By GREG MENGELT
Jeff trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, but the Devils’ defense help them climb out of the hole and senior Will Lovings-Watts won it at the buzzer.
“We definitely needed this win after all the stuff we’ve been through,” Lovings-Watts said. “We need to start getting some wins to get back on track.”
With 4.9 seconds left at Johnson Arena, Lovings-Watts inbounded the ball to teammate Brandon Rayzer-Moore, who immediately passed the ball back to Lovings-Watts. The Drake recruit drove into the lane and put the shot up over Bedford junior Kaedyn Bennett, who attempted to draw a charge.
“I feel like anybody on this team is capable of hitting that shot,” Lovings-Watts said. “Coach called my number and I got it done.”
The Red Devils trailed 36-32 after BNL junior Colten Staggs scored on a drive on the first possession of the fourth quarter. However, Jeffersonville senior Kobe Stoudemire scored four straight points and tied the game at 38-apiece with 4:20 left on a reverse layup.
The Devils took their first lead since the 5:34 mark of the second quarter when sophomore Brenton Moore scored on a reverse layup to put Jeff ahead 41-40 with 1:57 remaining.
The Stars retook the lead on a 12-foot jumper on the lane from Staggs with 1:27 left, but Lovings-Watts was intentionally fouled with 25.2 seconds to go. He made one of his two free throws to tie the game and set up his buzzer-beating heroics.
“It was a good win for us in the end,” Jeffersonville coach Andrew Grantz said. “I’m glad we found a way to battle there at the end.”
BNL jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first period, but freshman Michael Cooper’s 3-pointer gave the Red Devils a 12-10 lead with 2:13 left in the first before BNL scored the final three points of the period to take a lead after one quarter.
Lovings-Watts hit a pair of 3-pointers early to give Jeffersonville an early lead in the second quarter, but the Stars closed the half on an 11-1 run to lead 28-19 at the break.
The Stars pushed the advantage to 31-19 early in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s by Lovings-Watts and Stoudemire started a Red Devils rally that had them within 34-32 at the end of the their period.
“They did a good job controlling the tempo,” Grantz said of the Stars. “I’m just glad we were able to execute down the stretch.”
Lovings-Watts led all scorers with 20 points and Stoudemire added eight in the win. Bedford North Lawrence (8-8, 1-4 HHC) was led by 18 points from junior Colten Leach and Staggs finished with 14.
Jeffersonville, which has won three straight games to get to back to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the Hoosier Hills Conference, goes to Jennings County (11-5, 2-2) on Friday before its rivalry showdown at New Albany (9-7, 2-2) next Wednesday.
Jeff wins 44-42 pic.twitter.com/l81Q4BE87x
— BNL Athletics (@BNLAthletics1) February 11, 2022
