WATERFORD MILLS — For Elkhart Christian Academy, it ended up being as easy as ABC — Always Be Closing.

Actually, most of the contest wasn’t easy at all as host Bethany Christian put up a spirited fight at the Menno Lands, but the Eagles did make specifically that finishing part look simple on the way to their 63-53 boys basketball victory Friday.

ECA led just 50-45 with a bit over three minutes remaining — against an improving club it had beaten by 32 in December — but then went on an 11-3 run over the next two minutes to authoritatively put the rematch away.

Ryan Kupferschmid ignited the flurry with a 3-pointer off the dribble, his fifth and final trey on his way to 26 points, and then fellow junior Kenny Bearss made a series of pivotal plays for the winners.

Bearss finished with a season-high 16 points — 10 in the final quarter — and piled up five steals. He hit 8 of 9 free throws in the closing period after making 0 of 3 at the line entering the quarter.

“I just have to stay calm and cool, because I know I’m going to get fouled down the stretch,” Bearss said. “Things were not going our way at the start, but we really started clicking at the end.”

“Kenny played in control, and when he does that, he goes from good to very good,” ECA coach Ryan Culp said. “He understands the game and has a knack for doing some things that can change momentum or build momentum.”

The Eagles improved to 11-5 with their fourth win in five outings, while Bethany dropped to 3-12 with its sixth straight loss, but Bruin coach Jim Buller was nonetheless encouraged.

“It’s good to feel like there’s improvement,” Buller said. “I thought our shot selection was pretty good and we’re finally gaining an understanding of offense and playing in space. Screening is certainly better. I’m not sure we even knew how to screen before Christmas. The big thing is we’re playing better together, and we’re developing a little more identity and bringing a little more toughness.”

Sophomore Sol Brenneman poured in 21 points for Bethany to go with four assists and two steals. He was 9 of 15 from the field with a 3-pointer. Senior Caleb Morris added 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Junior Tanner Watson tallied 11 points for ECA, which beat the Bruins twice in the same season for the first time ever. There have been seven seasons in which the teams have met multiple times, with Bethany sweeping four of those times.

“We still have to become a much better team defensively,” Culp said. “I give Bethany credit for their offense, but we need to be able to stop penetration and be in better position on the interior to prevent easy buckets. We’ll do a lot of drill work and continue to try to get it ingrained, because we’re getting better, but we’re just not as strong as we need to be.”



Elkhart Christian 63, Bethany Christian 53

ECA — Ryan Kupferschmid 8-14 5-5 26, Jack Walters 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler VanArsdale 0-3 1-2 1, Tanner Watson 5-11 0-0 11, Kenny Bearss 4-8 8-12 16, Caleb Stayton 3-4 1-2 7, Michael Craft 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-42 (.500) 15-21 (.714) 63.

Bethany — Caleb Morris 4-8 4-5 13, Isaac Schertz 3-5 0-0 7, Abe Thorne 2-4 5-8 9, Nate Nussbaum 0-3 0-0 0, Sol Brenneman 9-15 2-2 21, Jesse Loewen 0-0 0-0 0, Cristian Romero 0-1 0-0 0, Ike Lehman 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 19-37 (.514) 11-15 (.733) 53.

Scoring By Quarters

ECA 7 15 20 21 — 63

Bethany 13 9 12 19 — 53

3-point goals: ECA (6-16) — Kupferschmid 5-10, Watson 1-3; Bethany (4-13) — Schertz 1-3, Morris 1-4, Brenneman 1-4.

Rebounds: ECA (24) — Watson 6, Kupferschmid 5, Bearss 4, Stayton 4; Bethany (20) — Morris 5, Thorne 4, Nussbaum 4, Brenneman 4.

Assists: ECA (11) — Walters 3, Watson 3, Bearss 3; Bethany (15) — Morris 5, Brenneman 4.

Steals: ECA (7) — Bearss 5, Stayton 2; Bethany (5) — Morris 2, Brenneman 2.

Turnovers: ECA 14, Bethany 17.

Fouls: ECA 14, Bethany 20. Fouled out — Nussbaum (2:07, 4th quarter).

Officials: Wes Yoder, Mike Acton, John Smith.

Records: ECA 11-5, Bethany 3-12.

Next: Lakewood Park at Bethany Thursday; Elkhart Christian at SB Trinity Friday.

JV: ECA 42, Bethany 25. Top scorers: ECA — Drew Overmyer 13, Alec Dutkowski 8, Steve Weaver 8; Bethany — Joseph Mumaw 8, Tristan Clark 6. JV records: ECA 9-5, Bethany 1-13.