The Brookville Star's Blue Devils News, courtesy of Bill Idle

 

                        DEVILS SHOOT DOWN PAIR OF EAGLES.

 

            The Brookville Blue Devils defeated Eaton and Bellbrook last week, the latter in Dramatic last second fashion. The victories raised the Blue Devils record to 11-8 overall and 5-6 in the SWBL Southwestern Division.

            Brookville traveled to Eaton and downed the Eagles 63 to 58. Brookville led 19 to 11 after the first frame and 29 to 22 at the half. In the second half Brookville extended the advantage to 38 to 29 after three periods of play, and then in the final stanza outscored Eaton 25 to 19 to win 63 to 58.

            Brookville made 16 of 21 free throw attempts in the game’s final eight minutes to seal the win. Brookville shot 19 of 48 from the field including 7 of 18 behind the arch. The Devils made 18 of 24 free throws during the game. Eaton was 23 of 42 overall with 5 of 17 coming from behind the arch. The Eagles were 5 of 6 from the charity stripe.

            The Eagles were led in scoring by Sullender with 20 points and Smith with 14. Brookville scoring shows Marcus Brisco with a game high 24 points. Brisco made 11 of 12 free throw attempts during the game, all in the second half. Cody Cox scored 10; Brad Cox scored 7, Derek Day 6, Devon Cook 2, Cameron Alber 6, Collin Kindell 5, and Dalton Stewart 1.

            Friday night was Hall of Fame night and Tony Ramsey and Craig Turner were honored before the game as the newest members of the Brookville Hall of Fame. Then the game which was filled with nail-biting drama throughout the contest, including the final nerve frazzling quarter.

            The game was close from the beginning but Bellbrook led most of the time. Brookville led 2 to 1 after a basket by Alber from a nice pass by Brisco in the first period. The Eagles would go on to lead 10 to 6 after the first period of play.  In the second quarter Brad Cox grabbed a rebound and scored then Cody Cox drained a three point basket with 4:45 on the clock to give Brookville the lead 11 to 10. Bellbrook regained the lead on a pair of free throws before Brisco scored on a base line drive to make it 13 to 12 Blue Devils. The Eagles then scored the final 4 points of the period and led at the half 16 to 13.

            Brookville tied the game in the third period at 19 when Cody Cox hit another trifecta. However, with 5 ½ minutes left in the frame Bellbrook regained the lead with 4 straight points.  Brookville closed to 1 twice more in the frame after separate three points by Kindell and Brad Cox, but the Eagles 6 of the last 8 points of the period to lead 36 to 30 heading into the final period.

            A basket by Bellbrook 20 seconds into the final frame gave the Eagles a 38 to 30 lead. Here Marcus Brisco, with the help of good passing, screens and unselfish play by his teammates; put the Devils on his back. Brisco got the points, but the entire team contributed.

Brisco hit two free throws, then stole the ball and scored on a lay-up. Brisco then hit a charity shot and Cody Cox drained a three pointer with 5:44 left to tie the game. Singleton of Bellbrook hit a pair of free throws. Brisco answered with a three pointer and Brookville led 41 to 40 with 2:44 to go in the game. Singleton scored on a drive with 2:25 to go and Bellbrook led 42 to 41.

            Brisco was fouled on a long range shot and made all 3 free throws with 1:57 to go to give Brookville a 44 to 42 advantage. Demko scored on a back door cut to tie the game with 1:43 left.

            Brookville brought the ball up court and kept moving the ball but never took a shot. Finally, with 13 seconds left the Devils called time. Bellbrook then called 2 more time outs before the ball was inbounded. On the play Brookville moved the ball around quickly but Bellbrook managed to play great defense. Finally with just seconds left Derek Day penetrated, drew the defense and passed the ball to Brisco who was at the top of the key about 22 feet from the hoop. Brisco grabbed the ball, elevated and let loose a shot. The ball spun toward the hoop and just as it entered the cylinder the horn sounded. The ball continued through the basket neatly touching the net strings unleashing a celebration by Brookville and a 47 to 44 Blue Devil win.

