The Brownstown Central boys put together a strong man-to-man defense and an aggressive performance on the boards to defeat Greensburg 61-48 in The Pit Friday night.

Braves coach Dave Benter said, “I thought it was our best defensive effort of the year. We fought defensively and I liked the way we rebounded the basketball was huge for us.”

The first quarter was the Pirates best of the night as they shot 6-for-10 from the floor, but trailed 15-14 heading into the second period.

Ki Dyer led the Pirates (11-4) with seven points while Carter Waskom was hot for the Braves by making all four of his free throws, plus a 3-pointer, and Aidan Schroer added three baskets to keep the Braves in the lead.

The Braves limited Greensburg to 2-for-8 shooting in the second period, while Jack Benter made two field goals and Waskom hit a basket and a pair of free throws to put the hosts on top 23-20 at the half.

Benter, who was quiet in the first half, exploded for 13 points in the third period when the Braves outscored the Pirates 20-11 to take a 43-31 lead into the fourth period.

Coach Benter said, “We finally got some things going offensively, Carter kind of carried us in the first half, and then Jack and Carter were able to get loose in the second half, and our defense and rebounding just continued throughout the game. I thought we had some really good defensive possessions.”

Greensburg shot 15-for-40 shooting for the game while the Braves were 19-for-48.

Waskom topped the Braves with 25 points and Benter finished with 22.

Dyer was high scorer for the Pirates with 16 and Colin Comler scored 15.

The Braves held a 24-19 advantage in rebounds. Benter had seven and Aiden Schroer six to top the Braves.

Coach Benter said, “We were man (defense) until the very end. Some guards have caused us problems throughout the year but Carter and Parker (Hehman) both did an outstanding job when they guarded Comler. He didn’t have any easy shots.”

Brownstown (11-2) improved to 6-0 at home and will host Austin Tuesday for a Mid-Southern Conference game.

“I thought the Silver Creek game, the first half against Trinity and tonight were a good spring board to get us ready for this next week,” Benter said. “We have three conference games.”

After Austin, the Braves go to Charlestown Friday and to Corydon Saturday.