 5, Sutton)

Records
Bethel 18 - 4
Northridge 15 - 7