            “We never changed our play” stated Coach Jeff Davidson. “We had the same set up for either a man to man or zone. We executed it and Marcus hit the shot after a nice pass by Derek.”

            Leading Bellbrook in scoring was Demko with 10, Singleton with 9, and Cordonnier with 9.

            Brookville scoring shows Brisco with a game high 22 points, 14 in the final frame; Cody Cox 9; Brad Cox 8; Collin Kindell 3; Dalton Stewart 2; Cameron Alber 2; and Tyler Scherer with 1.

            Brookville made 14 of 46 shots, 7 of 20 two point tries and 12 of 16 from the foul line. Bellbrook was 17 of 42 overall and 1 of 6 behind the arch. The Eagles were 9 of 13 from the foul line.

            Brookville will host Monroe Friday and finish the regular season at Tri-Village on Saturday.  

 

                        3’s RAIN IN FRANKLIN FOR DEVILS AND WILDCATS

 

            Brookville and Franklin combined for 26 three point shots in a highly entertaining game Friday night that Franklin eventually won90 to 64. The game was more competitive than the final score would indicate as Brookville, overmatched in talent, actually only trailed by 9 late in the first half.

            Luke Kennard, easily the best player the SWBL has ever seen, scored 44 points surpassing LeBron James on the all-time scoring list for Ohio high school basketball. In addition Kennard, who was 8 of 8 from the foul line, is now second in free throws made all time in the state behind only Geno Ford.

            Kennard scored 17 points in the first frame and 17 points in the third frame. The Senior, headed to Duke to play for the Blue Devils next fall, scored 5 points in each the second and fourth quarters. Austin Daliboa added 19 for the Wildcats.

            Brookville played well throughout the game with great spirit and teamwork. 4 Blue Devils were in double figure in the contest. Marcus Brisco had 19, Cody Cox 15, Collin Kindell 10, and Derek Day 10. Other Brookville points came from Dalton Stewart with 4; Brad Cox 2; Cameron Alber 2; and Tyler Scherer 2.

            The threes rained throughout the game as each team remarkably drained 13 of the shots. Kennard had 5 for Franklin. Cody Cox had 5 for Brookville, Brisco 4, Day 2, and Kindell 2.

            Franklin shot 32 for 60 during the game for 52%. The Cats were 19 of 31 in 2 point tries. Brookville made 21 of 54 shots for 39%. Brookville was 8 of 26 on two point tries and 13 of 28 from behind the arch. The Devils were 9 of 11 from the foul line and the Cats were 13 of 18. Brookville is at Eaton Tuesday.

 

                        BROOKVILLE STUNS SPARTANS

 

            The most important time to be ahead in any athletic contest is when that contest ends. Brookville trailed for 31 minutes and 3 seconds against Valley View last night but managed to lead the final 21 seconds and when the final buzzer sounded stunned the Spartans on their home court 57 to 55. Brookville trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before staging a rally and then winning dramatically in the final minute of play.

            Marcus Brisco hit 2 free throws with 21 seconds left to give Brookville their 3rd and final lead of the game. Brisco had grabbed a rebound and was fouled, then hit both ends of the one and one. That gave Brookville a 56 to 55 lead. Then after a pair of missed shots by the Spartans Derek Day was fouled with 1.4 seconds left and he hit a free throw for the final score of 57 to 55.

            The Spartans led 14 to 9 after the first period and 31 to 25 at the half. Brookville scored the final 6 points of the first half after trailing 31 to 19 with 1:55 left in the second stanza. Then Alber scored twice on lay-ins and Brisco hit 2 free throws as he was fouled with no time on the clock. The third period ended 44 to 44.

            Brookville got their first lead of the game with 1:12 left in the third period when Brisco drained a three pointer making it 44 to 42. The points ended an 8 point run to give Brookville the lead. Cameron Alber started the surge with a basket and Brad Cox drained a three. However, 25 seconds after the Devils grabbed the lead, Valley View tied the game.

