BROWNSTOWN
Player Jack Benter said the locker room pep talk from coach David Benter did it.
Until halftime, the visiting Trinity Lutheran boys basketball team was putting up a pretty even arm-wrestling struggle against Brownstown Central.
After halftime, it seemed the Cougars were digging out from an avalanche.
What had once been an 11-11 first quarter game and showed a scoreboard of 30-26 Brownstown at the intermission read a stunning 74-45 at game’s end. The Braves, led by young Benter, listening to dad-coach Benter, demonstrated that the 3-point shot can be deployed for assault with a deadly weapon.
“It was the halftime speech,” said Jack Benter, of what provided the impetus to “play with our heads.”
Benter, a 6-foot-2 freshman, fired in 25 points, a total that included seven 3-point baskets on shots that seemed to be farther and farther from the hoop each time he cocked his right arm.
“Once he saw the ball go in, he got more confidence,” coach Benter said.
The Cougars (3-10) came out hungry and aggressive and spread the early scoring around. Then they went cold as Brownstown heated up and never got in sync again in the second half.
Cougars coach Ryan Crase felt Trinity was outhustled in the second half, and the Braves’ sharp shooting combined with hard rebounding completely changed the nature of the game.
“They hit their 3s, and we didn’t,” Crase said. “They killed us on the boards in the second half. It was two completely different games. We stopped doing those details (the little things). They had more toughness.”
In early play, forward Hudson Norton was able to mix drives to the hoop with outside shooting on his way to 18 points, but his accuracy waned as Brownstown controlled the pace in the second half. Senior guard Tyler Goecker also had 14 points for Trinity.
Trinity seemed comfortable in its offense early, but signs of trouble popped up on drives when Braves center Aidan Schroer loomed as a brick wall in the low post. The 6-6 Schroer guarded the basket as Cougars approached, ready to reject shots.
“He protected the rim,” said David Benter of Schroer, who totaled six blocked shots.
While the outside shooting was flashy, Schroer added 10 inside points and collected 14 rebounds in the paint.
Brownstown’s 24-15 run in the third quarter produced separation, and the fourth quarter was a rout, a 20-4 differential.
“We came out and regrouped,” said Brownstown guard Carter Waskom of the second half. “In the first half, we didn’t play defense well.”
Waskom, who scored 14 points, issued an understatement about Jack Benter’s hot hand.
“Jack made some shots,” he said.
Benter made a lot of shots. He had nine points in the first half, nailing three 3-pointers, then got the Braves rolling with a quick 3-pointer to start the third quarter. By the end of that period, Brownstown led 54-41, and that was just a prelude to the fourth quarter when the Braves ran away with it.
David Benter said his 7-4 club, which has just one senior, is still gaining needed experience.
“Our guys are figuring out now how hard you’ve got to compete,” he said.