BROOKINGS – The Brookings boys’ basketball team came up short against Sioux Falls Washington on Tuesday night at Bob Jostad Stadium as the Bobcats lost 74-64 in overtime.
Bergan Tetzlaff made a layup to tie things up at 58-58 with four seconds to go in regulation. Nathan Lease then stole a pass at midcourt and took a running shot at the basket. It hit off the front rim and the game went to overtime.
Washington scored the first seven points of overtime. That ended up being too much of a margin to overcome for Brookings as the Bobcats never cut the deficit to less than six the rest of the way.
Brookings head coach Joe Frederiksen said the Bobcats didn’t execute well on offense in overtime.
“I think we just had some empty possessions like we talked about. We needed to, you know, we came down and we had some crucial turnovers and they hit some big shots there in overtime and we just couldn’t capitalize on our end and hit big shots too. So, you know, give credit to them. They hit some of the key shots when they needed to and we just couldn’t respond,” Frederiksen said.
The Bobcats did respond after a tough start to the game. They trailed 10-0 two minutes into the game and then were down 18-10 at the end of the first quarter. It was then 24-16 with 5:43 to go in the first half and the ‘Cats went on a 9-0 run to take the lead.
Brekken Biteler gave the Warriors back the lead with a basket but then Jase Bauer responded with a three to put Brookings back in front. However, Benjamin Sprecher hit a 3-pointer of his own just before the buzzer and the Warriors led 29-28 at halftime.
Frederiksen said he was proud of his team for not giving up after digging themselves a hole in the first quarter.
“I think we just failed to flip that switch and we talked about that here at the end of the game. I think if we come out like we have been, normally we come out really good in the first quarter, I think we’re in that driver’s seat and we don’t have to play so hard. And, you know, they show that they’re capable of doing that and they flip that switch and, you know, I give all credit to them for doing that because some teams will just shut down and they won’t claw back in. But we did tonight and we gave ourselves a chance and we just came up a little short,” Frederiksen said.
Brookings fell behind 33-28 a minute and a half into the third. The ‘Cats then went on an 8-2 run to take a 36-35 lead and it was Bauer who put them in front again. It was a seesaw battle the rest of the way as neither team led by more than four points.
The Bobcats shot 42.1% from the field and were 7-of-20 from three. Brookings shot 40.4% in its first win of the season this past Saturday over Rapid City Stevens. Frederiksen said he thinks his offense is starting to find a rhythm as they begin the final month of the season.
“I just think our ball movement and we’re learning to play off of each other. Every game we’re getting better at that and I think we did a good job of that, being inside, outside and, you know, sometimes the shots were falling there in the second and third quarter and so that always helps too,” Frederiksen said.
Brookings was led by Bergan Tetzlaff who had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Bauer had 12 points and Drew Johnson hit three 3-pointers for nine points. Hayden Jones and Jones Huntimer each had six points.
It was the second-straight game that Tetzlaff had over 20 points as he scored 22 in the win over Stevens. Huntimer scored 14 points in that game and Lease had 10 points.
With earning their first win over the weekend and taking the Warriors to overtime on Tuesday night, Frederiksen said he feels his team is building momentum.
“I think we’re right there. Every day we’re better in practice, we’re improving and our kids know that and, yes, we’re just putting it all together and hopefully we pick up some more wins and let’s be a dangerous team down the stretch,” Frederiksen said.
Frederiksen added that his players have kept a positive attitude, despite losing the first 10 games of the season.
“That’s a huge key and that’s us on our coaching staff and we’re doing a good job and they’re positive and you can see it in practice. They’re still giving it all and that goes credit to them. So, yeah, overall I think we’re still pretty positive,” Frederiksen said.
The final eight game stretch will start with two best teams in Class AA. The Bobcats host No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln on Thursday night at 7 p.m. and then will host No. 2 Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
Frederiksen said he wants his team to continue to work on themselves and that starts with ball security and defending. He thinks if they can clean up the turnovers and get stops on the defensive end, they have a good shot to be competitive and win some games in the final three and a half weeks of the season.
“We’re just going to have to take care of the ball. Tonight we ended up having 17 turnovers, which, you know, we had some key ones. We take care of the ball a little bit more and maybe we come out with a win. So we’ve just got to keep working on taking care of the ball and on defense, you know, getting to the shooters and just having real solid team defense,” Frederiksen said.
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