By BRAD BAUGHMAN, for The Democrat

The Brown County Eagles had a solid game plan for their first-round sectional contest with the Edgewood Mustangs, and they implemented it successfully.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Mustangs had their own plans and raced out to a 21-6 first quarter advantage that the Eagles simply could not overcome in their 67-41 loss on March 2.

“Given our lack of size, we knew we’d have to give some extra help to keep their big guy (Coleman Sater) from beating us early on, and we executed that well, along with making sure their No. 2 scorer (Caden Huttenlocker) didn’t get hot as well,” said Brown County coach Matt Roberts.

Roberts was correct in his assessment. Early on, Sater did not hurt the Eagles at all — at least in terms of racking up points. When the 6’4” senior forward found himself double- and triple-teamed in the post, he did not force any bad shots.

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Instead, he kicked it out to senior guard Sean Sims who buried three three-pointers in the first three minutes of the contest. “If he doesn’t knock those down, I’d be pretty pleased with the first-quarter outcome,” Roberts said.

While Sims’ first-quarter scoring more than doubled his normal offensive output for a game, the Eagle offense sputtered. Three or four early-quarter turnovers committed while trying to break the Mustang 1-2-2 full court press and cold shooting led to the low point production.

The Eagles bounced back nicely in the second quarter, holding Edgewood to 12 points. “We made it a point in the huddle to be sure we did a better job of contesting the perimeter shot and overall did a pretty good job of it the rest of the way,” Roberts said.

Brown County defenders also continued to play solid defense on Sater, who did not break the scoring column until the 1:24 mark of the second quarter when he converted two free throws.

Freshman forward Isaac Roberts came off the bench to spark the Eagles, tallying five of the team’s nine points in the period. “Isaac did a great job of being active on both ends of the floor and gave us a little scoring boost when we were struggling to otherwise put points on the board. The others fed off of that effort and energy,” Roberts said.

The Mustangs racked up 23 points in the third quarter to salt the game away and took a 56-27 lead heading into the final period. Sater finished with his second triple-double of the season, scoring 10 points, snatching 10 boards and handing out 10 assists.

Ricky Stanley led the Eagles with eight points.

The loss was the 15th consecutive one for the Eagles, whose lone win came against Columbus Christian in the season opener.

After the game, Roberts wanted to acknowledge his three seniors: Travis Ely, Stanley and Dalton Hedrick. “I’m very proud of Travis, Ricky and Dalton. While they didn’t endure a lot of success in terms of wins over the course of their careers, they continued to play because of their love for the game,” the coach said.

“Ten to 20 years from now, I hope they can look back and remember the relationships they built with players and coaches alike. They provided a lot of leadership for this group, and that will be sorely missed.”

Roberts also paid tribute to his staff, saying, “Aside from their wealth of basketball knowledge, Aaron Bickley, Bryce Boyer, Amanda Doss and Josh Caplinger are all some pretty amazing people. I hope the players appreciate the passion they all have for the game and how much they care for the guys as people, too.”

The 2020-2021 season is one that Roberts seems relieved to have behind him, as he and his players dealt with quarantines, pauses, and a schedule that was in constant flux. “I told the guys that they are to be commended for their perseverance this season and that will prepare them for the future,” he said.

Despite the record, Roberts saw moments where the Eagles showed promise. “Every game this year we could sit back and say that we saw some good things being done on the court,” Roberts said.

Roberts believes next season’s returning players, with the right mindset, can get things turned around.

“These guys have to build towards a higher level of consistency and then hold themselves to that expectation. If they’re willing to put in the work and have the desire to improve and reach new heights, it will happen for them,” he said.