Big runs lead Falcons to 90-83 win over Raiders
Brownsville's Noah Brown (34) and Waynesburg Central's Mitch Warman (21) and Brandon Turcheck (24) battle for control of rebound during their Section 4-AA game, Jan. 15, at Brownsville Area High School.
Darnell Graham
Brownsville蘑菇视频 Noah Brown (34) drives by Waynesburg Central蘑菇视频 Mitch Warman (21) during Friday蘑菇视频 Section 4-AA game at Brownsville Area High School.
Darnell Graham
Brownsville蘑菇视频 Shandon Marshall glides through the air to score a lay-up with Waynesburg Central蘑菇视频 Brandon Turcheck attempting to block the shot during Friday蘑菇视频 Section 4-AA action at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's Noah Brown (34) scores a lay-up despite defensive efforts from Waynesburg Central's Collin Rose (5) and Mitch Warman (21) during their Section 4-AA game on Jan. 15 at Brownsville Area High School.
Brownsville's James Holcomb (20) scores with Waynesburg Central's Darton McIntire (10) looking on Friday during Section 4-AA action at Brownsville High School.
HILLER 鈥� The Brownsville boys basketball team had big runs in the first and third quarters, while withstanding a late comeback from Waynesburg Central in the fourth quarter to remain unbeaten in Section 4-AA play with a thrilling 90-83 triumph Friday night.
Both teams鈥� offenses dictated the tempo of the game from the opening tip and the contest was very similar to Brownsville蘑菇视频 earlier victory, 95-92 in overtime, over Waynesburg on Dec. 11.
鈥淭he last game we didn鈥檛 defend them very well,鈥� Brownsville coach Brian Brashear said. 鈥淭onight, we were a little bit better, but our offense and press carried us. They threw a zone at us and we were able to find some inside scoring against it.鈥�
The Falcons (11-3, 7-0) remain in first place in the section and have scored 80 points in a game six times this year, including three straight.
Trailing 38-34 at halftime, the Raiders (6-7, 3-4) started the third quarter with a 12-8 run and knotted the game up at 46-46 after a basket by Nate Blair.
Brownsville responded quickly with 11 unanswered points, capped off by a trey from James Holcomb and a free throw by Noah Brown.
Brown scored 13 of his 26 points in the third period, as the Falcons were up 69-52 going into the final eight minutes of regulation.
鈥淚t was a back-and-forth game with a lot of emotions,鈥� Waynesburg coach Kirk King said. 鈥淭he deciding factor was me and I hurt the team with getting a technical in the third quarter. I take responsibility for that. They had more runs than we did.鈥�
Waynesburg exploded out of the gates in the fourth quarter with 12 consecutive points and trimmed the deficit to 69-67 after an inside hoop by Mitch Warman. Warman had 12 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter.
鈥淭here is no quit in our team,鈥� King said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really have to say much to the team at the start of the fourth quarter. This group is a veteran group and we buckled down. We had to scrape for the ball and run our offense. I take my kids any day against anybody.鈥�
An inside bucket by Marcellous Grooms broke the scoreless streak for Brownsville and the Falcons increased their lead to 79-71 moments later after a lay-up by Jared Gaddis.
In the waning minutes of the high-scoring affair, the Raiders got as close as six points, but the Falcons made 7-of-12 shots from the foul line in the final two minutes to preserve the victory.
鈥淲e relied on our full-court pressure in the fourth and that created some turnovers,鈥� Brashear said. 鈥淣ot only did it stop their scoring, but it helped our offense out with some easy lay-ups. Our seniors stepped up and I thought our role players were huge tonight.鈥�
After Waynesburg scored six of the first 11 points to open the game, Brownsville collected 13 straight points and held a 23-13 lead at the end of one.
鈥淚t was so crucial and we made it a point of emphasis of getting out to a good start,鈥� Brashear said. 鈥淚f we control the tempo from the get-go and make them play catch-up, it works in our favor. We set the pace of the game and that helped us settle into the game.鈥�
In the second quarter after the squads traded a pair of baskets, the Raiders cut the lead down to 29-27 after a 10-2 run. The Falcons held a slim 9-7 scoring lead the rest of the period.
Shandon Marshall was Brownsville蘑菇视频 second-leading scorer with 25 points, while Holcomb and Grooms chipped in with 11 apiece.
Waynesburg蘑菇视频 Darton McIntire tallied 26 points, as Blair and Blake Brewer scored six each.
Section 4-AA
Waynesburg Central 聽13-21-21-28 鈥� 83
Brownsville 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 23-15-31-21 鈥� 90
Waynesburg Central: Mitch Warman 35, Darton McIntire 26. Brownsville: Noah Brown 26, Shandon Marshall 25, James Holcomb 11, Marcellous Grooms 11. Records: Waynesburg Central (6-7, 3-4), Brownsville (11-3, 7-0).