Jack Benter named Brownstown boys basketball MVP

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A majority of high school basketball players would like to score 385 points in a season and average 18.3 points per game.

Jack Benter did that this winter for the Brownstown Central boys basketball team as a freshman.

He topped the team in free-throw shooting, making 91 of 109 shots for 83%. He set a school record by making 17 free throws against Seymour, and he tied another school mark by making 10 3-pointers against Corydon Central when he scored a season-high 40 points.

Benter averaged 18.2 points per game in Mid-Southern Conference play to earn all-conference honors.

Those numbers earned him most valuable player honors as announced by his father and head coach, Dave Benter, at the team’s awards program last week in the school auditorium.

Dave said Jack’s point total is the highest ever for a freshman at the school.

He scored 36 against Northview in the sectional and had six other games in the 20s.

Jack Benter said it was an enjoyable experience playing for his father and being able to play with the team and have a good season.

“Everybody got along. We had good teamwork,” he said. “Dad and I left basketball at school. We didn’t take it home.”

Jack said he was proud to earn all-MSC honors.

“I worked hard at practice, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our team getting me the ball in the right position and playing as a team, and the coaches gave us good plays to run,” he said.

This past weekend, he played in an AAU tournament.

“It’s nice being able to see how other people coach other styles of basketball,” Jack said. “I have confidence in my shooting, and I work on extending my range every year.”

Nathan Koch, the only senior on the team, received the Jonathon Brewer Mental Attitude Award.

“I know he would have liked to have had more playing time than he got, but I never saw him pout,” coach Benter said. “He showed his leadership by getting the other guys up. He came into practice every day with the same energy.”

Aidan Schroer received the field goal shooting and rebound awards. He made 64 of 106 shots for 60% and had 146 rebounds for an average of seven per game.

Parker Hehman received the assists award for leading the team with 64, and Carter Waskom received the defensive player award.

Waskom was named all-MSC honorable mention, and both Waskom and Benter were named to the North Daviess Holiday Tournament all-tournament team.

Waskom was second on the team in scoring with 301 points for an average of 14.3 with high games of 25 against Charlestown and 22 against Scottsburg.

The Braves were 14-7 this season, including 7-2 in the MSC, and they advanced to the championship game of the North Daviess tournament. The Braves won their first game in the Owen Valley Sectional and lost in the second round.

“It was a different kind of year for everybody,” Dave Benter said. “We had the fewest number of points (300) back that we’ve had for a long time.”

He said because of the lack of experience, he wasn’t sure what kind of season to expect, and the Braves, like all teams, had to work around COVID-19.

Because of the virus, several games were either canceled or postponed, and in February, the Braves held only five practices in a 21-day span.

The Braves got back on the floor for games Feb. 19 and 20 against Eastern (Pekin) and Providence and split a pair of 1-pointers, beating Eastern and losing the next night. The following week, the team played three games, beating Clarksville, Orleans and Charlestown, to build some momentum going into the sectional.

Benter said normally, he would not want to play three games the week before the sectional, but he felt as if it was a good thing this year under the circumstances.

He thanked his assistant coaches for their hard work and said he told the staff to focus on the end of the season. He said the conference was stronger this year than in recent years.

Freshman coach Mitch Taylor said his team had 18 games scheduled but was only able to play seven, going 5-2.

Junior varsity coach Michael Leitzman presented the most improved award to Jakob Arthur and the free throw award to Caiden Gwin for making 78% from the line.

Cheerleaders also were honored. Co-sponsor Hannah Tanksley said the cheerleaders were only able to cheer at three games because of coronavirus restrictions.

Maddison Brittain received the cheer mental attitude award, and Shayla Sweany received her cheer jacket.

Schroer, Waskom and Levi Stahl and manager Adam Schocke receive letter jackets.

“We’ve got a lot of experience coming back,” coach Benter said looking to the future. “I had each player write a scouting report on themselves. They have to fix those things in the offseason. Our shooting has to get better next year, and our assists-to-turnover ratio has to get better.”

 

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