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Celina's Kaiden Werntz passes the ball against Bellefontaine at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
CELINA - Every time Bellefontaine tried to get close, Celina shut the door.
The Bulldogs won their third straight game and fourth in the last five outings in picking up a 58-47 victory over Bellefontaine in a Tuesday night boys basketball game at the Fieldhouse.
Celina (10-6) held the Chieftains (5-11) to just 32% shooting and never let them get closer than two points in the second half.
"We may not be the biggest team, but the length we have on the perimeter and our athleticism cause fits for people," said Celina coach Adam Johns. "That was the case tonight for pretty much 3 1/2 quarters."
It took a while to get the offense rolling for both teams. Through the first four minutes of the game, Celina had a 3-2 lead before Kaiden Werntz hit a bucket with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter. Celina led 9-8 after eight minutes.
Celina's Braylon Gabes lays in a shot in Tuesday's game against Bellefontaine.
The Chieftains took the lead to start the second quarter on Patrick Stolly's 3-pointer, only to have Caleb Gabes quickly tie the game. Bellefontaine hung around and took a 18-17 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first half, but Braylon Gabes got the old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:22 left to put Celina in front to stay at 20-18, then after a Bellefontaine miss, Jake Knapke made it 22-18. CJ Wilson cut it to 22-19, but Werntz beat the buzzer with a bucket to give Celina a 24-19 lead at halftime.
Jair Mundy got Bellefontaine within two at 24-22 with 90 seconds gone in the third quarter, but Celina quickly quashed any comeback hope. The Gabes twins combined for six straight points, and then Grant Duncan knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead to 33-22 with 4:47 remaining in the third, forcing a Chieftains timeout. The Bulldogs had the lead up to 13 before Riley Neer beat the buzzer to cut the margin to 40-29 after three.
Bellefontaine tried to get back in the game, getting as close as five points midway through the final quarter, but Celina always found the counter, mainly at the foul line as Celina was 8-of-11 from the stripe in the final 2:49 of the contest. Celina, normally a 66% shooting team from the foul line, hit 15-of-19 on the evening (78.9%).
"A lot of them have played big moments over the last couple of years," said Johns. "They know what it takes to close out a game."
Braylon Gabes finished the night with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 10 rebounds. Werntz also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Gabes added 10 points.
Neer finished with 18 to lead Bellefontaine.
Celina continues its busy week on Friday with a road trip to Hermiller Gymnasium in Ottawa to take on state-ranked Ottawa-Glandorf before traveling to St. Henry on Saturday for a tripleheader with the freshmen starting at 4 p.m.
Celina's Conner Altstaetter tracks a rebound in front of Bellefontaine's Jair Mundy on Tuesday.
