Blue Valley Northwest basketball prevails at home in showdown against Bishop Miege
Swinging the ball from side to side, Bishop Miege struggled to find an opening along the perimeter. They’d gone through phases of punishing Blue Valley Northwest from beyond the arc on Friday night, but this was not one of those phases.
Struggling to find space, the Stags fumbled the ball right into the hands of BV Northwest senior Alston Mason. With the Stags caught unawares, BV Northwest senior Jack Chapman was already halfway up the court to receive the pass from Mason. Just seconds later he was swinging from the rim as Miege head coach Rick Zych called a timeout before Chapman’s feet had even hit the floor.
The basket was the final dagger to secure a lead BV Northwest (18-1) wouldn’t surrender as it defeated the previously undefeated Bishop Miege Stags (17-1) 68-55 on senior night.
Although the scoreline reflects a score-fest between two of the top teams in Kansas, it was defensive adjustments that won the game for the Huskies.
Bishop Miege came out of the gates firing, scoring four baskets from downtown in taking an early 20-14 lead .
BV Northwest coach head coach Ed Fritz berated his team for a lack of urgency and speed on the defensive end.
His tactical response?
The Huskies switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense, limiting the Stags’ threat from beyond the arc.
“We ended up quick firing on the guys that were hitting the three,” Fritz said. “We only fired on number 2, so that kind of was an adjustment that we made.”
The move worked as Miege scored four points in the second quarter. The Huskies also quickened their pace on offense which resulted in BV Northwest taking a 29-24 lead into halftime.
The Stags enjoyed a quick second stretch of three-point dominance at the start of the second half. They made three straight three-pointers and regained the lead. Miege finished 9 of 17 on three-pointers for the game.
And when the Stags weren’t finding success on three-pointers, they turned to junior Mark Mitchell Jr.
The 6-foot-9 Mitchell was having his way inside the paint, driving to the basket repeatedly en route to a team-high 16 points.
But he could have had a lot more, if not for yet again a BV Northwest defensive adjustment. The Huskies made sure to double-team Mitchell and force him to shoot rather than drive, effectively tying up Miege’s main offensive weapon inside.
“I thought we did a really good job of firing in the post and kind of double-teaming and took them out of rhythm a little bit,” Fritz said.
With the defensive side locked up, Northwest began to enjoy itself in the fourth quarter. After a Mason buzzer-beater to end the third, the Huskies ran out to a quick 12-point lead within the first 66 seconds of the fourth quarter and never let go.
It was a chance for the four seniors on the team to enjoy one last regular-season game on their home court.
Mason led the seniors with a game-high 22 points, while Ben Fritz picked up a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds. Fritz also had eight assists.
“It was great,” Ben Fritz said. “It was a tough one out there, but we were able to control the glass and just control the pace of the game which just really helped this win tonight.”
Senior Jack Chapman also pitched in with 14 points, while senior Nick Sullivan put on a defensive clinic as well as scoring four points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting.
“It was great,” Mason said. “I love these guys, these four seniors, we all do everything for each other, and now it’s time for us to go and get a ring.”