Seymour guard Andrew Levine helped spark a third-quarter surge for the Owls, but they couldn't catch Bedford North Lawrence. By Jennifer Regruth| For The Tribune

Bedford North Lawrence took advantage of a slow start by Seymour’s boys basketball team in the first half, and then happily sank free throw after free throw in the second half as the Owls fouled desperately to stay in the game.

The result was a comfortable 52-38 victory for Bedford, ending Seymour’s season in first round of the Class 4A Seymour Sectional Tuesday night.

The win advances the Stars (13-10) to Friday’s semifinal round, where they will take on New Albany (16-6) in the early game (5:30 p.m. start).

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

In Tuesday’s late game, Jeffersonville defeated Jennings County, 57-39, to earn a semifinal berth. The Red Devils (13-6) will play Floyd Central (13-5) in Friday’s second contest at 7:30 p.m..

For Seymour Tuesday, points were hard to come by. The Owls were limited to five points in the first quarter and just two points in the second period against Bedford’s stingy defense.

Seymour made two of 11 first-half shots (18 percent) and its offensive output in the second quarter consisted wholly of two Marcus Brooks free throws.

“That’s what buried us the first time,” Seymour coach Kirk Manns said of his team’s 44-36 regular-season loss to the Stars in January. “We got off to a slow start and Bedford does a good job controlling the tempo. We needed to hit a few shots and get some momentum, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The Owls put forth a solid defensive effort, too, limiting the Stars to just 18 first-half points, but that total was enough to give BNL a double-digit lead at halftime.

“They play really physical, tough defense and they didn’t give us anything easy,” Seymour junior Casey Regruth said. “We didn’t finish around the basket. Our slow start really cost us.” Added fellow junior Andrew Levine, “We were trying some things against their defense, but it just wasn’t working. They’re really aggressive defensively. They have a fight in them. We need that attitude, too.”

Levine came off the bench with a fighting spirit and led the Owls on their best run of the night in the third quarter.

Trailing 26-13, Levine knocked down a 15-foot jumper, then quickly added a fast-break layup after an Eli Meyer steal that trimmed the BNL advantage to 26-17. Levine kept going after that initial burst, making a three-pointer and drawing two offensive fouls from Bedford’s Kaedyn Bennett and Ben Cosner.

When Meyer drove and hit a layup with 15 seconds left in the third period, the Owls were down by just six points and appeared to have the momentum.

“I figured, why not me?” Levine said of his effort. “I hit the first shot and from then on I had a swagger. I thought, ‘Let’s see what we can make out of this.’”

Unfortunately, Seymour couldn’t build on that run, missing two front ends of one-and-one opportunities to start the fourth quarter. From that point forward, the game turned into a free-throw contest and Bedford proved it was up to the task.

During the final six minutes, the Stars drained 20 of 24 foul shots and never let the Owls get closer than seven points the remainder of the game.

“They stepped up and hit a lot of free throws,” Regruth said. “It was hard to cut the lead down the way they were shooting from the foul line.”

Illustrating just how lethal the foul line was for Bedford, Regruth limited the Stars’ leading scorer, Colten Leach, to just two field goals through the first three quarters. But Leach would make 11 of his 12 free throws during the final eight minutes to finish with a game-high 15 points.

Meyer was Seymour’s leader, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Levine followed with 8 points, while Brooks ended with six. Regruth added four points and five rebounds.

Tuesday’s loss ends the Owls’ season with a 10-12 record. While the defense was solid all season, allowing less than 50 points per game, the offense ended with a 45.5 average.

“I hope to be a better offensive team next season,” Manns said. “I’m convinced we’ll always guard well, we’ll always play good defense and give great effort.”

The players were also ready to get started on next season.

“It was a fun season,” Regruth said. “We’ve got a young group. I’m looking forward to next year.”

At Seymour Sectional

Bedford North Lawrence 52, Seymour 38

Bedford North Lawrence;9;9;12;22;—52;

Seymour;5;2;15;16;—38;

Bedford North Lawrence (13-10): Colten Leach 2 11-12 15, Jackson Miracle 6 1-4 13, Kooper Staley 2 5-5 10, Colton Staggs 2 4-6 9, Kaedyn Bennett 0 4-4 4, Aden Pemberton 0 1-2 1, Ben Cosner 0 0-0 0, Josh Blunk 0 0-0 0, Austin Messmore 0 0-0 0, Totals 12 26-33 52.

Seymour (10-12): Eli Meyer 3 6-9 12, Andrew Levine 3 1-2 8, Marcus Brooks 1 4-4 6, Casey Regruth 1 2-3 4, Charlie Longmeier 0 3-4 3, Bret Perry 1 0-0 3, Landon Fritsch 1 0-0 2, Totals 10 16-22 38.

3-point goals: Bedford North Lawrence 2 (Staley, Staggs), Seymour 2 (Levine, Perry).

Rebounds: Bedford North Lawrence 21 (Leach 5, Staggs 4, Pemberton 3, Miracle 3, Staley 2, Cosner 2, Team 2), Seymour 26 (Meyer 11, Regruth 5, Fritsch 3, Brooks 3, Levine 3, Longmeier 1).

Turnovers: Bedford North Lawrence 7, Seymour 11.

Fouls: Bedford North Lawrence 23, Seymour 22.{div class=”yj6qo”} {/div}