Contributions from the bench players in the second half ignited the Edwardsburg boys basketball team past Berrien Springs, 62-51, in non-conference action on Tuesday.

Reserves Jon Albrecht, Chase Tarwacki, Dylan Layher, A.J. Rosebush and Nate Brown totaled 31 points in the second half as the Eddies erased a 28-22 halftime deficit.

“They were huge,” Edwardsburg boys basketball coach Steve Wright said about his bench. “That was the first thing we talked about when we came into the locker room (after the game). Everybody did an exceptional job of stepping up and playing their role. I was just so proud of them for sticking to what we do and grinding out a tough win against a good team.”

Albrecht, who didn’t play in the first half, scored all 13 of his points in the second half. He went 8-for-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Tarwacki, who also didn’t play in the first half, added nine points and four rebounds.

“It wasn’t any thing major,” Wright said on why Albrecht and Tarwacki didn’t play in the first half.

A big momentum swing took place late in the third quarter. With under two minutes left in the third, Taryll Jones looked ready to give the visitors a 36-30 when he raced up the court for an uncontested layup. Instead, Jones missed the shot and the Eddies responded with an 8-0 run to end the third.

Albrecht and Layer each hit 3-pointers during that run.

“I think in games like this you get swings like that,” Wright said. “They had a couple of swings where they hit some threes and we couldn’t seem to get anything to fall. I thought Berrien Springs played really hard and played great defense and we were really fortunate at the end to hit some free throws to seal the win.”

Adam Kozinski scored seven of his 11 points in the first half for Edwardsburg, which improved to 4-1.
Devan Nichols scored 19 points and Doug Clark added 14 to lead Berrien Springs, which fell to 2-3.

EDWARDSBURG 62, BERRIEN SPRINGS 51

At Edwardsburg

BERRIEN SPRINGS 51

Devan Nichols 19, Edavion Miller 0, Bryce Evans 2, Doug Clark 14, Tyrese McIntyre 8, Montrell Pullian 0, Sam Spaulding 0, Taryll Jones 8. TOTALS: 18 9-18 62.

EDWARDSBURG 62

Cameron Ekanayake 0, Kev’on Taylor 6, Adam Kozinski 11, Ben Robertson 7, Zach Plummer 4, A.J. Rosebush 2, Dylan Layher 6, Chase Tarwacki 9, Jon Albrecht 13, Nate Brown 4. TOTALS: 21 15-21 62.

Berrien Springs         11       28       34      51

Edwardsburg            11       22       38       62

3-point goals: Berrien Springs 6 (Nichols 3, Clark 3), Edwardsburg 5 (Taylor, Kozinski, Robertson, Layher, Albrecht). Total fouls (fouled out): Berrien Springs 22 (Miller 5), Edwardsburg 17 (none). Technical: Berrien Springs (bench). Shooting: Berrien Springs 18-of-45 for 45-percent, Edwardsburg 21-of-41 for 51-percent. Rebounding: Berrien Springs 24 (Clark and McIntyre 6 each), Edwardsburg 25 (Robertson, Plummer and Tarwacki 4 each). Turnovers: Berrien Springs 15, Edwardsburg 15. Varsity records: Berrien Springs 2-3, Edwardsburg 4-1.