Bedford North Lawrence boys basketball debuts Monday in scrimmage game

BEDFORD — We're not sure if he has a nickname yet, but the kid's last name, Rynders, lends itself easily to Reindeer, particularly here during the holiday season.

After Monday night, Rain-deer, or just Rainders, would be more appropriate after Bedford North Lawrence junior guard Trace Rynders made it rain buckets all over Damon Bailey Court during the annual Soap & Towel Scrimmage game for the boys basketball team.

Rynders made all five of his 3-point attempts, and most of them came from so deep they needed GPS, and soared so high that they came down wet from kissing the clouds.

The good news for third-year BNL head coach Jeff Hein is that Rynders was not alone in his shooting accuracy, or his size. He is a prototype of the 2021-22 Stars, especially until returning All-HHC star Colten Leach returns from his knee injury and subsequent surgery.

BNL has a slew of quick, tenacious kids who can shoot, but stand in the 5-8 to 5-10 range. They put on a pretty good show Monday.

Hein happy with scrimmage effort

The coach didn't like looking at Leach in street clothes, while junior Houston Corbin and freshman Cal Gates were also out with injuries. Hein also didn't get to see his mighty mites win a jump ball against the junior varsity, which had 6-4 freshman Logan Miracle on its side.

But just about everything else about the scrimmage was quite palatable.

"We may not win many tips this year," said Hein, breaking into a big grin. "But I saw a lot of good things tonight. We played hard and I saw some shots go down, so those were good.

"In the first varsity quarter, the JV didn't get off a good shot for the first four minutes, so they really stuck them defensively. I really liked the effort and intensity. We have to have it to be successful this year."

Scrimmage scrapes hold form

The scrimmages went pretty much to form as the JV downed the freshmen, 16-5, while the Blue edged the White, 18-9, in the JV-only period. The varsity handled the JV, 19-8, as Rynders went deep twice, Junior Colton Staggs had a three-point play, and juniors Kaedyn Bennett and Dylan Nikirk each hit a bomb. The varsity also took the second quarter as Staggs hit two treys and had eight points, Bennett added five and junior Kole Bailey buried a long jumper.

More: Bedford North Lawrence boys basketball gets 2021-22 season started

In the initial varsity-only quarter, Rynders drained back-to-back treys, and fed Rhett Brinson for a layup to break an 8-8 tie as the Blue went ahead 16-8. More threes from Bennett and Rynders and a three-point play by junior Jettt Jones pushed it to 25-13, but two free throws from freshman Vince Moutardier and three-point plays by Staggs and sophomore Maddox Ray cut it to 25-21 at the finish of the second period.

Shooting prowess no surprise

During the final four quarters, the Stars knocked down 17 3-pointers, and with the freshman and JV tossed in, the total was 23. Colton Staggs, who surged late last season and has the most experience among active players, converted three of those and scored a game-high 18 points while also flashing some jet-fueled drives.

Bennett buried four bombs and finished with 16 points, Rynders scored 15 points, Nikirk delivered two treys and several nice assists, and Jones added five points.

"Rynders can really shoot it, and he'll defend you," Hein said. "Staggs is the same and he looked really good tonight. Bennett shot it well, Nikirk really played well, Miracle looked pretty good. I saw a lot to like."

Stars must form a swarm

With the 6-0 Leach out, and Miracle just a freshman, the Stars are going to have to come after teams like uninvited guest pests at a summer picnic. They'll need to swarm like an army of nasty gnats that never go away, bothering ballhandlers ceaselessly after they cross half-court.

They appear to have the troops to do it with Rynders, Staggs, Nikirk, Bailey, and sophomores Ray, Memphis Louden and Piaire Childs.

More: BNL boys basketball team builds depth, cohesion in summer ball

"We are going to have to pressure on the ball as much as we can," Hein said. "It would be nice to have that tree in back protecting the rim and blocking some shots, so we could press, but we don't have that. We have to compete without it.

"So we're going to have to get down and guard, rebound by committee, and work for good shots and knock them down. I know it was just against ourselves, but we saw a lot of that tonight."

Team growth until Leach is back

Without Leach in the lineup, the rotations are more unsettled, but Hein expects his team to grow in his absence and to play a lot of players. Hein has consistently shown that those who practice hard and are good teammates will earn time.

More: Boys Basketball: BNL's Leach named to All-HHC team

"Our cheer sponsor came and asked me which five banners she should get for our starters and I told she'd better get 10 because it could be anybody," Hein said. "A lot of kids are playing hard and playing well. It could any of 10 kids. I don't even know.

"Leach won't be back for a bit, but we'll continue to get better between now and the time he gets back, and it should be good for us in the long run."

Among the younger set, Dawson Irwin scored 10 points (two 3-pointers), freshman Quincy Pickett had nine on a trio of treys, Moutardier added nine points, Brinson and Ray each had five and Miracle four.

IHSAA scrimmage, chili night next

BNL is back at it Friday night at Martinsville in the IHSAA-controlled scrimmage.

"We'll get to play somebody that doesn't know what we're trying to do," Hein said. "That will be beneficial. They'll be tired by Friday of beating up on each other, so they'll be anxious to see some new faces to play against."

On Saturday prior to the BNL-Jeffersonville girls game, the Stars will host their annual fundraising chili supper in the lobby between the auxiliary gym and fieldhouse starting at 5 p.m. Proceeds aid the team in the 2021-22 season.

Contact Times-Mail Sports Writer Jeff Bartlett at jeffb@tmnews.com, or on Twitter @jeffbtmnews.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Bedford NL boys basketball starts 2021-22 IHSAA season with scrimmage