Keaton Lawson
Columbus East has faced some quality opponents this season, but the way Olympians coach Perry Nash sees it, Bloomington North is on a different level.
The tall and athletic Cougars had a hot shooting night and that led to a 79-52 boys basketball victory at East.
“It’s a different type of athlete,” Nash said. “Our guys would have to spend a lot of time in the offseason in that weight room. Size at the 4A level matters, and it’s two different 4A levels. There’s the first 4A level that we were playing at, and this is the second 4A level. This is the first time we saw that type of level.”
Bloomington North shot 64 percent (29 of 45) from the field. Luke Lindeman, the son of former Indiana University player Todd Lindeman, led the Cougars (8-9) with 25 points, while Connor O’Guinn battled through a bloody nose to add 21.
The Olympians (4-12) spotted Bloomington North an early 9-0 lead, but then battled back to within 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.
“I think what hit us right off the bat was just their pure size and strength,” Nash said. “I think we were intimidated a little bit. Then, we were able to calm down, we got in a rhythm and then I think it got us again.”
The Cougars hit three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second quarter and built the lead to 37-25 at halftime.
“We switched up to a zone, which they were not anticipating, and I thought that caused some trouble,” Nash said. “They changed, and they adapted, and then they hit some big 3s on us. Then we had to come out of (the zone) and play man-to-man.”
Keaton Lawson led East with 19 points. Carter Patterson added 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Olympians played for the second consecutive night without starting point guard Mason Reeves, who has a high ankle sprain. Starting forward Alex Duncan, who scored six points in the first quarter on Saturday, sustained a leg injury in the second quarter and did not return.
“We miss those two, but for us, it’s next-man-up,” Nash said. “We never want to say that if we’re missing one or two or three of our guys, that it’s going to affect us because we believe in our guys that we have. The next guy stepping up has to match that intensity level.”
Bloomington North 79, Columbus East 52
Bloomington North;15;22;22;20;—;79
Columbus East;14;11;10;17;—;52
Bloomington North (8-9): Rex Speer 1 1-2 3, Jalen Williams 3 1-1 7, Evan Cheng 1 0-0 2, Connor O’Guinn 8 1-2 21, J.R. Cross 5 0-0 13, Luke Lindeman 7 10-10 25, CJ Vaughns 2 0-1 4, Dylan Stegemoller 0 0-0 0, Nehmiah Dangerfield 2 0-0 4. Totals: 29 13-16 79.
Columbus East (4-12): Anthony Cowan 3 1-1 7, Elum VanEst 0 0-0 0, Jack Fischvogt 0 0-0 0, Danny Coriden 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bumbalough 1 1-2 3, Kadin Lobdell 0 0-2 0, Keaton Lawson 9 1-2 19, Alex Duncan 3 0-0 6, Carter Patterson 7 0-0 15, Luke Romine 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 3-7 52.
3-point goals: Bloomington North 8 (O’Guinn 4, Cross 3, Lindeman); Columbus East 1 (Patterson).
