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Bowen’s Beat Their season is done; the Cards’ character remains
Despite Saturday’s loss in the Washington semistate, the Bloomfield basketball team logged some solid accomplishments this season.
The Cardinals finished the season with a 20-8 record, won the Clay City Sectional, the 33rd title in school history, and won the Martinsville Regional, the eighth in school history. They made it to the Final Four of Class 1A basketball.
“There were only four 1A teams left in the state of Indiana and we’re one of them,” Bloomfield coach Ron McBride said after the 65-39 loss to Barr-Reeve. He added that many teams would have liked to have been in the Cardinals’ sneakers Saturday.
More importantly, McBride said the Cardinals displayed a great deal of character this season. During Saturday’s game, there were “questionable calls -- I’m not complaining about those,” McBride said, but the Cards maintained their composure. “They played through them and that’s the sign of nice young men.
“They came together as a team,” the coach added. “They all hang out together and they talk. They’re all nice boys.”
He reflected that the coaches previously told the players that they must earn the right to wear Cardinal red. He said they have certainly earned it after their magnificent season.
“They can wear it proudly.”
One small incident at the very end of the Cardinals’ 52-50 win over Greenwood Christian in the Martinsville Regional championship attests to the character of one player.
The Cards led 52-50 on a Turner Royal foul shot with 4.0 on the clock. The Cougars sprinted down the court, and Quentin Steele missed a triple at the buzzer. Steele sat on the court for a little while, obviously dejected, hiding his face in his hands. Mitchell Burch took the time to walk over and comfort him.
Barr-Reeve became only the second team this season to score more than 60 points against Bloomfield’s defense. Edgewood defeated the Cards 74-55 Dec. 8 at the Mustangs’ corral. The Guys in Red have yielded about 43 points per game in 28 games this season.
Of course, the Cardinals couldn’t have gotten to the semistate without putting the ball in the bucket. Three players have averaged double figures for Bloomfield: Turner Royal (12.5 points per game), Andrew Shelton (11.3), and Aleksa Markovic (10.7).
However, those gentlemen couldn’t have gotten the job done without their teammates: Graysen Medina, a threat from outside; Mitchell Burch, a scrappy kid who came through with 10 huge points in the regional championship; A.J. Sipes, who has given some points and steady defense off the bench; Cameron Ross, who dished off the ball for several assists in the regional and made one huge steal near the end of the Greenwood Christian game, sinking two foul shots for a 51-47 lead; and Luke Oliphant, who has not only earned kudos from McBride for his defense, but hit double figures a few times.
Other players have sat on the bench waiting patiently for their numbers to be called. Eli Fitch, Dylan Richardson, Noah Cumming, and Baylin Graf, the latter two JV players, remind one of Milton’s line: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”
The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association nominated two county players for its Distinct 3 Player of the Week. Trayce Jackson-Davis of Center Grove received the honor, though.
Sammy Robbins of Linton posted a double-double, 16 points and 12 rebounds, to earn his nomination. Robbins shot 6-7 from the field, with one three-pointer, and 3-3 from the line and blocked five shots.
Turner Royal of Bloomfield got the nod for his performance against Barr-Reeve. He shot 6-11 from the field with three triples to total 15 points.
And to conclude: GO MINERS!!!