Bluffton uses big first-half run to get past Vikings

BLUFFTON — With less than three minutes to go in the first quarter, Leipsic finished off a 15-3 run to jump out to a 15-9 lead over Bluffton. Bluffton finished the quarter on a 5-0 run and was down by one, 15-14. That momentum carried into the second quarter as the Pirates closed the half on a 22-7 run that kick-started their offense and it never stopped an a 61-49 win over the Vikings on Friday. "I don't think our guys panicked. We have capable, skilled guys on the offensive end. We were needing to get stops, I thought it was really critical," Bluffton head coach Todd Boblitt said. "That kind of helped us get out legs under us a little bit, make us feel a little bit better. I wasn't overly concerned with our guys' confidence, I think we have a confident group, but anytime you can make shots — and we can in bunches — it really fuels our defense." The Pirates (10-1, 4-0 NWC) knocked down six three-pointers in the first half and ten in the game. Trey Boblitt finished with six of them, four in the first half and had 18 points on the night. "I felt like our game plan was solid, but instead of like most teams shooting 21-foot 3s, they were shooting 25-foot 3s and credit to them for making shots in the first half," Leipsic head coach Chris Kuhlman said. It was a much different style of play out of Bluffton in the final 16 minutes, though. Pirate post Kyler Kinn dominated down low, scoring 12 second-half points and 18 in the game. And that was because of the Pirates' ability from long-range. "We had to extend it out to 25 feet and obviously that creates more driving lanes and makes it difficult. But the difference in the game was the last two minutes in the first half," Kuhlman continued. "They made some winning plays, hustle plays and that led to some open 3s that allowed them to extend their lead a little bit." "I think it really opens it up. When we shoot well in the first half, they have to worry about it a lot more in the second, so it opens me up a lot and makes it easy for me," Bluffton's Kinn said. "But I think we expect to go on runs like that because we're all good scorers." The Pirate defense held Leipsic to 19 of 45 shooting, forced 15 turnovers and perhaps most importantly, held Leipsic's Mason Brandt to less than 20 points. He finished with 19. "We knew we weren't going to stop Mason, we were just hoping to contain him and limit him," coach Boblitt said. "I think our game plan coming in was to try and speed up and pressure other guys and we were able to do that at different times. I thought when we didn't do it, I think their other role players stepped up and made shots. "They kind of forced our hand a little bit and made us have to go guard them, which meant we didn't have as much help on Brandt, which we were scared of going in." Then again, there wasn't much to be afraid of when you were leading for most of the game. "When you're chasing for as long as you are, you get a little more tired and it allows some different things to happen," Kuhlman said. "When you have to chase as far out (as we did), it spaces the floor and instead of having a step where we can recover, we were spaced and we couldn't allow that one step to get beat." LEIPSIC (7-4, 2-2 NWC) Brandt 7-3—19, Siefker 4-0—10, Maag 4-0—8, Pena 1-2—5, Liffick 2-0—5, Schroeder 1-0—2. TOTALS: 19-6—49. BLUFFTON (10-1, 4-0 NWC) Donley 3-0—7, Soper 1-0—2, Kinn 9-0—18, Boblitt 6-0—18, Schaadt 2-1—5, Donaldson 4-0—11. TOTALS: 25-1—61. Leipsic 15 7 15 12—49 Bluffton 14 17 12 18—61 3-POINT GOALS: Leipsic 5 (Brandt 2, Siefker 2); Bluffton 10 (Boblitt 6). REBOUNDS: Leispic 21 (Schroeder 7); Bluffton 24 (Kinn 12). TURNOVERS: Leipsic 10; Bluffton 10. JUNIOR VARSITY: Bluffton, 51-48