February 20th
We did an unannounced tape delay broadcast of the BB-NCC JV game tonight, as our Mustangs won their 11th game in a row, finalizing their season record at 18-7 with a 51-39 win over the Bred JVs. Thanks to Freshman Gavin Trauth for jumping on to the broadcast with me.
Mustangs Overcome an early Breds 15-0 run, outscore them 29-15 in the second half. Four Mustangs - Wyatt Feldman (15), Bauer Glass (11), Jake Bricking (10) and Derek Bezold (10) put up double-figures.
Brossart JVs 51, NCC JVs 39
Congratulations to Coach Derrick McBride and the team. This 18-7 JV record is the winningest recorded since 2004-05 when that team
went 23-0.
Breds Hot, Mustangs Not, Victimized by Twelve NCC 3's to our two of them.
NOTE: We had 3 players mis-identified on the broadcast. Jonathan Meyer was actually T.J. Ruschman, Ruschman was Drew Green. Drew Green was actually Drew Meyer and the unidentified player wearing Number 12 was Jon Meyer. Apologies, I mis-copied a few of them – That’s on me.
On paper our Mustangs are the superior shooting team from beyond the arc, and when we are hitting them we can be quite formidable, BUT when we are not, and our opponents nail 12 of them, it spells a long night for our Mustangs who were never seriously in contention Friday night on the Carothers Road Hill. Credit the Bred’s defense, which seemed relentless in making us adjust our shots, and rarely did we find 3-point shooter wide open. In fact, No Mustangs scored double-figures, despite ten of us putting points on the scoreboard. We were led by Carson Hesse, who is rounding back into form, and Nick Cozzi with 8 points each.
NCC nailed four first quarter 3-pointers setting the tone, as we fell behind 17-7, and they pretty much had their way from that point on. Four Breds scored double figures, led by John Luhn with 15 points that included a trio of 3-pointers. Jack Stevie, Gabe Waggoner (Four 3’s), and Thomas Messmer all put up 12 points apiece.
We will get a shootaround in the Middle School Saturday afternoon in preparation for our District date with Scott on Tuesday at 5:30pm.
February 19th
Mustangs Able To Overcome A 27 Point Output By Bellevue Senior Arion Stuckey - Prevail 69-60. See Return of carson Hesse, put eight scorers in the book. jvs win 10th Straight 52-22, improve to 17-7
Mustangs 69, Bellevue Tigers 60
Thursday, February 19th
* Replay Available *
After bolting from the gate and opening a quick 7-0 lead forcing a Bellevue time-out the Tigers, utilizing the girth of Senior Arion Stuckey, clawed back to take a 30-29 lead at halftime. Granted, Stuckey was a load, scoring 13 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, and the fact that despite shooting several close-in “sure things” we actually played like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, hitting less than 30% from the field, and only netted one 3-pointer in the first half, and four of them on the night.
In total, eight Mustangs put points on the board, led by Drew Steffen with 15, Brady Boruske 14, and Beckett Kuntz 12. Stuckey finished the night with 27 points.
Aaron Stamm told me on the broadcast of the Harrison County game not to apologize for wins, so I won’t. With the win the Mustangs improve to 15-11 heading to the Carothers Road Hill on Friday.
The JVs had no problem winning their 10th straight game, defeating the JV Tigers 52-22 and improving to 17-7 on the year. John Michael Meier led eight Brossart scorers with 12 points. Wyatt Feldman and Jake Bricking added 9, and Brendan Hill, 8. The Mustangs close out their season Friday night at NCC. JV and Varsity Games at 6pm and 7:30pm with the varsity game broadcast at 7:10pm.
February 13th
After going toe to toe with Ryle through the first quarter, the bigger, better raiders had their way with us limiting us to merely 36 points on the night. our JVs were brilliant in winning their 9th straight, and improving to 16-7 with a 61-41 Win.
