By Brad Baughman | For The Democrat
The Brown County High School Eagles faced an unfamiliar foe, the South Vermillion High School Wildcats, last Wednesday in IHSAA 3A Sectional No. 26 play at Northview High School.
The Wildcats, the only sectional team the Eagles had not played during the regular season, created havoc with their stingy man-to-man defense and rode a huge free throw disparity to an 88-44 win over the Eagles.
The teams spent the first couple minutes of the game feeling each other out. At the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, the Wildcats led 7-4.
Employing aggressive full court man to man pressure that forced several Eagle turnovers, the Wildcats blew the quarter and the game wide open with a 15-0 run in a three and a half minute span.
When the quarter ended, the Eagles found themselves on the wrong end of a 24-8 score.
The second quarter proved to be Brown County’s most productive as the Eagles posted 20 points. The Wildcats, however, continued to scorch the nets tacking on an additional 32 points, and they took a comfortable 56-28 halftime lead into the locker room.
Not only were the Eagles hampered by turnovers, they also had to deal with a monstrous disparity at the free throw line.
For the game, nine different Wildcats toed the charity stripe to attempt 35 free throws, while the Eagles shot only four, all in the fourth quarter by 6 ‘03 freshman forward Westin Fulford.
Brown County’s 6‘4” sophomore center, Jesse Hubbard, was the only Eagle to reach double figures. Hubbard scored 16 of his team high 20 in the first half, demonstrating a soft touch from 15’ and in.
Junior guard Brady Bond chipped in with seven points, all coming in the first half. Hubbard and Bond were the only Eagles on the roster with any sectional basketball experience.
The Wildcats had four players in double figures. Lucas Bush, a junior guard, had a game high 23 points. Sophomore guard Dallas Coleman had 17, while sophomore guard Aden Wallace and junior guard Dylan Conder had 15 and 13 points respectively
With the loss, the Eagles finished the season winless with a record of 0-23. The Wildcats, who improved to 9-15 with the win, grabbed another sectional victory on Friday when they defeated the Edgewood Mustangs 61-53. South Vermillion then fell to Indian Creek 50-46 in the championship game on Saturday.
