By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
After loosing the first seven games of the season, Brandywine had one thing in mind - winning. The Bobcats were able to achieve that goal Tuesday night against Eau Claire with a 63-54 victory.
The Beavers had the lead much of the first quarter. They relied on their outside shooting to give them a good lead right away, but had trouble getting shots in. The Beavers were only able to hit 3-8 shots outside in the first. Brandywine was able to take the lead in the last minute of the quarter 12-10, but Eau Claire tied it up at 12 with a last second shot.
D.J. Elrod got the second quarter started for the Bobcats. He nailed a 3-pointer to break the tie giving Brandywine a quick lead. Adam Prescott turned around and scored another two for the Bobcats, and Justin Ely hit a 3-pointer to put Brandywine up 22-14. Brandywine only allowed Eau Claire to score seven points in the second. The Beavers were 3-15 in the quarter. Brandywine went into halftime with a comfortable 30-21 lead.
Both teams came out more aggressive in the third quarter. The Bobcats were able to take the biggest lead of the night 5:07 into the third going up by 15 points. They thought they had it in the bag, but Eau Claire wasn't ready to give up and quickly came back. Patrick Patterson hit two 3-pointers for the Beavers late in the third. Ryan Schlipp added two more points on the next play to bring Eau Claire back within single digits. Brandywine was able to hang on to the lead ending the third up 43-36.
In the fourth, it was Brandywine's fouls that got them into trouble. Halfway through the quarter they allowed the Beavers to come within one point of them. Eau Claire scored most of their points on the free throw line.
The Bobcats hung tight to the lead and were able to score some much needed points on the free throw line late in the fourth. Mike Nagy went 5 – 8 on the line for the Bobcats in the last three minutes of play.
Brett Shoemaker also gave Brandywine five much needed points in the last few minutes of the quarter. The Bobcats scored enough points to give them a good lead the rest of the quarter and claimed the 62-54 victory.
Brandywine's JV team suffered an upsetting loss to Eau Claire in overtime. The Bobcats were down by three in the fourth quarter.
Billy McDonald's 3-pointer with one second to go tied it up and put them in overtime. The game stayed close in overtime with both teams sharing the lead. The Bobcats were down by one point with 0.5 seconds left. Brandywine made the basket on the last play, but not in time. Eau Claire walked away the winners , 58-57.
Billy McDonald had 17 for the Bobcats and Caleb Frazier had 13. Anthony Grandberry had 18 for Eau Claire and Tyler Renbar had 14.
Brandywine's Friday night game against Edwardsburg has been changed to Saturday night. JV starts at 6 p.m. with varsity following.
Brandywine….63
Eau Claire…….54
Brandywine (63) - Mike Nagy 1 9-12 11, Alex Newman 0 0-0 0, Matt Wieger 1 0-0 2, Adam Prescott 3 0-0 6, Zach Bennett 3 1-2 7, Justin Ely 1 0-0 5, D.J. Elrod 3 3-3 14, Bill Bussey 1 0-0 3, Kyle Low 1 0-0 2, Matt Beaver 3 2-5 8, Brett Shoemaker 2 2-4 6. Totals: 19 17-26 63.
Eau Claire (54) - Ryan Schlipp 3 2-2 8, Hazen Harner 2 1-2 5, Patrick Patterson 7 5-6 22, Jason Ott 2 2-2 8, Mason Moore 1 2-4 4, John Huddleston 0 0-0 0, Brice Wolff 3 1-2 7, Nick VonKoenig 0 0-1 0, Derrick Grody 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 13-19 54.
3-point shooting - Eau Claire 5 (Patterson 3, Ott 2), Brandywine 5 (Elrod 2, Prescott, Ely, Bussey.).