RICHMOND – Bloomington High School North opened the final quarter with a 12-0 run and then held on for a 71-69 non-conference basketball win over Richmond High School Friday night before 3,500 at the Tiernan Center.
"That was a good win," North coach Tom McKinney said. "Richmond is a good team."
The Cougars (11-2) trailed by as many as 10 points in the third quarter and were down 59-54 entering the fourth. Kelvin Boatner, who scored 13 points, opened the closing period with a free throw. Then Clay Ludlow, the 6-foot-6 senior forward, added a follow shot for 59-57.
Sean May, who led all scorers, made back-to-back baskets to give McKinney’s Cougars their first lead of the game with 5:06 left.
After a Scott May steal on the inbounds play, Boatner drilled a three-pointer for a 64-59 North lead. Richmond coach Chad Bolser then called timeout to stem the tide. After the timeout, the Red Devils (7-8) failed to score again and North’s Errek Suhr drove for a layuup for a 66-59 lead with 3:44 to go.
Yet Richmond would not quit. Bolser’s team went on a 10-4 run to make it 70-69 with 19.2 seconds remaining. The Red Devils called timeout and had to foul three straight possessions to get North in the bonus.
Finally, the ball came to Ludlow, who was fouled with 11.9 seconds on the clock. Ludlow missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Boatner tapped the ball to Scott May on the rebound. May fed the ball to Suhr, who was fouled. Suhr hit the front end of the one-and-one, but he missed the second shot.
Again, North tapped the ball out. This time Ludlow was responsible and Sean May was fouled with 3.4 seconds to go. May, though, missed the front end, and Richmond got one last chance to tie or win.
Brian Orr drove the length of the floor for a layup, but his shot came after the buzzer.
"We hurried a couple of shots trying to do maybe too much," Richmond's Bolser said. "The biggest thing for us is we have to come up with clean defensive rebounds."
The Red Devils used a press and a 1-2-2 zone to keep North befuddled much of the night.
"I thought we were frustrated in the first half," North's McKinney said. "Richmond is a good team. The conference that they play in speaks for itself. Every team in the conference has won a state championship. They shot the ball well. Coach Bolser did a good job of coaching tonight."
One thing that changed in the final quarter was the North offense went through Sean May. The 6-foot-8 junior, who totaled 28 points, made 11 of 19 from the field and hit six of eight from the foul line. He also had 12 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist.
"We got a bucket (by Boatner) at the end of the third quarter, and we're down five," McKinney continued. "I just said, 'I want Sean to touch the ball.' That doesn't mean he's always going to do something great, but if he touches the ball he draws a lot of traffic."
Richmond, which plays in the powerful North Central Conference, had four players in double figures. Germayne James led the way with 17. He made all seven of his shots from the field. Casey Dixon and Markous Jewett each scored 14. Jermaine Crumby finished with 10.
It was a well-played high school game. Each team shot 56 percent from the field. Richmond made 10 of 11 from the line; North, 13 of 19. The host Devils even shot 50 percent from the arc.
Richmond controlled most of a close first half. The Red Devils led by as many as seven points behind James, who had seven points in the first five minutes of action. Their lead was 22-19 at the end of the first quarter.
It was 38-33 after Dixon made a layup with 21 seconds left in the half, but North's Mark Hillenburg made a 30-footer as the buzzer sounded for a 38-36 Richmond edge at the half.
The 5-6 sophomore guard's three-pointer would prove to be significant in a close contest.
But it was the Cougars' defensive effort in the fourth period that won this one. Richmond went five minutes and three seconds without a point.
"We took a step off all of their perimeter players on the weave in the fourth quarter," McKinney said. "I thought for some particular reason that Sean stepped up defensively and helped our perimeter people. He got a couple of blocks and altered some shots."
North hits the road again Saturday night to play Lawrence Central.
"I told our guys, 'if you want to be road warriors, you gotta go beat someone good on the road, and then you gotta come back and do it tomorrow,' " McKinney said.
RICHMOND(69) -- Germayne James 17, Casey Dixon 14, Markous Jewett 14, Jermaine Crumby 10, Donald Crawley 8, Brian Orr 4, Chris Yount 2.
BLOOMINGTON NORTH (71) -- Sean May 28, Scott May 6, Kelvin Boatner 13, Moussa Kanta 2, Errek Suhr 6, Clay Ludlow 6, John Allman 4, Anthony Lindsey 3, Mark Hillenburg 3.
© 2001 dbulla@indiana.edu