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Brown brings Brownsville back

By Adam Brewer for The 4 min read

HILLER — After losing a lead late in the fourth quarter, the Brownsville boys’ basketball squad rallied around its star player Noah Brown, as the senior forward didn’t disappoint with two clutch free throws with six seconds left to preserve a 50-48 win over Elizabeth-Forward Saturday night in the FalconFest title game.

“With the game tied at 48-48, I called a timeout,” Brownsville coach Brian Brashear said. “We wanted to get the ball in the hands of Noah. We had to get our spacing down so that Noah could have a clear lane to the hoop. He was either going to finish around the hoop or get to the foul line. He got to the line and hit those free throws. That’s what a leader does.”

After putting up 36 points against Southmoreland on Friday night, Brown was slowed down, but did score 11 of his team-high 14 points in the second half.

Since the inaugural year of the FalconFest tournament in 2006, the Falcons (2-0) have claimed four tourney championships. This is Brownsville’s first title since 2012.

“It’s big to win our own tournament,” Brashear said. “It’s been a while since we won this tourney and it was a goal of ours. These guys were motivated and we did it for our fallen teammate Andre Smith. He has been in our thoughts and prays throughout this whole tournament.”

Other contributors for the Falcons were Tryvon Brown (12), James Holcomb (nine) and Shandon Marshall (eight).

Will Greijack and Vincent Marshall were in double-figures for the Warriors (1-1) with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

After the Falcons jumped out to an 8-2 lead, the Warriors bounced back with eight consecutive points to close out the opening quarter.

Brownsville opened the second stanza with an 8-2 spree and took a 24-18 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the teams traded points and rallies, but the Falcons opened up their lead to 42-33 at the end of three with a 10-4 run to end the frame.

Leading 45-36, Brownsville saw its lead slip when E-F tallied eight straight points and took its first lead since the beginning of the second quarter on two free throws by Mitchell with 48 seconds left in regulation.

A free throw by Marshall tied the game for the Falcons with 38 seconds remaining, before the late-game heroics of Noah Brown at the charity stripe. Brown was named MVP of the tourney.

“It wasn’t our best night on offense and we just had to stay the course,” Brashear said. “I’m really proud of the kids for keeping their cool and keeping their emotions in check. We always rely on our defense and we like to control the tempo of the game. We did that tonight.”

In the consolation contest, Southmoreland held a 17-11 lead at the end of one and rolled to a 61-42 triumph over South Allegheny.

“Our attitude was good going into the game and I thought we knew the task at hand,” Southmoreland coach Frank Muccino said. “We were disappointed with the loss on Friday night, but I liked the way we regrouped. We settled into the game and made our threes.”

The Scotties (1-1) got separation in the second stanza, holding a 24-6 scoring advantage in the quarter and carrying a 41-17 lead into intermission.

Southmoreland held a 14-9 scoring edge in the third quarter, while the Gladiators (0-2) carried the play in the final eight minutes with a 16-6 advantage.

Brandon Stone had a team-high 17 points for the Scotties. Zak Leighty added 16 points, while Tanner Schwartz tallied 11.

“Every game we want that mix of a good inside game and consistent, outside shooting,” Muccino said. “We made eight threes today. Our bigs are going to get their points and control the boards. We have to continue to play with confidence.”

Tywon Iggles led the Gladiators with 17 points, while Jake Duvall chipped in with 13.

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