            In the final frame Brookville trailed by as many as 5 points until back to back trifectas by Collin Kindell and Cody Cox gave the Devils the lead at 52 to 51 with 2:30 remaining. 

            However, Valley View recaptured the lead when Matthew Valenti grabbed a missed shot and scored. Casper Nolte was spectacular for Valley View scoring 27 points including a 17 foot jumper to make it 55 to 52 Spartans with 1:32 left.

            Brisco then scored on a base line drive with 1:08 remaining. Brookville forced a turnover but missed a long jumper with 35 seconds left. Then the Devils fouled and the Spartan missed the front end of the bonus and Brisco grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 21 seconds left. Then the Spartans missed a pair of shots and Derek Day grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 1.4 seconds left.

            Brookville scoring shows Brisco with 18; Brad Cox 8; Collin Kindell 8; Cody Cox 8; Devin Pennington 4; Nathan Middlestetter 4; Cameron Alber 6; and Derek Day 1.

            Brookville was 19 of 43 shooting including 8 of 20 behind the arch. The Devils were 11 of 16 from the foul line. Valley View was 22 of 49 including 5 of 13 on long range shots and 6 of 13 from the foul line. Brookville is now 9-7 overall and 3-5 in the SWBL Southwestern Division. Brookville travels to Franklin Friday.

 

                        DEVILS WIN TWO OF THREE

 

            Brookville lost to Oakwood but rebounded with wins over Jefferson and Arcanum last week. The Blue Devils are now 6-6 overall and 1-5 in the SWBL Southwestern Division.

            The Oakwood Lumberjacks went on a 13 to 0 run to end the first period and begin the second to seize control of the game and then slowly build the advantage to 19 points late in the third period in racking up a 55 to 38 victory over the struggling Brookville Blue Devils. Oakwood is now 9-3 on the season and 5-2 in the Division.         

Michael Hoecht scored a game high 18 points and Stefan Stropki added 12 for the Lumberjacks. The two big men inside dominated the boards as well as Brookville often would get only 1 shot on offense and the Jacks many times got offensive rebounds. Oakwood was unstoppable inside making 18 of 25 two point shots, most of them within 6 feet of the hoop. The Jacks were 4 of 12 behind the arch. Brookville made only 15 of 43 shots, 4 of 20 of those were three point tries.

            Brookville led 9 to 4 on the strength of Collin Kindell’s 7 first period points. Kindell scored on a back door cut; drained a three pointer; and stole the ball and scored in the stretch.

            However, Brookville did not score again for 5 minutes and trailed 17 to 9 before Dalton Stewart ended the run with a three point basket.

            Oakwood stretched the lead to 30 to 16 at the half and led 40 to 21 with 2 and ½ minutes left in the third frame. Marcus Brisco drained a three and Cody Cox an elbow jumper to end the period with the score 40 to 26.

            Brookville never got any closer the rest of the game. Scoring for Brookville shows Marcus Brisco with 15; Collin Kindell 9; Dalton Stewart 3; Cameron Alber 3; and with 2 points each was Derek Day; Brad Cox; Cody Cox; and Devon Cook.

 

                      Devils Destory Jefferson

 

Brookville broke a 5 to 5 tie in the first frame by rattling off 27 straight points to roll to a 68 to 25 win over Jefferson. The run began with a pair of free throws by Brad Cox. Cameron Alber scored on a tip-in and Brookville was off to the races. Derek Day scored 10 points during the run, Alber 6, Collin Kindell drained a three pointer; Devon Cook scored, and Marcus Brisco also made a bucket.

            The score was 25 to 5 after the first period. Brookville led 44 to 12 at the half, 58 to 18 after three periods of play and the final was 68 to 25.

            The Blue Devils played well in the game. The Devils made 23 of 55 shots during the game, including 8 of 18 from behind the three point line. Jefferson was 11 of 55 shooting on the game making 9 of 38 two point tries and 2 of 17 from three point land. Brookville made 14 of 15 free throws while Jefferson was a paltry 1 of 12 from the charity stripe.

            The Broncos top scorer A J Boyd had 7 points during the game. Javon Sterling added 5 markers.

