01-06-03: Perimeter shooting lifts Bulldogs

01-06-03: Perimeter shooting lifts Bulldogs

By LYLE KITTLE
Standard Correspondent

    A balanced attack and a barrage of three-point bombs in the third quarter lifted Celina (8-3) over Bellefontaine (7-3), 59-44, on Saturday at the Fieldhouse.
    Brett Dorsten led all scorers with 19 points while Tim Homan was in double figures with 17 and Joe Kanney added 10. Eric Ling led the Chieftains with 17.
    "Those three-pointers were a major difference," said Chieftains' coach Dan Furlong. "Our only real hope was to crash the boards hard if they did miss, and when Kyle (Van Horn) fouled out, we lost our best rebounder and we were in trouble."
    The Bulldogs got a first quarter lift from reserve Tyler Rolfes, who came off the bench to hit two late buckets that gave Celina an 18-10 lead at the end of the first period.
    The Bulldogs utilized some good defense to survive an offensive drought in the second period. Dorsten scored all five of the Bulldogs' points in the second frame, and only standout defensive performances o the perimeter by Scott Boley, Jeff Vondrell, Rolfes, and Brian Gagle enabled the 'Dogs to make it to halftime with a lead, 23-17.
    "Brett did a good job in the post," Celina coach Mike Kanney said. "We talked at halftime about being a little more patient and getting the good shot. When Van Horn got his third (foul), we decided to go right at him. They put him in the middle of that 2-3 zone, and we were looking to screen the wings and step right to him."
    Dorsten and other Bulldogs often become the beneficiaries of Homan's presence on the floor. The 6-4 junior commands attention and that will invariably free someone up.
    "He's always going to draw a crowd," Dorsten said. "That will leave someone open. I look to see what my man is doing and if he's the one double-teaming Tim, I just look for an open spot and get there as soon as I can. Having Tim on the floor gives us a lot of extra chances."
    Dorsten scored inside to get the Bulldogs off and running in the third period and the barrage started after Ling got a bucket for the Chieftains. Kanney started the onslaught, burying a bomb from the right side. The Chieftains' Kevin Shields matched Kanney's long-range shot with one of his own to keep Bellefontaine within six at 28-22.
    Homan connected for two three-pointers from the left side and Kanney followed those up with his second trey. Trailing by 15, the Chieftains tried to rally behind Ling, but another three-pointer, this one from Rolfes, kept the lead at 15.
    "I told the kids that they were going to get some good looks against the zone," coach Kanney said. "We needed to get our feet set and take the shot when it came. We did a good job of knocking them down in that stretch and that made a big difference."
    Ling scored the final six points of the quarter to cut the gap to 41-32 heading into the fourth period.
    Bellefontaine cut Celina's lead to seven at one point in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get any closer. Another three-pointer from the Bulldogs' Eric Rose made it a 13-point game and dashed any Chieftains' hope at a comeback.
    "We needed to be more aggressive on the boards," coach Kanney said. "I wasn't real happy last night (against Kenton). We had some shots go up and we just stood and looked at them instead of going to the boards and getting them. We need to do a better job of that."
    Celina is back in action Friday hosting Elida in a Western Buckeye League contest.

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