By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Jason Ott's 3-pointer and John Huddleston's free throw in the final 20 seconds of Friday night's game sealed the victory for visiting Eau Claire over Brandywine.
The Beavers walked away with a 68-65 victory, but had no easy match on their hands throughout the four periods of play.
The lead flip-flopped the contest, with the biggest lead coming with 4:51 left to play, when Eau Claire carried a 53-48 advantage.
In the final three minutes, however, the Bobcats put up the same fight they had all night, as the lead changed only once when Zak Bollenbacher made a successful lay-up after a steal with 44 seconds left to play. The basket bumped Brandywine up, 65-64.
That's when Ott nailed the much-needed 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to play. A free throw from Huddleston with seven seconds remaining was all the Beavers needed to claim the win.
"We could have done a lot of things differently tonight, but the kids played well and we're getting closer each week," Bobcat head coach Nathan Knapp said after the game. "We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds and we forced the ball too much instead of being patient. Eau Claire is a good team with a lot of experience and it showed tonight."
Knapp stated that P.J. Patterson and Ott gave the Bobcats the biggest problems on both sides of the floor.
"Those two are very tough to handle. Patterson has been a 4-year starter and Ott can shoot the ball from anywhere," Knapp said.
Patterson had 18 points for the Beavers, while Ott 20 points, including six 3-pointers.
For the Bobcats, Caleb Frazier had a team-high 20 points, while Bollenbacher, Josh Benjamin and Billy McDonald all contributed 10 points each.
"We've got a few things we're going to focus on like our rebounding and wanting it. We can't give up as many rebounds as we have been," Knapp added.
Brandywine, now 4-4 overall, will host Coloma on Tuesday for a Lakeland Conference match-up. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Brandywine … 65
Eau Claire … 68
BRANDYWINE (65) – Matt Duckett 0 0-0 0, Danny Williams 0 0-0 0, Noah Udell 1 6-0 2, Zak Bollenbacher 4 4-2 10, Billy McDonald 2 1 4-3 10, Caleb Frazier 8 4-4 20, Bill Bussey 2 1 0-0 7, Kyle Low 0 0-0 0, Matt Beaver 2 2-1 5, Josh Benjamin 4 4-2 10. Totals: 23 2 24-12 65
EAU CLAIRE (68) – Tyler Renbarger 0 1 1-0 3, Hazen Harner 1 1 4-3 8, P.J. Patterson 4 1 9-7 17, Preston Huddleston 2 0-0 4, Jason Ott 1 6 0-0 20, Mason Moore 4 2-2 8, John Huddleston 0 6-3 3. Totals: 12 9 22-15 68
Brandywine 20 31 45 65
Eau Claire 21 31 46 68