            Every player for the Blue Devils scored in the game except Nathan Middlestetter. Middlestetter did grab a number of rebounds and played well inside for Brookville. Derek Day led Brookville with 14 points; Marcus Brisco added 11; Collin Kindell had 9; Cameron Alber scored 8; Tyler Scherer scored his first Varsity points and had a career high 8; Brad Cox had 6; Dalton Stewart 5; Cody Cox 3; Devon Cook 2; and Devin Pennington 2.

 

            Brookville then defeated Arcanum on Saturday night 55 to 37 led by Derek Days 10 assists, and Marcus Brisco's second consecutive double, double - 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brookville held the Trojans scoreless in the first frame and led 10 to 0. The halftime score was 19 to 15. However Brookville outscored Arcanum 17 to 10 in the third frame and 19 to 12 in the final 8 minutes.

            The Trojans were led by Pohl with 13 points.

            Brookville scoring shows Marcus Brisco with 22 points including 4 three point shots; Cody Cox had 9 all from behind the arch; Cameron Alber scored 11 points; Nathan Middlestetter scored 2; Devon Cook 4; Derek Day 4; and Collin Kindell 3.

            Brookville is at Carlisle tonight (Tuesday), will host Eaton Friday, at Milton Union Saturday; and at Valley View Tuesday.

 

SPARTANS RALLY PAST DEVILS

 

                 Valley View outscored Brookville 12 to 4 in the final 3:22 of the game to snatch a victory from Brookville 65 to 59 on the Blue Devils home court Friday night. The win was only the second of the season for the Spartans while Brookville fell to 3-3 on the year and 1-3 in the SWBL Southwestern Division.

                 Besides losing in the final minutes at home, the loss was like a punch in the gut because Brookville led by as many as 13 points in the first half before the Spartans slowly worked back into the game. Valley View shot an impressive 59% from the field on 24 of41 shooting, including 2 for 6 behind the arch. Brookville shot 39% including 7 of 23 from three point land.

                 Brookville trailed 5 to 2 in the first period when the Devils scored 15 unanswered points. Collin Kindell had 2 three pointers and 8 points during the run. Cameron Alber scored a hoop and Cody Cox had a trifecta and a basket for Brookville. Valenti of the Spartans ended the run but Cody Cox drained a 25 foot trifecta at the buzzer to give Brookville a 20 to 7 advantage after the first period.

                 Brookville led 35 to 29 at the break as the Spartans started to come back in the game. Marcus Brisco scored 8 points in the period for the Blue Devils.

                 Brookville managed to lead 45 to 42 after three periods as Brisco and Alber each had 4 points in the frame for the Blue Devils.

                 In the final period a steal by Ryan Haeseker that he turned into a fast break dunk tied the game at 51 with 4:43 left. Brisco of Brookville responded with a rebound and basket to reclaim the Blue Devil lead. Tyler Whiteman tied the game with a pair of charity shots. With 3:42 left Cameron Alber grabbed an errant Brookville shot and muscled his way up for a basket. It was now 55 to 53 Brookville.

                 The lead was short lived, with 3:22 left Haeseker drained a three for the Spartans. Then Casper Nolte stole a pass and went coast to coast for a bucket and Valley View led 58 to 55. After a Brisco free throw, Haeseker scored on a drive to make it 60 to 56 Spartans.

                 Alber scored off a nice pass from Brisco with 2:25 left to cut the deficit to 2 and Brisco made a free throw with 56 seconds left to make it 60 to 59 Spartans. Trailing by 2 with 30 seconds left Haeseker blocked a Brookville shot and the Spartans grabbed the ball and then made 4 free throws in the final 25 seconds to win the game 65 to 59.

                 Haeseker had 18 points, 9 in the final frame for Valley View. Valenti scored 12, Andrew King 11, and Nolte 10. Brookville scoring shows Marcus Brisco with a game high 20 points; Collin Kindell 14; Cameron Alber a career high 13 markers; Cody Cox 8; Devon Cook 2; and Devin Pennington 2.