Brandywine boys eliminated by Watervliet
Published 9:25 pm Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Brandywine coach Nathan Knapp talks to his team during a time out Wednesday. The Bobcats were eliminated from the state tournament by Watervliet 62-46 Wednesday night. Brandywine finishes the year at 4-17. (Leader photo/KELLY SWEENEY)
NEW BUFFALO — The Brandywine boys basketball season ended in a disappointing fashion Wednesday night with a 62-46 loss against Watervliet in the Class C District semifinals at New Buffalo High School.
The Panthers’ trio of Travis Bolin, Jacob Cowsert and Brian Alden scored more points than Brandywine did on its own by combining for 48 of the Panthers’ 62 points.
Despite the final score, Brandywine had tremendous success in the early stages of the game.
The Bobcats started out like a house of fire scoring seven points before the Panthers scored their first basket; but as houses of fire so often do, Brandywine’s fiery output soon flamed out as they were outscored 29-15 over the remainder of the half.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats that trend would continue.
Watervliet’s aggressive play would paid off in spades in the third quarter as it used a relentless defense to hold the Bobcats to only six points, while scoring 17 points itself.
The 18-point deficit would prove to be insurmountable for Brandywine in the fourth quarter.
Senior center Evan Hartman led Brandywine in his final game with 11 points, while sophomore Andrew Duckett netted 10 points for the Bobcats respectively.
At the end of a tumultuous 4-17 season Bobcat coach Nathan Knapp sang his team’s praises for their continued determination to make the best of a tough season.
“Those guys are men,” he said/ “It would have been easy for them to walk away. It’s always easier to quit when things get tough, but they didn’t and I think everyone can be proud of that. My heart goes out for the seniors, but these younger guys know now what they need to work on.
“The future looks good as long as we work hard.”
BRANDYWINE 46
Evan Hartman 11, Andrew Duckett 10, Pierce Gleason 0 , Brock Hartline 2, Courtlan Gordan 1, Austin Knapp 4, Alex Ulrickson 2, Issac Davis 2, Trent Moskwinski 4, Zachary Schmidt 2, Brian Kline 2, Michael Shelton 6
WATERVLIET 62
Travis Bolin 23, Jacob Cowsert 13, Brian Alden 12, Austin Thomas 8, Devin Schultz 4, Thomas Hoffman 1, R.J. Rudel 1
Brandywine 12, 22 28 46
Watervliet 14 29 46 62
3-point goals: Brandywine 1 (Duckett), Watervliet 5 (Bolin 4, Cowsert 1). Varsity records: Brandywine 4-17, Watervliet 15-7
