Brandywine boys basketball coach Nathan Knapp was left scratching his head following his team’s performance Tuesday night against crosstown rival, Niles.

The Bobcats scored just 11 points during the middle two quarters en route to a lopsided, 61-28 setback at the hands of the host Vikings.

“It was not a good night, and I don’t get it,” Knapp said. “It’s a crosstown rival. You have to have some kind of fire and our kids just didn’t have the fire tonight.”

The Vikings didn’t exactly set their home gym ablaze, either, but they were able to overcome a slow start and began to distance themselves from the Bobcats with a solid effort in the second quarter.

Senior Alec Brown and junior Tate Brawley led the second-quarter charge for the Vikings, teaming for 10 of their team’s 17 points and helping Niles assume a 26-12 halftime lead.

Niles (3-9) turned up its defensive intensity after the intermission, holding Brandywine to a single free throw over the final 7 minutes, 52 seconds of the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Brown scored six of his game-high 19 points during the third quarter and the Vikings coasted to victory from there.

“We really like the way this one turned out,” Niles coach Todd Pawielski said. “We got off to a bit of a slow start, missed some shots and maybe we were a little impatient. At halftime, we talked about grinding it out and making it a possession game at the offensive end.

“I also thought we were much better on the defensive side of the ball in the second half. We wanted to extend a little bit and I thought we did a good job of that until about the last three minutes.”

In addition to his offensive output, Brown also grabbed 10 rebounds. Brawley chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds for Niles, while junior Connor Glick added 10 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role.

“Connor has a chance to be a really good basketball player here,” Pawielski added. “He is getting better and better every day, his footwork is improving and we are very pleased with what he did tonight.”

Niles shot 38.2 percent from the field (21 of 55), outrebounded Brandywine by a 41-28 margin and committed just 12 turnovers.

Brandywine shot just 24.2 percent afield (8 of 33) and committed 23 turnovers. The Bobcats got five points, apiece, from seniors Pierce Gleason and Brian Kline, along with sophomore Zachary Schmidt.

“Nobody showed up tonight,” added Knapp, whose team dipped to 1-12 on the season. “We tried everything. Niles’ pressure defense took us out of it. We executed maybe three sets tonight. Other than that, we were timid and scared to attack.

“You have to put the effort in to get something out of it. I thought Niles just put it to us early and we never got in the rhythm of the game. It was just one of those nights.”

 

 

BRANDYWINE 28

Courtlan Gordon 4, Michael Shelton 4, Pierce Gleason 5, Trent Moskwinski 0, Alex Ulrickson 2, Austin Knapp 0, Brock Hartline 0, Andrew Duckett 3, Zachary Schmidt 5, Brian Kline 5. Totals: 8 11-22 28

NILES 61

Tate Brawley 13, Cole Clemens 0, Alec Brown 19, Mitch Dehn 2, Anthony Bice 1, Gabe Stokes 0, Gevanta Nichols 1, Matt Miller 0, Jesse Jordan 5, Jeremy Wortham 6, David Haynes 4, Connor Glick 10. Totals: 21 16-29 61

 

Brandywine 4 12 15 28      

Niles 9 26 40 61                     

3-point goals: Brandywine 1 (Schmidt), Niles 3 (Brown 2, Jordan). Team fouls (fouled out): Brandywine 26 (Shelton, Gleason), Niles 21 (None). Rebounds: Brandywine 28, Niles 41. Turnovers: Brandywine 23, Niles 12. Varsity records: Brandywine 1-12, Niles  3-9