North Butler and Osage traded wins Tuesday night in Greene, with the Green Devil girls pulling away for a 57-43 victory before the Bearcat boys answered with a 56-47 win in the nightcap, as aired on 99 The Wave.
A slow start put North Butler in an early hole in the girls game as Osage jumped out to a 14-6 first-quarter lead. The Bearcats responded with a 13-point second quarter but went into the break trailing by 10. The second half featured more balanced scoring, but Osage outscored North Butler 28-24 after halftime to secure the win.
Eden Wix led the Bearcats with 15 points, scoring consistently from the low block despite traffic in the paint. Osage was led by Addison Marcks, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
With the loss, the Bearcat girls go to 4-7 in conference play and 8-9 overall.
In the boys game, North Butler set the tone early, building a 17-5 lead in the first quarter and extending the advantage to 13 by halftime. Osage outscored the Bearcats 30-26 in the second half, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome as North Butler closed out the 56-47 victory.
Wrigley Endelman led the Bearcats in scoring, while Jarrett Shear added 12 points, and Ezra Almelien scored 10, including nine from beyond the arc.
Endelman says shot-making by the guards opened up scoring opportunities in the paint.
“Yeah, our guards shot really well, too,” says Endelman. “I think Jax hit a few. Wade hit a few. That was big shots down the stretch there. And I think them hitting shots is big for us, because then it opens us up more in the paint. And that’s what we need.”
Defense also played a key role for North Butler, as the Bearcats limited Osage’s Quinn Street and Griffin Uhlenhopp to a combined 28 points, holding the duo below their 34.5-point-per-game average.
Head Coach Austin Guerrero credits the team’s commitment to its defensive game plan as a key factor in the win.
“It came down to just kind grit and toughness, especially on the defensive side of the floor,” says Guerrero. “And our guys bought in tremendously to our game plan. And that was just to force tough shots into two of the best scorers in our conference. And our defense led into us getting transition layups and offense. And it kind of just opened us up with how well we played down there and how tough we played to get us some easy baskets on offense.”
With the win, the Bearcat boys go to 7-4 in conference play and 11-4 overall.
