January 23rd - All "A" State
Lady 'Stangs Run-Clock Defending "A" State Champ, Danville Christian, 63-34, Win 20th game of the season, will face owensboro catholic in final four next sunday
Lady 'Stangs 63, Danville Christian 34
Friday, January 23rd
Owensboro Sportscenter
* Replay Available *
With 2:44 remaining in the first half, and Brossart on top 21-19, we exploded for 15 unanswered point to lead 36-19, paving the way to a run-clock 63-34 win over the defending “A” State champs, win our 20th game of the season, and advance to next Sunday’s Final Four round back here in Owensboro where we will face the “home team”, Owensboro Catholic, who made easy work of Owen County 60-46 in the Friday lidlifter.
Kylie Smith paced the Lady ‘Stangs with 21 points, Graylee Kramer put up 20 and Hadley Eviston 15 in securing the victory.
We had 1,221 listens to our two broadcasts from Owensboro on Wednesday and Friday. Thank You!!!
January 21st - All "A" State
Fourth Quarter 3's And Made Free Throws Lift Lady 'Stangs Past Green County 56-49
Lady Stangs 56 | Green County 49
Wednesday, January 21st
Owensboro Sportscenter
* Replay Available *
Trailing by as many as 7 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter was a major concern to this broadcaster, but was just business as usual to this now 19-1 Lady ‘Stangs team. A flourish to end the period including a pair of Kylie Smith baskets drew us to within a single point at 40-39 with 8 minutes to go, that would see a pair of 3’s knocked down by Avery Wietholter and Hadley Eviston and 10 of 13 free-throw shooting pave the way to a 17-9 advantage and a 56-49 win. Kylie Smith paced the Brossart offense with 16 points. Lilee Meyers added 11, Eviston and Shewmaker 9 each, and Graylee Kramer hit a pair of threes and free-throws for 8, and Wietholter had the most pronounced 3-pointer for 3 points. Our Friday morning opponents will be the the defending “A” State Champion Danville Christian (Basketball Academy) who prevailed over Pikeville in double-overtime in the game following ours.
January 19th
Down 20-12 after a quarter, Mustangs erupt for 36 second quarter points, draw off to an 81-51, running clock win, behind seven 3-Bombs from Drew Steffen
Mustangs 81, Gallatin County 51
Monday, January 19th
* Replay Available *
Following a JV game (Bricking 13, Rowe 12) where our guys made it look easy, laying a 56-38 wallop on the home team, our varsity Mustangs found tough-sledding in the first quarter, as we appeared out of synch and non-cohesive in whatever it was we were attempting to do.
Things could not have turned around more dramatically in the second quarter, as we went on an 8-0 run to begin the frame, knotting the score at 20s, prior to Drew Steffen unleashing a 14 point barrage that included four 3s, and Nick Cozzi finishing off a 16 point half with 9 second period points. The Mustangs would put up a sum total of 36 points in the frame, giving them a 48-29 insurmountable lead at halftime. Steffen would add three more 3-pointers for a total of seven of them on the night – three short of a school record, as he Mustangs rolled to an 81-51 running-clock victory, bringing our season record to 8-9. In addition to Drew Steffen’s game-high 23 points, Nick Cozzi finished with 16, Beckett Kuntz 12, and Brady Rowe 10. No Wildcat mustered double-figure points.
January 15th - All"A" Championship Games
Lady 'Stangs Claim Fifteenth 10th Region "A" Championship With A Hard Fought 61-55 Win Over Lady Jackets. Mustangs Fall Behind Early, Can't Recover, As Nicholas County Boys Win Their First 10th Region "A" Title Since 1994
Lady 'Stangs 61, Nicholas County 55
10th Region "A" Championship Game
Thursday, January 15th
Nicholas County 74, Mustangs 61
10th Region "A" Championship Game
Thursday, January 15th
In one of the more contentious games that our Lady ‘Stangs have played this year, we were able to prevail 61-55 over Nicholas County , win our fifteenth 10th Region “A” Title, and punch our ticket to next week’s All “A” State Tournament in Owensboro, where we will face Green County at 11:30am on Wednesday. While this might have been the fifteenth for our girls, it was the first one for their coach, Aaron Stamm, who has spent his career in the 9th Region at Ludlow, or at Conner, who does not qualify for the All “A”.
