Cardinals lose at Sullivan: fall to .500

Bloomfield's Andy Cochrane (40) shoots over Sullivan guard David Bedwell during a high school boys basketball game at Sullivan Friday night. (By BJ Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

SULLIVAN -- Bloomfield managed just three points over a 10 1/2-minute stretch that encompassed parts of the first three quarters as the Cardinals came up on the short end of a 52-42 score to the host Golden Arrows here Friday night in a high school boys basketball game.

Bloomfield's last lead -- 9-6 -- came on a driving lay-up by Kurt Schulte in the final 17 seconds of the first quarter.

The Golden Arrows (7-5) then got a 3-pointer from Dalton Hiatt to tie the issue at 9-all going to the second stanza. That was the beginning of a 22-3 spurt that left Sullivan ahead 28-12 at the 5:49 mark of the third quarter.

"That second quarter hurt us," Bloomfield coach Ron McBride said of having as many turnovers (three) as points in the period as the Golden Arrows forged ahead 20-12 at intermission. "We just did not do a very good job defensively.

"It could have been 13-6 at the end of the first quarter instead of being tied at 9-all. We missed two power moves to the basket and then lose a man and they knock down a three at the end of the quarter. That stretch forced us to play from behind, which is out of our domain. It's not what we do well. We got behind and had to gamble and they made us pay for it."

Sullivan coach Jeff Moore, whose Golden Arrows avenged a 54-35 loss to Cards at Glover Gymnasium a year ago, said they played about as well as they have all season, for the most part. They shot 58 percent (15 of 26) and made 75 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (8-for-12).

"With the exception of the last three or four minutes, that is as close to a complete game as we have played this year," said Moore. "We defended pretty well, rebounded the ball and hit our shots.

"Things just went right for us tonight."

While the Golden Arrows found its shooting touch, Bloomfield managed to shoot 17 of 42 (41 percent). They missed 11 of 15 3-pointers.

"We just are not shooting the ball very well right now," said McBride. "But when you have to play behind, you have to play a little big faster than you want to."

Despite the outside accuracy by Sullivan, as five different players hit at least one 3-pointer, the inside duo of Rhett Smith and Thad Thompson combined for 27 points and 19 rebounds, keying a 26-17 edge on the boards by the Golden Arrows.

"We did not have a hand in their face," said McBride. "We weren't even close enough to get a hand in their face.

"We were not in Sullivan County tonight. We were still in Greene County trying to guard them."

Smith finished with 20 points and nine boards while Thompson collected 10 rebounds and seven points.

Bloomfield, who lost for the third time in a row to slip to 6-6, was led by center Rick Tally, who finished with 12 points (6 of 7 shooting) and five rebounds. He also had one steal and two assists.

Gavin Thompson also had 12 points as the senior guard made 5 of 9 shots.

Tally and Thompson combined to make 11 of 16 shots. The rest of the team went 6 of 26.

"We don't beat them very often," Moore said of the Cardinals, who have won 13 of the past 20 meetings with Sullivan. "I think I was here eight years before we beat them."

The Cardinals lost the JV game 33-30.

Cory Slaven paced Bloomfield with 15 points. Ryan O'Neall had four points, Keaton Haywood three and Holden Hamm and Drake Vandeventer both added two. Derek Hasler, Bryce Lindsey, Ben Vandeventer and Payton Karl also played but did not score.

The Cardinals will play at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 when they travel to Bedford North Lawrence.

BLOOMFIELD (42) -- Andy Cochrane 2-10 0-0 6, Kurt Schulte 3-6 3-6 9, Rick Tally 6-7 0-0 12, Graham Helms 0-6 0-0 0, Gavin Thompson 5-9 1-2 12, Mitch Hobson 1-3 0-0 3, Jordan Arford 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-42 4-8 42.

SULLIVAN (52) -- Rhett Smith 5-6 8-10 20, Thad Thompson 3-5 1-4 7, Dreyson Boyd 2-6 2-2 8, David Bedwell 1-4 0-0 3, Dalton Hiatt 3-4 1-2 9, Jordan Turner 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Nash 1-1 2-2 5. Totals 15-26 14-20 52.

Bloomfield 9 3 10 20 -- 42

Sullivan 9 11 18 14 -- 52

3-point shooting -- Bloomfield 4-15 (Cochrane 2-5, G. Thompson 1-2, Hobson 1-3, Schulte 0-1, Helms 0-4), Sullivan 8-12 (Hiatt 2-3, Smith 2-3, Boyd 2-4, Nash 1-1, Bedwell 1-1). Fouls -- Bloomfield 16, Sullivan 9. Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- Bloomfield 17 (Tally 5, Thompson 4, Schulte 4), Sullivan 26 (Smith 10, T. Thompson 9). Assists -- Bloomfield 8 (G. Thompson 3, Hobson 2), Sullivan 14 (Bedwell 6). Steals -- Bloomfield 9 (Cochrane 3, Thompson 3), Sullivan 0. Turnovers -- Bloomfield 6 (Cochrane 2, Tally 2), Sullivan 15 (Bedwell 4). Blocks -- Bloomfield 1 (G. Thompson 1), Sullivan 2 (Thompson 2).