SPENCER
Northview’s strong second half trumped Brownstown Central’s fast start Friday night during the semi-final round of the Class 3A Owen Valley Sectional.
Brownstown, as it had in a first-round win over host Owen Valley, pounced in the opening minutes of the contest, taking an early 10-4 lead and developing a 27-17 advantage with two minutes left in the second quarter.
Northview, however, turned the tables after halftime by outscoring BC 17-5 in the first six minutes of the third period, building a seven-point fourth-quarter lead and then surviving a last-gasp charge by the Braves.
The Knights prevailed, 54-52, and went on to win the sectional title Saturday night by defeating Edgewood, 60-52. Northview (17-7) advanced to the Greencastle Regional. The Braves finished 14-7.
Following Friday’s game, Brownstown coach Dave Benter had little trouble identifying the causes of his team’s two-point loss.
“Turnovers and not being able to keep them off the boards, those are the two things that hurt us,” he said.
The Braves were outrebounded 16-5 in the second half, with Northview pulling down seven offensive boards to extend its possessions and score 10 points in the paint during the third and fourth quarters.
Northview’s defense, meanwhile, frustrated Brownstown’s guards into seven second-half turnovers. Four of the errors occurred during the Knights’ decisive third-quarter scoring run.
“Once things start going south, good teams need to be able to handle that adversity,” Benter said.
Friday’s loss couldn’t knock the luster off Jack Benter’s remarkable performance. The freshman finished with a game-high 36 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the floor, with each field goal seeming more implausible than the last.
The most eye-opening statistic? Benter scored all 23 of his team’s second-half points.
“I thought he really put us on his back offensively,” the elder Benter said. “Some of the shots he hit were really difficult. To hit some of those shots in a high-stakes game says a lot.”
The younger Benter had certainly made an impression on Northview by the fourth quarter. When, with 19 seconds left in the game and down just two points, the Braves regained the ball by forcing a turnover, the Knights aggressively double-teamed Benter, refusing to allow him the last shot.
BC junior Sam Schepman, who had hit a key 3-pointer in the Braves’ first-round win, found the ball in his hands as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Open and standing beyond the 3-point line in the left corner, Schepman let his potential game-winning shot fly. This time, it didn’t drop.
“Our guys battled,” Dave Benter said. “We put ourselves in position at the end.”
Still processing raw post-game emotions, Benter was already looking ahead and challenging his returners (BC only loses senior Nathan Koch) to commit to the hard work necessary to make next year’s post-season run last longer.
“The pieces are there but that means nothing if we aren’t willing to take a chance and get better,” Benter said. “This off-season will be good for us, because we’ll actually have an off-season. Our guys have to understand that the off-season is not a time to sit around. We need more shooting, we need better post play, and mentally as a group we’ve got some things we need to fix.”
Owen Valley Sectional
Northview 54, Brownstown Central 52
Northview;13;8;17;16;—54;
Brownstown Central;17;12;8;15;—52;
Northview (16-7): Caleb Swearingen 6 5-10 17, Brevin Cooper 6 0-0 15, Drew Cook 4 0-0 10, Ethan DeHart 2 2-2 8, Landon Carr 1 0-0 2, Braxton Sampson 1 0-0 2, Jacob Fowler 0 0-1 0, Nerius White 0 0-1 0, Totals 20 7-14 54.
Brownstown Central (14-7): Jack Benter 10 12-13 36, Carter Waskom 4 1-2 9, Aidan Schroer 2 0-0 4, Parker Hehman 1 0-0 3, Carson Darlage 0 0-0 0, Levi Stahl 0 0-0 0, Eli Wischmeier 0 0-0 0, Nathan Koch 0 0-0 0, Brandon Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Sam Schepman 0 0-0 0, Totals 17 13-15 52.
3-point goals: Northview 7 (Cooper 3, Cook 2, DeHart 2), Brownstown Central 5 (Benter 4, Waskom).
Rebounds: Northview 30 (Swearingen 9, Fowler 6, Cooper 4, DeHart 3, Cook 2, Sampson 2, White 1, Team 3), Brownstown Central 22 (Darlage 7, Waskom 4, Schroer 3, Hehman 2, Stahl 2, Benter 1, Wischmeier 1, Koch 1, Team 1).
Turnovers: Northview 6, Brownstown Central 13.
Fouls: Northview 14, Brownstown Central 14.
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