At the onset of the varsity game, our Mustangs picked up where we left off in the past four games, as Beckett Kuntz nailed a pair of 3’s and Drew Steffen matched Beckett’s output plus a 2-Pointer as the Mustangs led for the majority of the first period, battling the Raiders to a 22-19 first quarter score. Unfortunately, that is where the similarity ends, as Ryle limited us to merely a pair of 2-point field goals in the second quarter, while they were having success getting the ball inside to big man, Grace Nsuti, (pronounced Grah-s N-suit-ee) who hit five close-in shots, leading to the Raiders winning the frame 17-4, and that was pretty much the story from that point on. Too tall, too long, too athletic, and too many. Drew Steffen was our only double-figure scorer, putting up 16 on the night. Holden Smith (18), Nsuti (14) and Anthony Coppola (11) contributed double-figures, leading ten Raider scorers enroute to the 79-36 victory. With the loss we fall to 14-11 and will get a much-needed weekend away from basketball, getting back in the gym on Monday to prepare for Bellevue on Thursday and NCC on Friday to wrap up the regular season.
If you attended the JV game, I don’t have to tell you that our guys were brilliant in breaking open a close game at halftime, where we trailed 27-22, and then behind Bauer Glass’s 18 second half scoring output that included four 3-pointers, drew off to a 20 point, 61-41 win, our 9th straight, improving our season mark to 16-7. Whatever adjustments Coach McBride made, or what was said at halftime, should be bottled and sold, as we rallied to outscore the visiting Raiders 39-14 in the second half. Cohen Trauth was our other double-figure scorer, putting up 11. Wyatt Feldman added 9, and Derek Bezold 8. The now 16-7 JVs, riding a 9 game win streak, will close out their season next week at Bellevue and at NCC on Thursday and Friday.
February 11th
Mustangs Take Care of Business On Senior Night, Winning Four In A Row. Senior Captain Beckett Kuntz with 22 points, 77 in Three Games. Drew Steffen Joins the 500 Club.
Mustangs 61, Harrison Co 56
Wednesday, Feb. 11th
Schabs and Lady 'Stangs Coach, Aaron Stamm
* Replay Available *
Our Mustangs made it four wins in a row with a 61-56 win over Harrison County on Senior Night, Wednesday Night in Alexandria. Beckett Kuntz remained on a torrid shooting hot streak, nailing ten 3-pointers in 24 hours, while scoring 77 points in three games. In this one we needed every one of his 22 game-high points, as the Thorobreds would not go away, continually battling back from deficits, with the last one overcoming a 55-48 point Brossart lead with 2:34 remaining in the game, and coming as close as four points at 60-56 in the waning seconds.
Again Coach Ben Franzen went deep into his bench, resulting in eight Mustangs putting numbers on the scoreboard. Nick Cozzi had a big first half, putting up 11 first half points, on 7 of 8 free-throw shooting. For the second night he saw limited action in the second half, due to foul trouble. Drew Steffen joined the Brossart “500 Points Club” in the first half when he put up 9 points, which would be his sum total on the night. Harrison County’s Landon Kinney led all scorers with 26 points and Blake Green tacked on 14. With the win the Mustangs improve to 14-10 on the season. We will, be back in action Friday night for our final home game of the season in a big time bout with Ryle on Grade School Night.
Junior Drew Steffen joined Beckett Kuntz and Brady Boruske this season by officially joining the St. Mary/BBHS 500 point club
Our JVs improved to 15-7 on the season, scoring our 8th consecutive victory with a 50-37 decision over the JV Breds. Wyatt Feldman was our leading scorer with 15 points. Jake Bricking added 11.
