By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BROWNSTOWN – The new term among the NBA millionaires is “load management.” That refers to resting healthy players at certain points to minimize injury risk. Heaven forbid, they sweat for four games in six days. That’s exactly the grueling schedule Brownstown has battled through, without seeming to mind.
Brownstown senior Lane Pendleton was a load, one Bedford North Lawrence did not manage very well. With Pendleton posing a problem in the paint, with Carter Covert causing headaches on the perimeter, the Braves tapped into their energy reserves for second-half damage and a victory.
On a special edition of Monday Night Basketball, which needed to borrow from the MNF iconic opening theme music called “Heavy Action” (Dum, dum, da, da), the Braves had heavy action in the third quarter while pulling away to a 78-55 win. Pendleton scored 24 points as the Braves (14-6) showed little hangover from the mad scheduling compaction. In fact, Brownstown will play again on Tuesday, making it five games in seven days, something the NBAers would complain about with bitterness.
Brownstown’s only complaint was the lack of first-half energy. BNL (6-15) took advantage with one of its best halves of the season, clawing within 32-29 at intermission. But once the Braves flexed with a 14-2 run in the third quarter, the Stars were out of fuel and answers.
In just a few minutes, BNL got left behind. After Dax Short dropped a 15-foot fader to power the Stars within 34-32, the Braves took off. Pendleton scored in the post, Covert drilled a trey, and Pendleton followed with a 3-point play. Another Covert bomb capped the surge to a 48-34 advantage.
“I haven’t liked our energy the last week,” Brownstown coach Dave Benter said. “Obviously we’re in a big stretch of games. We just haven’t had the same energy. I thought, in the second half, it was much better.
“It was our attention to detail, our focus. We were late on rotations, we were late in our halfcourt trap to take things away, we weren’t talking defensively, we were giving their 3-point shooters wide open shots. Our energy was so much better in the second half, and that’s contagious. It makes you better offensively.”
BNL was sharp early, hitting its first four shots. Easton Moore was the catalyst with 12 first-half points, stroking a trey, taking a Jett Alvey pass for a layup and soaring above defenders for a 10-footer in the lane. Driven Axsom’s corner jumper created a 29-29 deadlock before Covert ended the half with his first trey. That would be the foreshadowing of the future.
The Stars, busy in their own way with their third outing in four days, hit 11 of 19 shots in the opening half. The only glitch was 10 turnovers during that span.
”Coming off such a tough weekend, physically and emotionally, I was happy to see – on such a short turnaround – how we responded,” BNL coach Jackson Ryan said. “Their physicality and execution eventually caught up with us. Whether it’s 10 seconds, or three to four possessions, of a lapse, we can’t have those. Every possession matters.”
Pendleton, recently back from an injury, was unguardable in the paint, either hitting shots or getting to the line. Covert banged home six treys for his 18 points, and Eli Hutchinson gave the Braves another inside threat with 8 points and 6 boards.
”Pendleton is your throw-back type of high school player,” Ryan said. “They put a ton of pressure on us, getting us in foul trouble, and he was a big part of that. I don’t know if we were tired, but the looks he got in the second half were a lot easier.”
Moore was a force for BNL with a career-high 19 points, while Short finished with 14.
“It’s great when we can get Easton in attack mode,” Ryan said. “No one is ever going to question his offensive potential, with his athletic ability and shooting touch. It’s great for him to be peaking at the right time.”
Brownstown will finish its compressed conclusion to this unprecedented run by hosting Floyd Central on Tuesday before finally taking some time between tests. The Braves will visit Orleans on Friday.
”We haven’t been able to get a lot done in practice,” Benter said. “The big thing is staying mentally fresh and keeping our energy. Hopefully we’re trending in the right direction.”
The Stars will wrap up the regular season at Jasper on Thursday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (55)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Gibson Crane, f 0-0 2-3 3-4 3 4 7
10 Easton Moore, f 3-4 8-12 0-0 4 2 19
5 Dax Short, g 2-5 4-7 4-6 3 3 14
1 Parker Kern, g 0-2 0-4 1-2 1 0 1
2 Driven Axsom, g 2-2 2-3 0-0 3 3 6
40 Ben Conner 0-0 2-4 0-0 2 3 4
12 Dayson Kirby 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
11 Jace Nicholson 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
23 Jett Alvey 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 1 0
20 Jack Parsons 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
22 Garrett Chaillaux 0-0 2-2 0-1 1 0 4
Totals 7-18 20-39 8-13 21 18 55
BROWNSTOWN BRAVES (78)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
32 Lane Pendleton, f 2-5 7-11 8-10 4 4 24
44 Eli Hutchinson, f 0-0 4-7 0-0 6 0 8
20 Brock Dean, g 1-5 4-9 0-2 1 4 9
12 Preston Garrison, g 1-1 1-2 2-2 1 2 5
22 Carter Covert, g 6-9 6-9 0-0 2 0 18
5 Linkan Brittain 0-3 1-4 0-0 1 1 2
24 Kylis Brock 0-1 1-2 2-2 2 3 6
33 Caden Booker 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
10 Alex Hobson 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
34 Nolan Nehrt 0-0 1-1 2-2 2 1 4
14 Dylan Toppe 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
30 Dawson Branaman 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 10-24 26-49 16-20 21 15 78
Bedford NL 16 13 10 16 – 55
Brownstown 18 14 22 24 – 78
Turnovers – BNL 18, Brownstown 8
Technical foul – Garrison
Field goal percentage – BNL 20-39 (.513); Brownstown 26-49 (.531)
Free throw percentage – BNL 8-13 (.615); Brownstown 16-20 (.800)