This game versus the Lady Jackets, who feature only two blue-chip upperclassmen, and nine 7th, 8th and 9th graders, on paper shouldn’t be able to compete with our more experienced, older, Lady ‘Stangs, But they did, leading 18-13 after a period of play, and we found ourselves tied at 31s at halftime. A one-point lead at 42-41 with eight minutes left to play didn’t exactly exude confidence in making the trip to Owensboro next week. Our experience and strength of schedule paid off in the final quarter, as we hit our free-throws and Graylee Kramer put up 7 points down the stretch. This game saw ten ties and fifteen lead changes before we were able to break a 47-47 tie, opening a late game lead at 54-49, and then drawing off to a 61-55 victory. Kylie Smith led the Lady ‘Stangs with 21 points. Lillie Meyers added 15, and Greylee Kramer 10, as we improve to 17-1 on the campaign. Lilee Meyers, Kylie Smith, and Greylee Kremer were all named to the All-Tournament Team. The Lady ‘Stangs have two regular season engagements scheduled before their date with destiny in Owensboro. The Simon Kenton game, slated for Saturday at home has been rescheduled (see below), but our commitment to face Mason County in the MLK Showcase at Bracken County H.S. on Monday will be honored.
On the Boys side, Nicholas County came out on fire, opening a quick 9-2 lead, before Brady Boruske came off the bench, scoring four field goals, along with six points from Beckett Kuntz, which resulted in cutting the Jackets lead to 19-14 at the end of the first quarter, and 19-17 when Beckett hit a “3” to start the second quarter. From that juncture, Nicholas County used its size and girth to get the ball to the rim, and victimized us for 20 points to our 8, allowing them to build a seemingly insurmountable 39-24 halftime lead. A 6-0 Jackets run to open the second half, provoked a Ben Franzen time-out, that effectively stemmed the tide, and sent us on a mission, which saw us cut the Jackets lead to 12 at 52-40 after three quarters. Full court pressure resulted in our further closing the gap to 60-53 with 3:09 to play in the game, and had Nicholas County hearing footsteps. The Jackets hit shots down the stretch when they needed them and knocked home free-throws needed to hold us at bay and win their first 10th Region “A” title sine 1994. The Jackets will play Harlan on Thursday at 6:30pm. Beckett Kuntz and Nick Cozzi were named to the All-Tournament Team.
January 13th - All "A" Semifinals
Lady ’Stangs And Mustangs Punch Tickets To Thursday Night Finals With Wins Over Bracken County
Lady 'Stangs 70, Bracken Co 32
10th Region "A" Semi-finals
Tuesday, January 13th
* Replay Available *
Mustangs 65, Bracken Co 57
10th Region "A" Semi-finals
Tuesday, January 13th
* Replay Available *
Both of our Brossart teams punched their tickets to Thursday night’s 10th Region “A” Championship Games with wins over Bracken County on Tuesday, BUT each took different routes to get there. The girls pretty much followed the script, jumping out to a 22-9 first quarter lead and expanding their advantage that ended in a running-clock 70-32 win over the Lady Bears. Ten Lady ‘Stangs put numbers on he scoreboard, paced by Hadley Eviston with 16, Graylee Kramer 14, and Avery Wietholter, 10. Kailey Sharp was really good for Bracken County. The sophomore led all scorers with 19 points and was named to the 10th Region Tournament All-Tournament Team.
The Boys game was a slightly different matter. Prior to the Augusta game Saturday evening while chatting with Jason Hinson, the Panthers Head Coach, he told me that he couldn’t figure out our team, to which I responded, “Neither can we”. In the first period of our game last night versus Bracken County we dismantled them, playing near-perfect basketball while building a 26-6, 20 point lead. We would discover that we would need every one of them as we were out-scored 51-39 the rest of the way. Even after gong into the fourth quarter up 14 points, the Bears made a serious run at us, cutting our lead to 56-51 with the ball, and with over three minutes remaining in the game for them to overtake us. Fortunately, despite taking a few late game ill-advised shots and leaving others 9 1/2 feet high, we hit enough field-goals and free-throws to stem the tide and win the game, again we received quality contributions from our sophomores.
Coming off of a 12 point outing against Augusta, Brady Rowe added 8 more last night in Brooksville versus the home team. On this night, while still sub-par from the line, Free-throws were our friend, as we had a 16-3 advantage in that department—the difference in the game. Nick Cozzi led the Mustangs with 16 points. Brady Boruske added 15, and Beckett Kuntz 14. I thought we missed Jackson Steffen (out for the season with a bad knee) tonight.
With the win the Mustangs creep closer to being back at .500, improving to 7-8. We will play for our eighteenth 10th Region All “A” Championship Thursday night at approximately 7:45pm (or later). Nicholas County will be looking to cut down the nets for the first time since 1994.
Buckle your seat belts.