February 10th
Mustangs Dispatch mason COunty 70-55, Behind a 33 point performance by senior beckett kuntz - JVs Win Seventh Straight, Win 57-43, Improve To 14-7
Mustangs 70, Mason County 55
Tuesday, February 10th From The Fieldhouse
* Replay Available *
Our Mustangs continued on a whirlwind string of contests, playing our fifth game in six days with two more on deck in the next three days. In this one, Beckett Kuntz picked up right where he left off 24 hours ago, scoring 12 points in the first quarter including the Hat Trick from beyond the arc to set the tone. While applying intense defense, causing the Royals early game woes, we pushed out to a 24-11 first quarter advantage, which would be marred by a plethora of fouls whistled in what would become a whistle-fest. Both teams put up 15 in the second frame, sending the two teams to the locker room at halftime with Brossart on top 39-26. Twenty-six free-throws would be shot in the second half, as Nick Cozzi and Drew Steffen, both in foul trouble spent an inordinate amount of time on the bench, as the Mustangs, who had pushed our lead out to 52-28, would be forced to employ a sophomore corps and we were only able to improve our advantage by a single point. Meanwhile, Kuntz continued on a scoring tear, adding a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of free-throws bringing his sum total to 27 points coming out of the third quarter. It was more of the same in the finale, as the whistles continued to blow, fouling out Nick Cozzi, while disrupting the flow of the game. The Mustangs held the Royals at bay, winning by 15 points at 70-55 as Kuntz finished his night’s work with 33 points including five 3-Pointers – his second career high in as many nights. Drew Steffen added 11 leaving him six points shy of the 500 points milestone.
Derrick McBride’s JVs continue on a roll, winning their seventh game in a row, defeating the Royals 57-43 and improving their season mark to 14-7. Wyatt Feldman paced the JVs with 13, Cohen Trauth contributed 11, and Bauer Glass 10. Both teams will be back in action Wednesday night at home, as we host Harrison County on Senior Night. The JV Game goes at 6pm, with the Senior Night festivities taking place between games, and the Varsity match slated for 7:30pm which will likely be delayed a few minutes to allow for celebrating our seniors. Friends and fans of our seniors are invited to attend a reception upstairs in Hegenauer Hall immediately following the varsity game.
February 9th
Mustangs Escape Calvary Christian With A 56-45, Hard Fought Win - Capture Sole Possesion of The 37th District Top Seed For The first time since 2020.
It was not a Ken Shields’ Picasso, but a win, with the 37th District Top Seed on the line – it is a win we will take. The game was an ask and answer, nip and tuck chess match for the first three quarters which saw us up only 34-33 with 8 minutes to go.
This game had several identifiable sections, the first being that the Cougars possessed two long and tall big men, Luke Getsy and Matt Ayyildiz, who without the services of Carson Hesse to help offset them, played a two man zone deep in the paint thwarting our efforts at attacking the rim, and helped the Cougars control the boards. Fortunately our aggressive defense balanced the scales as we got numerous deflections, steals, and turnovers. Nonetheless, neither team could manage more than a four point lead up to that point in the fourth quarter where we led by a single point after three. On a night when we were not being carried by our 3-point shooting (both teams hit four of them), the fourth quarter saw a major shift in the Mustangs’ defense strategy which reaped rewards and turnovers, providing us with a 22-12 edge in the final stanza, that included a 9-0 run. Brady Boruske denied (face-guarded) their point guard and best ball handler, Collin Duty, making less talented ball-handlers battle our defensive pressure. In addition to limiting Duty, Boruske contributed 6 of his 8 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
From the get-go on this night Senior Beckett Kuntz was brilliant, doing what veteran senior blue-chippers do, carrying his team on his shoulders, putting up 11 points in each of the two halves to lead all scorers with 22 points.
With the win the Mustangs improve to 12-10, with five more regular season games remaining on our plate, before playing Scott in the semi-finals of the 37th District Tournament the week of February 23rd at the Campbell County Midle School. We will be on the bus Tuesday night, bound for the Mason County Fieldhouse for what we hope with be a trip over the track at the site of the upcoming 10th Region Tournament as we take on the Mason County Royals. JV and Varsity games at 6pm and 7:30pm. Live broadcast of the varsity game at 7:10pm.
The JVs won their sixth consecutive contest (13-7), 60-28 over the Calvary JVs. Jake Bricking led the team with 12 points while Cohen Trauth and Bauer Glass added 11 each.
February 7th
Lady 'Stangs Fail to Overcome Hot Shooting Pandas, Outscored 27-9 From Beyond The Arc. Smith (POG) 22, Eviston 18.
