COLUMBIA CITY – New Haven pulled itself out of a slump, while leaving Columbia City to deal with one of its own.
The Bulldogs broke a two-game losing skid with a 69-63 road win over the Eagles, who have now dropped two in a row.
New Haven coach Al Gooden said the difference was, as usual, defense.
“We sat down in our defense, and we rebounded the ball,” Gooden said. “(The last two games) we didn’t play any defense.”
After winning nine straight to open the season, the Bulldogs had fallen to Norwell and Bishop Dwenger.
V.J. Beachem led New Haven (10-2, 4-1 NHC) with 25 points, and Curtis Elwood added 14.
“Against Norwell, we didn’t play offense or defense,” said Beachem, a Notre Dame recruit.
“Against Dwenger, our offense was working right but our defense wasn’t. We finally put it together tonight to help us win. It was huge to get back on a winning stride.”
The Bulldogs also started taking better care of the ball. After committing 19 turnovers in the first half, New Haven had only five turnovers in the second half.
“We were trying to go too fast,” Gooden said of the first half.
“We settled down, and in the second half, we got some ball reversal. That helped us out a lot.”
Columbia City (10-4, 2-2) put three players in double figures, led by Drew Hinen’s 20. Daniel Woll had 18, and Drew Benedict added 15.
The Eagles have now dropped two straight in the NHC. They lost to DeKalb before Friday’s setback.
“We are not getting the ball movement we typically get (against New Haven),” said Columbia City coach Chris Benedict, whose team went to the Class 3A semistate a year ago but has moved up to 4A this year. “And defensively, it was a big red sea to let them just drive in.
“Against DeKalb, the game became more important to DeKalb, and that hasn’t happened around here in a long time.
“We are talented, but we are not physically talented. That puts a lot of pressure on both ends of the floor to maximize each possession, and in the past that’s what we have been really, really good at. This group is refusing to buy into that right now and play through it.”
Tied at 56 in the fourth, the Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 13-7 down the stretch.
It was a bit of a revenge game for Beachem and Gooden after Columbia City beat Harding in last year’s regional finals.
“They knocked us out of the tournament last year, and this was for everybody who played on that Harding team,” Beachem said. “It was a huge win for us for the conference race.”
In the first half, New Haven opened up a 29-15 lead, but Columbia City finished on a 15-2 run to close to within 31-30 at the break.
The teams combined for 33 turnovers in the first half, including 19 by the Bulldogs.