January 10th - All "A" Quarterfinals
Lady ’Stangs Make Easy Work Of Augusta On Saturday Night
Lady 'Stangs 63 | Augusta 20
10th Region "A" Quarterfinals
Saturday, January 10th
The Lady ’Stangs improve to a 15–1 record after defeating the Augusta Lady Panthers by 43 points on Saturday in this year’s 10th Region All “A” Classic Quarterfinals. Our girls will face Bracken County on Tuesday, January 13. The Lady Polar Bears defeated Robertson County Friday night by a score of 66-28.
Sophomore Kylie Smith officially joined the St. Mary/BBHS 1,000 point club. More details in the post game report.
Mustangs Advance, Beating Augusta On Saturday Night
Mustangs 66 | Augusta 46
10th Region "A" Quarterfinals
Saturday, January 10th
KYLIE SMITH INTERVIEW AT 1:18:10
Senior Beckett Kuntz and Junior Brady Boruske officially joined the St. Mary/BBHS 500 point club. More details in the post game report below.
Lady ‘Stangs roll to a running clock 63-20 win over Augusta, in a game that saw Sophomore Kylie Smith score her 1.000th Point. I interviewed her at halftime of the Boys Game, which can be heard at the 1:18:10 mark in the Boys Game broadcast.
Our boys found young Augusta (No Seniors, 1 Junior) to be a feisty, aggressive ball team that saw us leading merely 19-18 early in the second quarter, prior to a Brossart 17-2 run to finish out the half, and pretty much decide the game.
In this contest that saw a myriad of fouls called and a total of 60 free throws shot between the two teams (BB 20/38 and AG 13/22), both Beckett Kuntz and Brady Boruske achieve joining the 500 Points Club.
Boruske and Sophomore Brady Rowe shared scoring honors with 12 points each, with veterans Carson Hesse scoring 9 and Beckett Kuntz and Nick Cozzi putting up 8 each. In addition to Rowe, we received huge minutes from sophs Cohen Trauth (2), Wyatt Feldman (7), and Derek Bezold (2), as the Mustangs prevailed 66-46, and improved to 6-8 on the season.
Both teams advance to Tuesday night semis where we will do battle (which seems to be the norm lately), with the homestanding, host, Bracken County Polar Bears and Lady Bears. The Lady ‘Stangs tip off at 6pm, followed by the Mustangs (about 7:30pm) and both games will be broadcast live starting 20 minutes prior to tip-off.
January 9th
The Mustangs final prep for the 10th Region All “A” Classic Tournament did not go as hoped for, falling behind early and being overwhelmed with a 23-0 first half run that sealed our doom. While twelve Birds put ink in the scorebook, led by Tayden Lorenzen’s 16 points, nothing came easy for our Mustangs who struggled to get off, and finish on high percentage shots. No Mustang scored double-figures. Beckett Kuntz came closest with 9, moving him to within one point of 500 career points. Sophomore Cohen Trauth and Junior Drew Steffen added 8 apiece. While fresh our JV team played even up with the Birds JVs for the best part of three quarters before running our of gas late, falling 67-47. The Birds were once again much the best in the Freshman contest.
We will now focus our attention on playing at the top of our game versus our upcoming opponents in the 10th Region All “A” Tournament, the first of which will be the Augusta Panthers, Saturday at 6pm at Bracken County High School.
January 6th
Mustangs and Pendleton County Physically Battle To A 38-32 Mustangs "Win" Which Speaks Volumes For The Quality of this "Game"
In a brutally rough, aggressive match with the Pendleton County Wildcats, looking strictly at the box score and stats, Pendleton County led 10-9 after a quarter that saw Dawson Nichols score 10 of his game-high 15 points. Brossart prevailed 10-6 in the second round, taking a 28-26 advantage to the locker room at halftime. An exciting 7-6 Mustangs edge in the third quarter increased our advantage to 26-22, and after seeing the Wildcats tie the contest at 26s, we made our way to the free-throw line where Carson Hesse hit 3 of 4 following a Nick Cozzi field goal, allowing the Mustangs to survive 38-32 and improve to 5-7 on the season. We were led by Brady Boruske with 11 points, closing the gap between himself and the 500 Points club to 5. Beckett Kuntz ad Drew Steffen contributed 8 points. Carson Hesse took FOUR changes. We will travel to The City of Beautiful Homes Thursday night for an encounter with the Highlands Bluebirds who sustained their first loss of the season in their last outing at Ryle.
Our Mustangs prevailed in both the Freshman and JV games with Atticus Prost hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer lifting his freshman team to a 44-41 victory. Prost led all scorers with 14, and Parker Litmer added 11 in the win. Our JVs won 55-30 with Sophomore Wyatt Feldman pacing nine Mustang scorers with 11 points.