Our Lady ‘Stangs playing without the services of our 3-Point shooter, Graylee Kramer (she did make very brief appearances), were outscored in the decisive first half 18-0 from beyond the arc, giving the Pandas an advantage they would not relinquish. A 17-11 advantage in the third quarter provided Notre Dame with a 54-36 lead. To our girls credit, we rallied to outscore the leaders 17-9 down the stretch to cut the margin to six, but the Pandas hit their free-throws down the stretch to prevail 63-53. Kylie Smith (22) and Hadley Eviston (18) combined for 40 of our 53 points. Joslyn Humphrey and Emma Holzapfel led the Pandas with 15 and 13 respectively.
Mustangs Get A Rare Formality Game, Roll Past 14-8 Eminence 79-38. Drew Steffen hits five 3's (11 in 18 Hours) To Lead Mustangs With 21.
Congrats To Senior Jorge Somoza, Scoring His First Varsity Points.
Coming off of an emotional one-point loss to St. Henry, before a large, loud crowd eighteen hours prior, and playing a team that we were not familiar with that sported a 14 wins record, before a friends and family crowd in the middle of the afternoon, left questions to be answered. Still stinging from the near-miss the night before, we bolted from the gate, ran out to a quick 12 to 2 lead, and never were threatened in this one.
Drew Steffen remained on a torrid shooting spree, adding five more 3-pointers to his 51 that he came into the game with. This is a total of 24 3-Pointers since the Gallatin County game back on January 19th – five games ago. Nick Cozzi put up 12 of his 16 points in the first half, and Beckett Kuntz was our third double-figure scorer with 10 points as eleven Mustangs put numbers on the scoreboard in winning our 11th game of the season. Congrats to our favorite Exchange Student, Senior Jorge Somoza, who etched his name in the St. Mary/Bishop Brossart annals by scoring his first varsity points in the Eminence game.
Our JV Team won their fifth game in a row with a 53-40 win over the Eminence JVs.
We will finally play the Calvary Christian game this coming Monday night in Taylor Mill with JV and Varsity action at 6pm and 7:30pm. The prize for a win is the Sole Possession of the 37th District Top Seed.
February 6th
Mustangs Hot Early, Cru Hot Late, Prevail 62-61
St. Henry Cru 62, Mustangs 61
Friday, February 6th
JV and Varsity Single Broadcast
Jake Martin Interview at 1:18:05
The absence of Senior Carson Hesse played large in this one as late in the game, Cru big man Caden Kunstek went to war inside putting up 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, paving the way for the Cru to overcome a 10 point halftime deficit and poke a nose in front at 62-61 with only 28 seconds remaining in the game. It was their first lead since being up 7-5 back in the first quarter.
Early on in this one the Mustangs put on a shooting exhibition as Drew Steffen nailed four 3’s, Beckett Kuntz hit two of them, and Brady Brouske dropped in one. The second half would see a reversal of sort as it would be St. Henry who would drop five 3’s to our two as the Cru fought back to post the one-point win. Kunstek led all scorers with 23 points and Tyler Detzel added 10 for Tim Sullivan’s Cru. Drew Steffen put up 22 that included six 3’s and Beckett Kuntz 12 in the losing effort.
In what I though was one of the best JV games played in quite a while, our two teams traded punches, seeing the score tied at 32 at the end of the third quarter, and the homestanding Mustangs draw off late to post the 53-44 NKAC DivII victory. Jake Bricking and Wyatt Feldman led all scorers with 16 each, and Derek Bezold tossed in 12. Sam Duckworth led the Cru effort with 10.
The Mustangs will be back in action in a few hours when they host Eminence in a JV/Varsity twin bill at 12Noon and 1:30pm.
