By Staff
THREE OAKS – The Brandywine boys' basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 70-61 victory over host River Valley Friday night.
The Bobcats, 1-0 in Lakeland Conference play, outscored the Mustangs 22-10 in the pivotal third quarter.
"It was a back and forth game," Brandywine coach Nathan Knapp said. "The whole team played together and played well defensively. We tried to take advantage of the transition game. We had some breakdowns and that led to some easy baskets, but it turned it into a running game, which is what we wanted."
River Valley led 9-6 after one period of play and 28-25 at halftime.
The Bobcats exploded offensively in the third quarter and took a 47-38 lead into the final period.
Both teams scored 23 points in the final eight minutes.
Bill Bussey led a balanced Bobcats attack with 18 points, while Josh Benjamin had 14 points and Caleb Frazier 13 points.
Noah Udell finished with 12 points.
Jason Alexander led River Valley with a game-high 27 points.
Brandywine will return to action next Thursday when it hosts Coloma in another Lakeland Conference contest.
In junior varsity action Friday night, the Bobcats defeated the Mustangs, 64-30.
Cody Udell led Brandywine with 17 points.
The Bobcats also got 12 points from Jesse McCombs and 10 points from Dustin Bell.
All nine players on the Brandywine roster scored.
BRANDYWINE 70
Dan Riedenbach 1 1-1 3; Danny Williams 2 4-6 8; Noah Udell 2 8-10 12; Caleb Frazier 4 5-5 13; Bill Bussey 6 3-5 18; Josh Benjamin 6 2-14; Jacob Frazier 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 23-32 70
RIVER VALLEY 61
Jason Alexander 9 6-7 27; Jackson 0 0-2; Blake 1 1-3 3; Gipson 2 2-4 6; Lozmack 1 0-0 2; Kill 1 0-4 2; Swartz 8 5-7 21. Totals: 22 13-27
Brandywine 6 19 22 23 – 70
River Valley 9 19 10 23 – 61
Edwardsburg…40
Berrien Springs…62
BERRIEN SPRINGS – Matt Demler scored 25 points, including 15 points in the first half to help lead the host Shamrocks to a 62-40 Lakeland Conference victory Friday night.
The loss spoiled the debut of new Edwardsburg coach Steve Austin.
The Shamrock roared out to a 19-5 first quarter lead and never looked back.
Berrien Springs led 29-19 at halftime and 38-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Shamrocks doubled up the Eddies in the fourth quarter, 24-12, to turn the game into a rout.
Besides Demler's total, the Shamrocks also got 14 points from Greg Whitehead.
Mike Rangel's 10 points led Edwardsburg, Brent Shuttleworth added eight points.
EDWARDSBURG 40
Derrick James 0 0-0 0; Jeff Gowen 0 0-0 0; Corey Johnson 0 0-0 0; Korey Moore 2 2-2 7; Mike Rangel 3 2-2 10; Adam Young 0 0-0 0; Brian Sevison 3 0-0 7; Brent Shuttleworth 2 0-0 4; Jon Rosol 3 2-2 8; Matt Boesler 1 1-2 3; Jake Harroff 0 1-2 1. Total: 14 8-10 40
BERRIEN SPRINGS 62
Jeremy Dybdahl 0 0-0 0; Greg Whitehead 3 7-8 14; Mike Jasper 0 0-0 0; Matt Demler 10 4-5 25; Ryne Siebenmark 0 0-0 0; Mark Westendorp 2 0-2 5; Phil Lange 1 1-2 3; Matt Baker 2 4-8 8; Greg Toliver 2 1-2 5; Jordan Carrigan 1 0-0 2; Randolph Shaw 0 0-0 0. Total: 21 17-27 62
Edwardsburg 5 14 9 12 – 40
Berrien Springs 19 10 9 24 – 62
3-point baskets: Moore (E), Rangel (E), Sevison (E), Whitehead (BS), Demler (BS), Lange (BS). Total fouls: Edwardsburg 16, Berrien Springs 15. Fouled out: None. Record: Edwardsburg 0-1, 0-1 Lakeland