Tuesday night was opening night for head coach Brandon Hodges and his 2021 BHHS varsity boys basketball team, and the rust from the long hoops lay-off took a few minutes to wear away before a basketball game broke out.
The Bruins, who have not had much court time together as the 2021 school sports schedule has left little time in between sports, came out strong hoping their ball control, hustle and defense would be enough to carry them past a St. Mary’s Crusader team sitting on a 2-0 record and playing their 3rd game of this early season.
Offense was hard to come by in the first as both teams pressed the others offense, attempted to run on the others defense and work the ball under the basket. Sophomore Josh Serna #42 hit for 4 points in the 1st with Brad Russell #10 fighting for 2 points in the paint.
But the 2nd period would be a much different ball game as both teams came alive with strong inside defense and break aways on every change of possession. Brad Russell #10 established himself on the post and worked for 6 points in the period as Oggie Badger #25 pounded the ball into the paint for 6 points. Senior Derek Tuttle #13 also had 4 points inside, but the ball also started to fall from out side the 3 point line for 9 Bruin points as well, as Jake Beaman #1, Joe Gollaher #2 and Kayson Christensen #0 all hit from beyond the arc in a 28 point Bruin 2nd period.
After taking a 34-22 lead into the half, the Crusaders tried to run on the Bruins, pushing to the basket in the lane, forcing the Bruin defense to foul, and getting the Crusaders to the line nine times hitting 4 of 9 in the period. The Bruin offense struggled with the aggressive defensive pressure putting up only 9 points in the period while allowing the Crusaders to take a 43-45 lead after scoring 23 in the 3rd.
In a back and forth battle in the final period the Bruins got back into their game with fundamentals, hustle, passing and tough play in the paint under the hoop. Serna hit a bucket and went 2 for 2 from the line, Oggie Badger got to the line working the offensive boards and hit a bucket inside for 4 points in the 4th. Brad Russell had another bucket fighting in the paint and Christensen drove to the hoop for 2 more. But it came down to the final 5 seconds of play when Jake Beaman collected a loose rebound an rose up to hit a 20 ft jumper from the left corner with a final seconds game winner to finish the game 62-60 Bruins.
Coach Hodges told the Compass after the game that “Not having the kids all together for more than a week to practice, and then playing an undefeated team two games into their season was tough, the Crusaders are a good team, but we are really proud of how the guys responded tonight and we know what we need to work on.”
The 1-0 Bruins continue their season Thursday at home against a powerful 3-0 Cascade Christian team.