January 3rd, Crosstown Classic
Mustangs Put It All Together, Hit Eleven 3-Pointers, See Four Players Score Double-Figures, Snap Eight Game Losing Streak To Camels With 71-58 Crosstown Classic Victory
Coach Ben Franzen’s vision of having the Mustangs be an up-tempo, run and shoot-the-three style team, came to fruition Saturday night at the Campbell County Middle School as four different Mustangs recorded double figures and we dropped eleven 3-Pointers on the Camels, who led only once in this contest, 3-2 in the opening minutes of play. “Drooo” Steffen, known for his ability to string 3’s, nailed six of them, and led the Mustangs with 20 points. Carson Hesse not only scored 15 points, including a three-pointer, but also stood in and took a pair of charges. Brady Boruske contributed a pair of 3’s among his 14 point production, and Nick Cozzi put his team on his shoulders down the stretch, hitting 4 of 4 free-throws and two 2-pointers in the crucial fourth quarter. Cozzi totaled 10 points on the night and was named the Brossart Player of the Game.
The Mustangs were hot out of the gate as Brady Bourke scored 9 points in the opening period, Drew Steffen 5, Carson Hesse 7, and Nick Cozzi 2. We led 23-16 at the quarter stop, and were only outscored 15-14 as we took a 37-31 lead to the locker room at halftime. The big challenge for those of us who have followed this team throughout this season have seen us squander leads in the second half, was to see if we could sustain our momentum through the first three minutes of the third quarter, and make a serious run down the stretch. The question was answered when we added 19 third quarter points to our sum total, besting the Camels 19-18, spotting us a 7 points advantage with 8 minutes to play in the game. A major 3-pointer by Beckett Kuntz turned back a Campbell County mini-run, and when Nick Cozzi hit all of his free-throws down the stretch while collecting a pair of 2-pointers, this one went in the win column, 71-58, amazing the many scribes on hand to cover the so-called “featured” girls game, sending them scrambling to write about this “Spoiler’s Alert” upset win by our now 4-7 Mustangs over the now 9-3 Camels. The Mustangs received major contributions off of the bench by Senior Jackson Steffen and Sophomore Brady Rowe.
On the Camels side of the ledger, they were led by their go-to guy, Austin Davie, who put up 25 points to earn Campbell County POG honors. Cade Anthrop added 12 and Braden Elam 10.
Unfortunately, it appears that Brossart Senior Jackson Steffen has reaggravated his injured right knee and will be lost to us for the remainder of the season. Jackson came into this season knowing that the knee would require surgery at the conclusion of the season, but elected to wear a brace, and roll the dice, hoping that it would hold up. For the first 10 and 1/2 games he was getting by with it, until it gave out on him during the Campbell County game Saturday night. He had previously missed his entire Freshman season with a knee injury.
The Mustangs will be back in action Tuesday night when Pendleton County comes to call for a tripleheader, with the Freshman game tipping off at 5pm, the JVs doing battle at 6pm and the Varsity attempting to post back-to-back wins at 7:30pm.
Lady 'Stangs Handed First Season Loss 56-46 in the Nitecap. Lady Camels' Isabella Jayasuriya Leads All Scorers With 19, L 'Stang Kylie Smith Counters With 14
In the nitecap, where the 5-2 Lady Camels, who were coming off of a win over Holy Cross were taking on our 13-0 Lady ‘Stangs fresh off of winning the Lady Of the South tournament in Bowling Green. In this one it was the Lady Camels who shot straight to the lead, opening up a quick 12-0 early game lead. Following aa Aaron Stamm time-out, our girls responded with a 7-0 run to close out the first period, and trailed 12-7 after 8 minutes of Crosstown Classic Varsity basketball.
The second stanza was more of the same, as Brossart struggled to get off high-percentage shots, while the Lady Camels continued to successfully employ a 3-point shot assault, which resulted in five of them being hit in the first half, providing the Lady Camels with a tidy 25-17 halftime advantage.
Certainly we would right the ship and overtake the Lady Camels in the second half, but certainly we were unable to do so. as Campbell County widened the margin, outscoring our girls 18-11 in the third stanza, leaving us with a 43-28 deficit, and only 8 minutes remaining to overcome it. While we would creep to within six at 45-39 and 48-42, it seemed that whenever the Lady Camels needed a basket, they got one, as Isabella Jayasuriya hit 9 of 9 fourth quarter free-throws to hold us at bay, and post the 56-46 victory, and lay a loss on the Lady ‘Stangs slate. Jayasuriya led all scorers with 19, while Kylie Smith and Hadley Eviston countered with 14 and 13. The Lady ‘Stangs will welcome the Highlands Lady Birds to the SyDome on Wednesday. We will broadcast that game live starting at 7:10pm.