AUSTIN
In a rare Tuesday night game, Brownstown Central’s boys basketball team didn’t lose its focus on the conference crown.
The Class 3A No. 10 Braves stayed undefeated in Mid-Southern Conference play by topping Austin 67-56 on Tuesday night at Harold Rigel Gymnasium.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn the opening quarter, Austin (6-9, 2-2) senior Drew Buhr scored all of his team’s points.
Ten quick points by Buhr put the Eagles up 10-4 five minutes into the game.
In the final 2:52 of the opening period, the Braves (11-2, 5-0 MSC) went on an 11-3 run. In that span, Ethan Wischmeier scored nine straight points for BC on two 3-pointers and an and-one conversion.
Going into second quarter, the Braves led 15-13.
A 3-pointer by Braden Neal and five straight points by Michael Boshears boosted the Braves’ lead to 23-18 before Buhr put the Eagles back on top with a self-made 7-0 run.
BC strung together seven unanswered points from the 5:22 to 4:21 mark, but the Eagles continued to keep it close.
A layup at the buzzer by Buhr cut the Eagles’ deficit to 37-31 at intermission.
Wischmeier led the Braves with 15 points and Buhr had 26 in the first half for the Eagles.
The teams battled through the start of the third quarter.
Up 43-40 with 3:09 left in the period, the Braves went on a 10-2 run.
A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Boshears lifted the Braves to a 53-42 advantage going into the final eight minutes of play.
The Braves’ lead grew to its largest at 59-44 two minutes into the fourth quarter on baskets by Johnson and Neal.
While the Eagles were able to chip away at the Braves’ lead, the closest they would get was 10 points at 63-53 with 1:26 left in regulation.
Wischmeier led the Braves with 17 points, Seth Borden scored 13, Boshears added 12 and Johnson had 10 to go along with 10 rebounds.
Buhr led the Eagles with 33 points. Buhr shot 11-for-26 from the field (4-for-11 3-point).
Brownstown coach Dave Benter said Buhr is a tough player to hold down.
“We hadn’t worked on a box-and-one, and we went to it a little bit in the second quarter and the second half,” he said. “I thought our mental alertness (on defense) was better in the second half. Our guys were talking and helping better. Buhr is a tremendous player. He has great range and is explosive at times. He put on quite a show in the first half. Some of that was us, and some of that was him being a really good player.”
The Braves outrebounded the Eagles 32-25 in the game but had 12 turnovers to the Eagles’ nine errors.
From the field, the Braves shot 24-for-47 while the Eagles were 18-for-53.
“When we were disciplined on offense, I thought we were really good,” Benter said. “Austin plays chaotic, and that’s how they want to play. A couple times, I thought we got caught up in that.”
The Eagles were averaging 67.2 points per game going into the tilt.
Going into the contest, the Eagles were riding a five-game winning streak.
“Buhr was hurt and missed some games in the beginning of the year,” Benter said. “They are obviously a much different team when he’s healthy and on the floor. They play extremely hard. Every game I’ve seen from them this year, they were physical and scrappy. They really put pressure on you defensively because of it.”
By topping the Eagles, the Braves extended its streak to four straight victories.
Brownstown will host Charlestown on Friday for another MSC game.