Falcons outlast Jefferson-Morgan, 79-65
Holly Tonini
Brownsville’s Cole Novotney (12) dribbles around Jefferson-Morgan’s Austin Clark during Tuesday’s game at Jefferson. Holly Tonini
Holly Tonini
Brownsville’s Nick Despot (33) takes a shot against Jefferson-Morgan’s Nick Gustovich (24) during Tuesday’s game at Jefferson.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Christian Randolph (33) takes a shot over the shoulder as he is surrounded by Brownsville’s DeShawtae Bell (42), Nick Despot and Ryan Novotney (11) during Tuesday’s game at Jefferson. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
JEFFERSON — In a contest that had a whole bunch of offense and two 30-point scorers, the Brownsville boys basketball squad outlasted Jefferson-Morgan Tuesday night for a 79-65 win in Section 5-AA action.
Cole Novotney tallied 31 points for the Falcons (3-2, 2-0), while Ryan Novotney (14), Daquan Woods (10) and Nick Despot (eight) also contributed to the offensive effort.
“We got the ball to our big game (Despot) and that opened up things for our shooters,” Brownsville coach Brian Brashear said. “The three-point shot was huge for us and we were really efficient on offense. We were patient at times tonight and we didn’t rush shots.”
For the Rockets (2-4, 0-2), Rece Henneman scored a game-high 34 points, as Christian Randolph added 12 and Austin Clark collected 10 off of the bench.
“We just can’t put together a complete game,” J-M coach Dennis Garrett said. “The last couple of games we have struggled on offense. Tonight, we were really clicking on offense and got a good flow, but our defense and rebounding let us down. We had good ball movement and got some secondary scoring, but we only had 18 rebounds and that is very unlike us.”
After the teams traded baskets in the opening moments of the first quarter, J-M took its lead first of the game, 7-6, after a free throw by Dylan Davis, but Brownsville rallied back with a 14-3 run to end the period.
Cole Novotney totaled 14 points in the opening eight minutes of play for the Falcons.
“We had good movement on offense and we were kicking the ball to the outside and making the shot,” Cole Novotney said. “We passed the ball more to get the open shot, rather than playing one-on-one and dribbling for open space. My three was on tonight and I just try to play within myself. You can’t be selfish with the ball and it’s always about the team.”
The squads exchanged runs in the first half of the second stanza before Brownsville scored seven straight points and built a 36-24 lead.
Henneman compiled six consecutive points of his own for J-M, before Woods hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Brownsville to give the visitors a 39-30 advantage at halftime.
After hitting no threes in the first half, the Rockets’ outside shooting heated up in the third with Davis, Clark and Henneman hitting from beyond the arc to keep up with the Falcons’ offense.
J-M held a 20-19 scoring edge in the third and was down 58-50 going into the fourth quarter.
The Falcons’ defense stiffened up in the fourth and was able to dictate the tempo, as the offense continued to score, putting up 21 points in the final eight minutes.
“We were forcing the ball to one side of the defense,” Brashear said. “We put pressure on the ball and forced some bad passes. Defense is always key in this section and we still need to improve in some areas. Our two losses on the year came against two really good teams, and I think we are still trying to figure some things out on our team.”
After an inside hoop by Henneman that made it 59-52, Brownsville sprung out to a 17-3 rally that put the game out of reach and gave the Falcons their second section win of the year.
“We leave our feet a lot on defense,” Cole Novotney said. “We have to do less reaching and less jumping if we want to play better on defense. We always have to commit to playing harder defensively. Our defense is going to be important for us in this section.”
J-M will be back in action today with a non-section game at Carmichaels, followed by a section game at Beth-Center on Friday. Brownsville will have the next couple days off before traveling to rival California for a critical Section 5-AA match-up on Friday.