On Saturday, December 20, 2025, the Bellefontaine Chieftain basketball teams traveled to Knightstown, Indiana, to battle the Tecumseh Arrows in the historic Hoosier Gym. The court is best known as the filming location of the 1986 film ‘Hoosiers,’ widely said to be one of the best sports movies of all time.
The Bellefontaine girls fell 61-58 in an overtime thriller, but the boys earned a 73-60 come-from-behind victory on the backs of Jair Mundy and Grayson Lotts.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The Lady Chieftains took the court first, as both the Bellefontaine and Tecumseh girls looked to earn their first win of the season.
A storyline for this game became apparent early, as the whistles echoed throughout the gym during the entirety of the contest. A staggering 62 fouls were called, and the teams shot a combined 97 free throws. Four Bellefontaine players fouled out of the contest, and Tecumseh had two of its players accumulate all five fouls.
During the first quarter, which lasted nearly 30 minutes, Bellefontaine had control of the game early. Tecumseh found ways to answer, but the Lady Chiefs held a 19-13 lead after one quarter.
Tecumseh closed the gap in the second, as the physical nature of the Lady Arrows outworked the Chiefs to cut the deficit to two at the half, 29-27. Bellefontaine was able to maintain its lead thanks to the aggressiveness of the press defense and forcing 13 first-half turnovers.
More physicality showed up for Tecumseh to start the third, but the turnovers continued to pile up, and the Lady Chiefs wasted no time turning those into points. The defense held the Lady Arrows to just six third-quarter points, and took a 40-33 lead into the final eight minutes with momentum to pull away.
However, the Lady Arrows didn’t back down. The defense ramped up the intensity and made it hard for the Lady Chieftains to do much of anything on offense. A dramatic sequence of back-and-forth buckets led to Tecumseh making a layup near the five-second mark to tie the game and force overtime.
The see-sawing effect was still well prevalent in the extra period, but the Lady Arrows kept their defensive intensity and forced Bellefontaine to earn their points at the free throw line. Ultimately, the Lady Chiefs couldn’t sink enough of them, and a buzzer beating two-pointer added to the sting of defeat for Bellefontaine. They fall 61-58.
Hailee Lamb lit up the scoreboard despite the loss. The junior guard totaled 32 points, including the only made three-pointer of the game for Bellefontaine, and went 17-21 from the charity stripe.
She was followed by Sophia Jacobs with 6, Mia and Grace Brown each with 5, and Sloan Stolly had 4. The team went 33-44 from the free-throw line.
Bellefontaine falls to 0-6 on the still-young season.
Despite the loss, Chiefs head coach Meghan Ashcraft remains optimistic about the fight her team showed throughout the contest.
The Lady Chiefs are back in action on Monday night as they take on their rival, the Urbana Lady Hillclimbers.
HIGHLIGHTS
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Seeking to avenge not only the girls’ defeat, but also to take revenge against a team that had already beaten them earlier in the season, the Chieftain boys took the court. On December 1, the Chiefs and Arrows met at Bellefontaine High School, with Tecumseh earning a 70-63 win.
Tecumseh came out of the gate ready to play. They snatched the early momentum in every way, as the Chiefs struggled to see their shots fall.
After a 14-8 first-quarter advantage, the Arrows exploded in the second period. Big man Corey Russell went off for 11 of the 17 points the team scored in the frame, and his defense on the interior made it difficult for the Chiefs to establish any sort of offensive rhythm. The Arrows led 31-17 going to the halftime locker room.
With Bellefontaine needing to flip the momentum to start the second half, the halftime adjustments had to be effective. Spoiler, they were. The Chiefs started the third on an 8-0 run. They ramped up their aggressiveness on both ends of the floor, yet the Arrows kept their distance.
With Bellefontaine cutting the lead to six and threatening to shrink it more, Tecumseh used a key technical foul against the Chiefs’ Patrick Stolly to expand their lead back to double-figures, regaining momentum. Bellefontaine did not back away and cut the deficit to five before the end of the quarter, 48-43.
The fight eventually paid off, with the Chiefs nabbing the lead around the halfway point in the fourth quarter. From that point on, senior forward Jair Mundy engaged takeover mode with 15 points in the final frame. His relentless effort on fast-break opportunities forced some buckets plus the harm, and he threw down a pair of thunderous dunks to ignite the Chieftain bench and crowd.
The Chiefs used his personal momentum defensively, too. The team locked down the Arrows in the closing stages and made 14-17 second-half free throws, preventing Tecumseh from even giving them a shot at a comeback. Bellefontaine gets its vengeance in a thrilling 73-60 fashion.
Mundy led the Chiefs’ scoring column with 27, closely followed by Grayson Lotts, who had 25 points with four triples.
CJ Butler followed with 8 points, Jamison Clement finished with 5, and Zylan Hoffman recorded 4.
Bellefontaine improves to 4-2 overall, and 2-2 in Central Buckeye Conference, Kenton Trail Division play.
Head coach Henry Stolly says it feels good to get a win in such a historic venue, and a humble Jair Mundy credits his teammates for the success he had.
The Chieftains will look to carry this momentum against the West Liberty-Salem Tigers on Tuesday night. That game will be available to watch LIVE FOR FREE on PeakofOhioTV.com and on Roku, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30.
HIGHLIGHTS
No matter the results on the court, getting to play in a venue and on a court as historic as Hoosier Gym will certainly be a memory these young men and women will not soon forget.
