Providence boys’ basketball shoots past Bell-Jeff

Burbank — A Media City, nonleague matchup between the Providence High and Bellarmine-Jefferson boys’ basketball teams that had eight ties, nine lead changes and five points standing as the largest margin naturally came down to the final minute.

It would be the Pioneers that prevailed, holding the Guards without a field goal down the stretch as they overcame a late deficit to pull out a 43-40 victory in front of a near capacity, raucous crowd at Providence High.

Providence’s Kirk Helling, who led the team with 15 points, tied the game at 40 with a jumper. The sophomore then hit one of two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to force Bell-Jeff to attempt a game-tying three-pointer, which eventually was a misfire from the top of the key. In between, Jason Batungbacal hit a pair of free throws, the first serving as the game-winning shot.

“We have preached it all along, to stay mentally tough,” said Pioneers Coach Chris Madigan, whose team improved to 4-6. “Staying in the moment, playing smart, playing tough and not getting caught up in anything.”

Madigan offered the response when asked what he attributed his players’ poise in a tightly contested game against a team just a few miles away to. The win for Providence snapped a three-game winning streak by the Guards in the annual rivalry game.

Bell-Jeff (0-4), which dressed six players including three from the junior varsity level, still gave Providence a scare and came one three-pointer going in and out away from taking a lead with less than a minute to play.

Not helping matters was losing Paulius Kasteckas to a fifth foul on the first possession of the fourth quarter, prompting Guards Coach Ray Witt to go to his only player on the bench. Led by Tomas Butkus, though, the Guards didn’t falter. Butkus led all scorers with 22 points in the losing effort, one that Witt had focusing on the positives.

“We had four players from varsity and four players that have not been cleared,” said the first-year head coach. “Essentially, they beat four guys. We did a hell of a job though, showed gut and character, lost a major contributor [during the game] and actually played tougher.

“I’m proud of them. A bucket here and a bucket there … you win some and you lose some.”

Noah Rofugha and Butkus both had looks at a game-altering three-pointer late in the game but just missed as Helling and Batungbacal hit free throws on the other end to secure the victory against the bigger Guards team, something Providence is familiar to this season.

“They’re a bigger team so they were able to dictate the tempo,” Madigan said. “They went from a 2-3 zone to a 1-2-2 and saved guys a little bit. Hats off to them for recognizing that.”

Madigan saw balanced scoring from his team, with Batungbacal finishing with 10 and Brian Cabagnot adding eight.

The game was close throughout, with one possession separating the two teams most of the way. Offense came at a premium until late in the second quarter when Cabagnot’s three-pointer sparked 12 points combined over the final two minutes of the first half.

Butkus answered the long ball to tie the game at 15 and gave the Guards a one-point lead after Helling’s runner retook the lead for Providence. Grant Menke would end the barrage with a short-range jumper from the right side to give the Pioneers a slim 19-18 lead going into halftime, despite Bell-Jeff shooting just under 50% in the half on 17 attempts.

The scoreboard maintained its uncertainty in a third quarter that saw four ties. Providence was a little quicker to the ball against the bigger Guards, highlighted by an offensive rebound off a Cabagnot missed free throw. Solid ball movement gave Batungbacal a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Pioneers a 26-23 cushion.

Tempers flared later in the quarter, resulting in Dane-Brock picking up a technical foul.

Butkus connected on two threes in the frame, including the first on the ensuing possession of Dane-Brock’s fifth foul. His second in the quarter gave the Guards their biggest lead of the game at 37-33.

Helling, who paced the team with eight points in the fourth, answered with a three-pointer of his own, cutting Providence’s deficit down to one point shortly after.

“That’s all in the periphery,” said Madigan when asked about the rivalry. “We don’t care who we’re playing, it has nothing to do with our standards and expectations. We’ve played a bunch of good teams and Bell-Jeff is another one. Once the game starts, it doesn’t matter.”