February 4th
Mustang Outscore Scrappy Boone County 23-7 Out of the Locker Room at Halftime, Fend off Rebels 64-57
Playing without the services of Senior Carson Hesse, who was coming off of a career best 23 point effort at Scott, our Mustangs struggled with cohesiveness and execution for the first 16 minutes, before outscoring the Rebels 23-7 in the 3rd quarter, taking a 52-39 lead heading into the final period where we weathered a 3-Point shooting storm by Drake Landrum, who hit four of them for a total of five 3’s on the night, and prevailed 64-57. Nick Cozzi led all scorers with 18 points, while Drew Steffen contributed 16, with four 3’s. Sophomore Brady Rowe put up 13, and Brady Boruske 12. With the win the Mustangs poke a head above .500. We will play another NKAC DivII opponent, St. Henry, Friday night. We will broadcast both the JV and the Varsity game as a single broadcast, and interview newly-appointed Brossart Head Football Coach Jake Martin between games.
Our JVs improved to 10-7 on the campaign by defeating Boone County 58-37, a game in which Brossart Junior Bauer Glass stole the show, scoring 26 points while hitting five 3-point goals. Wyatt Feldman was our second double-figure scorer with 10.
February 1st
Lady 'Stangs lose a heartbreaker on Sunday morning to Owensboro Catholic, 58-56, In The Semi Finals of the All "A" State Tournament
Lady 'Stangs 56, Owensboro Catholic 58
"A"State Semi-Finals
Sunday February 1st
* Replay Available *
Not our day! I think that statement pretty much encapsulates our feelings surrounding our narrow 58-56 defeat on Sunday morning to Owensboro Catholic in the semi-finals of the All “A” State Tournament. Notwithstanding, our ladies finish 4th of 128 schools who competed in this All “A” Classic event – a notable accomplishment, albeit disappointing, since we felt that we were capable of cutting down the nets later in the day.
Early on we jumped out of the gate and sprung to a short-lived 8-2 lead that was quickly erased by the Lady Aces, who went on a 7-0 run to take the lead at 9-8 and finished out the first quarter on top 12-11 and then maintained that lead at 28-26 at halftime. In review, three factors stand out from the first half. The Lady Aces, a season-long 31% 3-Point shooting team, hit four of them in the first half, none of which came from their top long-distance shooter – Claudia Munsey, who averages 41% and has hit 50 of them on the season. Ironically, she did not hit a single “3” in today’s game. Her teammates hit six of them on the game, from five different players – not named Munsey. The second factor was turnovers. Our Lady ‘Stangs turned the ball over 7 times in the first quarter which saw the two teams combine to turn it over as though in a soccer game, 13 times. The third factor was foul trouble. Two Brossart starters, Kylie Smith and Rachael Shoemaker, were strapped with 3 fouls each in the first half. Shewmaker only played 6 minutes 53 seconds in the first half. (I love these stat sheets), while Smith sat for nearly 3 minutes in the first half. Despite this, we trailed merely two points at intermission – not unfamiliar territory to this team.
Foul trouble would continue to plague Smith and Shew, as both picked up their 4th relegating them to the bench for much of the second half. On the day, Smith would sit for 15 of the 32 minutes played, and Shewmaker would observe play from the bench for 15 total minutes – yet we had a chance to win the game which certainly speaks well for our remaining starters and bench depth.
On the day we turned the ball over 23 times to the Lady Aces’ 14. They would score 22 points on our turnovers, while we were only able to capitalize for 14 points on their miscues. Beyond that there were no other standout major discrepancies. The game was tied at 44’s after three quarters, and despite falling behind by five twice late in the game, we always managed to get it back to a single possession and had the ball on two occasions in the final ticks, where a made basket would have sent the game to OT, or a dramatic “3” would have actually won it.
We were led in the scoring column by Hadley Eviston with 17 points, and Kylie Smith with 13. For their efforts both were named to the All-Tournament Team. Graylee Kramer (11) and Lilee Meyers (10) also netted double-figures. Taylor Mannahan (#4) led the Lady Aces with 15. The Lady Aces were defeated 60-42 by Holy Cross in the Championship Game. We congratulate and will welcome the “A” State Champs to the SyDome on Wednesday, February 18th.