Nothing in baseball can match an ace pitcher, not even the weight of history.
NEW HAVEN – New Haven got it together defensively and was able to pull away in a 58-40 non-conference win over Bluffton on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs (16-3) outscored the short-handed Tigers (16-4) 32-16 in the second half to extend a small halftime margin into a double-figure decision.
“We came out and we knew we had to work on defense and rebound the basketball, which was killing us in the first half, and we improved on in the second half,” said New Haven senior Kyle Sovine, who led New Haven with 19 points and 11 rebounds. “The energy in the building seemed to be dead (in the first half). We had to step it up.”
New Haven opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run and began the fourth with a 9-0 spurt to secure things.
“They were running their sets in the first half and getting shots,” New Haven coach Al Gooden said. “We weren’t getting through their picks. They were just picking us and running their offense. We also wanted to get more ball pressure on them and then help out.”
Notre Dame recruit V.J. Beachem added 17 points for New Haven, which hasn’t won this many games since getting 19 wins in 1995-96. Sovine had seven points in the first half and 12 in the second half.
“In the first half I was kinda lazy, and I crashed the boards in the second half,” Sovine said. “That’s where I have been getting all my points the last five games. I have to keep attacking the glass and finishing strong.”
New Haven led 26-24 at halftime.
Class 2A No. 10 Bluffton, which was missing starters Matthew Sturgeon and Jackson Lambert to head injuries, made only six field goals in the second half and one in the fourth. The Tigers shot 5 of 10 in the third and 1 of 9 in the fourth. And Bluffton had six of its 15 turnovers in the third.
“In the second half, their athletes took over defensively and got into us,” Bluffton coach Kevin Leising said. “In the first half, you saw why we have a chance to be pretty good, and in the second half, you saw why we are not going to be pretty good if we don’t do what we are supposed to do. Al (Gooden) will probably tell you just the opposite. In the first half, he saw why they could get knocked off against Jay County (in the sectional opener).”
Bluffton got 11 points from Keith Cochran.
The Tigers led 15-12 after the first quarter, but the Bulldogs opened the second on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good, even though Bluffton would keep things close until late in the third.
