Brudnock tops 1,000 points in Pioneers’ 77-52 win
BENTLEYVILLE 鈥� West Greene蘑菇视频 Nathan Brudnock knew he needed just 17 points last Friday night against Bentworth to reach the 1,000 career point plateau.
But the versatile senior forward said he just had to block out the noise, not think about the scoring milestone too much and just focus on getting the win.
Make that three check marks.
Brudnock registered a game-high 27 points and led the Pioneers in a 77-52 victory on the road against the Bearcats in non-section action.
鈥淚t was as simple as playing the game and doing my normal routine,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou just have to block out the outside noise and focus on your shot. To me, the most important thing tonight was to get the win. I know the points would come to me tonight.鈥�
The 6-1, four-year starter is just the 17th member of the 1,000-point club and is the fifth member since 2014 to join the milestone point club at West Greene. Dave Goodwin, a 1993 graduate, is the all-time leading scorer for the boys with 1,753 points.
鈥淥f all the years I have coached, just based on pure, athletic basketball talent, Nathan is right up there on that list,鈥� WG coach Jim Romanus said. 鈥淚 put him in the same group as Tyrone Wilson (star basketball player for Jefferson-Morgan in the late 1990s that Romanus coached). Both are just so athletic and can do everything for you. They just have that natural gift.鈥�
Ben Jackson and Austin Crouse scored 12 points apiece for the Pioneers (3-6).
The Bearcats (0-9) were led by Mason Gurewicz with 19 points and 17 from Shawn Dziak. Jacob Burke also added nine points in the loss.
鈥淲e lost eight seniors from a year ago,鈥� Bentworth coach Bob Kennedy said. 鈥淲e are still trying to build consistency with this group and we are constantly working on basic fundamentals. We have a couple of good scorers.
鈥淲e just want to get these kids involved year-round and develop fundamentally-sound basketball players.鈥�
Brudnock tallied the opening five points of the game and the Pioneers scored the final nine points of the first quarter to build a 19-3 lead. Brudnock scored 11 points in the opening frame.
After an inside hoop by Jackson and a free throw by Brudnock stretched the visitors鈥� lead to 30-9 midway through the second quarter, Bentworth hit three shots from beyond the arc and added an interior hoop by Burke to trim the deficit to 34-20 at halftime.
Just 16 seconds into the third quarter, Brudnock was fouled on a lay-up and the ensuing free throw gave him the scoring milestone for West Greene.
鈥淕etting 1,000 was always a personal goal of mine, but honestly I would trade in all my points to get a playoff win for West Greene,鈥� Brudnock said. 鈥淲e have grown so much over the years and change the expectations here.
鈥淚 just want to do anything I can to help this team win. We are good when we run and I think we have a lot of speed on the court.鈥�
After building a 55-33 advantage at the end of three quarters, the Pioneers grabbed their biggest lead of the night, 65-41, after a pair of foul shots from Jackson and a transition hoop by Crouse.
West Greene held a 22-19 scoring edge in the final eight minutes of play.
鈥淚t feels good to get Nathan that scoring milestone because he is just an unselfish kid,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淗e is a four-year starter for me, and that usually doesn鈥檛 happen a lot with me. I鈥檓 very proud of the way he plays the game. It蘑菇视频 kind of nerve-racking for a coach in a game like this, but we stressed to our kids about doing their jobs and getting this win on the road tonight.
鈥淲hen we keep teams to 50 points it gives us a chance to win most nights. Nathan can take over a game. Ben Jackson is improving and we are more athletic with our starting five. We have a lot of different scoring options now.
鈥淲e just have to play within ourselves and not turn the ball over. We just want that continuity.鈥