Bobcats remain unbeaten

Published 8:39 am Monday, December 23, 2019

NILES — Both the Brandywine boys and girls basketball teams will remain undefeated going into Christmas break, however, both teams feel like they still have improving to do.

The girls team defeated Comstock, 71-23, and improved its record 6-0, while the boys team dominated the Colts 63-37 to move to 4-0 overall.

The Bobcats had history against the Comstock girls team. Last season, the team’s nine-game winning streak was ended by Comstock, who went 10-0.

This season, Brandywine has already proved to be different and as senior powerhouse Zakiyyah Abdullah consistently outscored the Colts, which graduated standout Ahkyla Bailey last season.

Head coach Josh Hood is proud of the way his team finished out the first part of the season, but wants fans to know there is more than just what happens in the game.

“Most fans they see 6-0 and wins by 17 or 16 points or more in all the games, but we’ve got a lot of stuff to fix and clean up and get better at,” he said.

In practice leading up to the Comstock game, Hood said the team worked on its transition baskets, playing unselfishly, and on its defensive rotation at the second level.

In the Bobcats’ victory over the Colts, Hood noticed an improvement on all fronts. Going into halftime, he sensed his team needed a break and encouraged whichever five girls who were on the court to play hard.

In the third quarter, Hood saw the team step up its level of intensity. Brandywine scored 27 points in the quarter alone and defensively had Comstock fighting for every point. The Colts only managed to score three.

During the break, Hood said his team will work on fixing fundamental items.

“We are far from a finished product but we are happy to be 6-0,” Hood said. “We know we are not satisfied.”

In the Brandywine boy’s win over Comstock, the first quarter was dominated by senior Jaelen Briggs, who had 11 of the Bobcats’ 16 points.

Head coach Nathan Knapp felt like his team struggled to attack against the Colts’ zone defense, and settled by taking quick threes.

“We have a team that is well balanced, and can do whatever we want,” Knapp said. “We can side out and move the ball. We didn’t move the ball very well in the first half against the zone, and we were settling for threes and just out of rhythm, and we weren’t hitting them.”

At halftime, Knapp encouraged the team to attack the inside and take over in the paint. In the third quarter, Brandywine broke out, scored 28 points. Of the 28 points, all baskets were inside the paint.

Knapp said his team still has a lot of work to do. Sometimes, he said his team goes through defensive lapses in games.

“When you play a really good disciplined team, they’ll expose that,” he said.

As a coach, Knapp’s eyes are not glued to the scoreboard, he looks at the overall win at the end of the night.

Among the star offense were Kendall Chrismon Jr., Shane Brown, Caleb Byrd and Jordan Abrams. Knapp applauded Briggs and sophomore Carson Knapp for getting the offense going and getting in extra passes.

“It was just a good thing,” Knapp said. “4-0 is good as a coach, but it’s not really now. It’s not the season. It’s at the end, and we have a lot of work to do.”

The Brandywine girls basketball team will return after break to play Lakeshore at home on Tuesday, Jan. 7, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

The boys basketball team will return with an away game at Hillsdale on Saturday, Jan. 4, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 a.m.