BROWNSTOWN
Indian Creek held a 40-33 lead going into the fourth quarter and remained ahead throughout the fourth period for a 59-54 win at Brownstown Central Friday night.
The hosts made it interesting late thanks to an Isaiah Wineinger 3-point basket with 8.1 seconds remaining to cut Indian Creekâs lead to 55-54. But Javon Crouch responded by making free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining to extend the lead back to three. Brownstown Central then fumbled the inbound pass and Indian Creek sank two more freebies to ice the game.
A 12-point run to end the third quarter helped put the Braves (11-2) in front for good. They then scored the first four points of the final period to extend their lead and further put pressure on Brownstown Central, which had had the lead with three minutes to go in the third after a basket from Aiden Schroer.
Clay Chastain finally broke Brownstownâs scoreless spell with a 3-pointer with 6:24 remaining.
âThe difference was their huge run in the third and fourth quarters," Brownstown Central coach Dave Benter said. "We quit making shots, and we gave them some wide-open shots and they werenât missing those shots.
âI thought we lost our sense of urgency, and you canât do that against a good team," he continued. "They are the kind of basketball team you canât do that on. Theyâve got a lot of different guys that can score; theyâve got length in every position and they are very athletic. I thought we lost our focus for a seven-or eight-minute stretch. Weâre not good enough basketball team to let our guard down.â
Brownstown Central, sparked by five points from Chastain, and three-point plays by Aiden Schroer and Lucas Hines, held a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded points in the second period with Indian Creek chipping the deficit to 25-20 at the half.
Chastain hit two 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second period to help Brownstown Central expand its lead to 21-12 before Ethan Williams made two 3-pointers for the Braves in the final two minutes of the half.
Indian Creek was led by Williams with 17 points, including five 3s, and Mason Britt with 11 points.
The Braves host Indianapolis Washington on Tuesday.