Bridgeport’s basketball team started Saturday knowing it had to play four games in seven days. Heading into tonight’s game, the Indians know they can do no worse than 2-2.

 

However, Coach Dave Marshall is hoping that’s not the case. The Tribe will have their hands full when they visit Philip Barbour this evening to wrap up a grueling stretch of games.

 

Bridgeport started the run with a three-game stretch in five days and did it in winning fashion. The Indians managed to rally past Oak Hill by a 48-46 score in a Saturday afternoon game on the BHS home floor.

 

It didn’t come without stress. In fact, the game wasn’t secure until a last-second 3-point field goal attempt by the Red Devils was off the mark.

 

Another stress point for the BHS faithful came in the third quarter.  It was in that frame where senior leading scorer and team leader Nick Stalnaker left – and didn’t return – with a sprained ankle.

 

Needing someone to step up, Jack Bifano stepped up. Bifano finished the contest with 12 points and seven rebounds but managed to score eight points and pull down six of those boards after Stalnaker’s departure. Although Marshall wasn’t pleased to see his standout go down with an injury, he was pleased with the response from Bifano.

 

“It was really nice to see Jack step up because after years of coaching I know if you’re going to be successful it can’t be about one guy,” said Marshall. “I’ve been blessed to have a great player like Nick Stalnaker, but if you just have it about one guy you won’t get where you want to get. It’s got to be about more players willing to step up if you want to accomplish more.

 

“Our coaching staff believes we have those guys on the team,” Marshall continued. “The struggle has been getting those guys to see it for themselves. Jack proved to himself he can be one of those guys.”

 

Oak Hill managed to go up 39-35 in the third frame, but the Tribe responded. Austin Massey and Bifano came up big and rallied the Tribe to a 9-2 run late to give the hosts a 44-41 advantage heading into the final segment.

 

The final eight minutes were close, and the contest was tied with nearly a minute to play. However, a Bifano basket with just over a minute left was the difference in the two-point win.

 

No one besides Bifano was in double figures. Stalnaker added eight points before leaving, while Drew Hogue and Josh Freeman both had seven.

 

On Monday, the Indians were hoping to be the first team to hand North Marion a loss. It wouldn’t happen as the Huskies ended up taking a 57-40 win.

 

However, it was anything but a blowout for large portions of the contest.

 

“We did hang with them and gritted it out. The reality of it was we didn’t play well, and part of that was because of North Marion,” said Marshall. “We looked tight and maybe because Nick didn’t start and because Jack went down early with an ankle before we got them both back on the floor.

 

“I still think we could have overcome that, but you could see everyone get tentative,” Marshall continued. “I was hoping someone would step up, but we had a bit of a deer in the headlights look.”

 

Marshall offered praise for one player. And it was a player who was guarding Gunner Murphy, who finished with 25 points.

 

“Outside of Josh Freeman, defensively, we weren’t effective. Murphy had 25, but he had to work for it,” said Marshall. “You have to make scorers work, and Josh did that.”

 

Bridgeport trailed 8-6 after one period and were down 25-21 at halftime. Although the Huskies added to their advantage in the third, BHS was still within striking distance before a run between the third and fourth quarters ended the speculation.

 

Freeman was the only Bridgeport player in double figures. He finished with 10 points, while Stalnaker contributed nine.

 

With 1:31 showing in the third, Bridgeport was down 35-30 after a pair of Massey free throws. Then, the Huskies started a 9-0 run put the Huskies up by double digits and they would never see the Indians get the lead under 10 points the rest of the way.

 

“As good and as athletic as they were, I don’t’ think we came close to our best game,” said Marshall. “There’s still a lot of room for this team to get better.”

 

On Wednesday, Bridgeport got a 52-37 win against Lewis County at BHS. The Tribe took a 52-37 win as the team was back to full strength.

 

In particular, Stalnaker’s ankle was back to form. He finished with 15 points to lead the Tribe and scored 13 of those points in the first half when the Indians put distance between themselves and the Minutemen. For good measure, he pulled down eight rebounds and swatted away a pair of LCHS shots to help BHS move to 9-3 on the year.

 

BHS led 19-10 after one quarter and never looked back. In fact, the Indians never trailed and were up 33-16 at halftime. Eventually BHS led by as many as 27 points in the second half on its way to the win.

 

Bifano also played better after injuring himself in the North Marion game with 10 points by hitting all five of his field goal attempts, while Hogue also had 10 points along with a pair of steals.

 

“I was pleased with the team effort, and not just defensively,” Marshall said. “We had three guys in double digits. We moved well without the ball and weren’t waiting for one guy to save the day. That’s what we need to be as a team. (Wednesday) night we had multiple guys step up.”

 

Marshall is hoping to see the same tonight against the Colts. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

 

Editor's Note: Photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.