BROOKINGS Sioux Falls Washington used a pair of big runs in the first half and a stifling defensive effort in the second half to defeat the Brookings Bobcats 66-46 at Bob Jostad Gymnasium in Brookings High School on Tuesday night.
Tonight from the get go, they were getting down the court and getting some fastbreak opportunities, Brookings head coach Mike McCarty said. We werent getting back on the defensive end like we needed to and then our shots werent falling.
The Bobcats withstood a 9-0 run from the Warriors midway through the first quarter and were able to climb back within 14-10 as the second quarter began. Washington responded with an 11-3 spurt in the second half that put them up 26-15 with 2:52 left in the second quarter and out-scored the Bobcats 9-3 the rest of the way to go into the half with a 35-18 lead.
The second half was more of the same as the Warriors opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run. The Washington defense stifled the Bobcats offense, holding Brookings to just 28 percent shooting on the night and forcing 18 turnovers to come away with the victory.
When youre shooting like that, its going to be difficult to compete, McCarthy said of the Warriors defense. …They get out and pressure you on the defensive end and they get into the passing lane. They sped us up a little bit and we played faster than we probably wanted to.
McCarty also admitted that some of the Bobcats struggles were based on some of their own mistakes.
Weve just got to be more patient on the offensive end and set our guys up, McCarty said. That way we have more space to operate when we are running our offense.
Despite the end result, the Bobcats enjoyed another strong effort from Owen Burns. The senior had another solid performance with six points and 11 rebounds on the night and has continued to be a consistent presence both on and off the court.
Hes definitely one of our senior leaders and he competes out there every night, McCarty said. He had 11 rebounds tonight and led us in that category, but he just gives us a lot of senior leadership that we need and rely on.
Another pair of seniors stepped up in the loss as Keech Bior had a team-high 13 points to go with nine rebounds and five blocks and Austin Clark had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Brodie McCarty also came through with five points, two rebounds and two assists for the Bobcats.
Lubab Kambalo led the Warriors with 16 points and four rebounds while Samuel Baskin had 10 points, two assists, a rebound and a steal. Thomas Hoffman also had nine points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists in the win.
Brookings made 7-of-25 (28%) 3-pointers and 9-of-12 (75%) of its free throws while out-rebounding the Warriors 40-35 in the loss.
Sioux Falls Washington shot 42 percent in the game including 4-of-17 (23.5%) on 3-point attempts. The Warriors made 12-of-13 (92.3%) free throws and committed seven turnovers.
After falling to 1-12 on the season with the loss, McCarty made it clear that the Bobcats have to continue their approach. While there has been plenty of adversity this season, he believes his team has continued to stay together and will continue to do so on Thursday when they host Sioux Falls Lincoln.
Weve talked all season about playing team basketballand playing connected, McCarty said. Our mindset is going to continue to be the same going into this final stretch and we want to play together and for each other.
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