Boys Basketball: Foul trouble costly as Skyline falls at Bedford
Skyline didn’t show much rust on the offensive end of the floor on Tuesday night at Bedford, but the Eagles didn’t exactly come out flying at the other end of the floor. The Kicking Mules, who knocked down 31 free throws, turned a close game after three quarters into a rather comfortable 82-65 win over Skyline in an SEC contest.
Skyline worked to use full-court pressure in the first quarter to speed up the game and took a 27-23 lead after the first quarter. Both teams shot a high percentage in the up and down opening period as the teams returned from the holiday break.
In the second quarter, Skyline continued to work to use full-court trapping pressure and Bedford continued to take care of the ball overall and shot well from the foul line and some fouls started to mount for Skyline.
The Eagles took a 45-44 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Skyline continued to try and speed Bedford up and had some opportunities to take a bigger lead and was not able to convert on some makeable shots. Skyline’s foul trouble started to become a large problem as multiple starters had four fouls going into the fourth quarter and Bedford continued to make their free throws. The Kicking Mules took a 62-58 lead into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Bedford was able to take care of the ball, use ball-control offense and converted on layups and free throws to build its lead. Skyline had three starters foul out and three other rotation players finished with either three or four fouls.
The Kicking Mules made 31 of 34 free throws compared to 19 of 24 for the visiting Eagles.
Skyline was led in scoring by Ben Stille with 18 points, Jayden Potts with 15, Sam Koelling with 10 and Ben Solomon with eight. Ish Abdul Aziz scored six points and Pete Roebuck added five for the Eagles.
Skyline will look to focus on improving the defensive and rebounding parts of the game. The Eagles will be at Detroit Southwestern HS vs. Warren Mott on Sunday, Jan. 15 (5 p.m.) in an MLK showcase.
