Brophy 38
Central 34
By Henry Erlandson ’16
THE ROUNDUP
The basketball team nudged past the Central Bobcats at home Dec. 4 to grab a non-conference victory in a low-scoring game despite a late comeback attempt.
Central’s fourth quarter surge fell short due to seven made free throws down the stretch from guard Bo Brunkhorst ’16, who finished with 10 total points.
Matthew Kempton ’17 gave the Broncos most of their offensive scoring in the first half, producing nine of Brophy’s 13 first half points as the team went into the locker room with a 13-10 lead in a tight defensive battle.
“I think we showed a lot of patience and we came out of last night’s game really preaching the need to be able to maintain and control tempo,” said head coach Mr. Matt Hooten, referencing a loss the night before to Desert Vista. “I thought early on in the game when they came out in their zone we did a good job of pushing the ball and getting some easy baskets.”
Brophy’s offense found a spark early in the second half behind the efficient shooting of Carlos Saucedo ’17, who made three three-pointers during the third quarter and finished the game with nine points.
“I think a stretch like that builds confidence,” Saucedo said. “We moved the ball as a team and I was the one who was able to take the open shot and luckily I knocked it down.”
One of Saucedo’s long-balls came as a result of Kempton’s steal with 2:17 to go in the third quarter; however, Central immediately responded with a three pointer of their own.
Brophy extended their lead to 25-17 over Central to start the fourth quarter.
“We’ve had a couple games where we have gotten ourselves down early and we battled back but in this game we were fortunate enough to be ahead and having to face them coming after us,” Mr. Hooten said.
Center Sean Dunn ’17 scored the first points in the final quarter off of a putback layup to give Brophy a 10 point lead.
With two minutes to go in the game, Kempton snagged an offensive rebound, which allowed Brunkhorst to get to the free throw line in one of four trips in the quarter.
Central eventually narrowed the score to 34-29 after making four straight points but could not pull out a win as Brunkhorst sealed the victory for Brophy by sinking four free throws in the final 30 seconds to give the Broncos a 38-34 win.
“Coming off of two losses, it shows resilience and the heart we have on this team,” Saucedo said. “I think if we continue to play like this we will be a contender.”
Brophy will face Corona Del Sol in their next game at Corona on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
