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Bombers drop two NTC games

BROWNSTOWN – Sometimes it’s better to ignore the final score.

In one of those, “What are you going to do?” situations, the Brownstown High School boys basketball team was handled by state-power Teutopolis, 80-25, on Tuesday night.

His team outsized by even the Wooden Shoes’ reserve players, Brownstown coach Vince Rohr said there wasn’t any shame in losing.

“T-Town is a great team,” he said. “If they don’t win state, I’ll be very surprised.”

Knowing that anything short of a miracle would not be enough for the Bombers to win, Rohr emphasized to his players that they give a full effort for all 32 minutes of the game.

With points hard to come by and Teutopolis players blocking multiple shots and consistently finding an open man under the basket for easy layups, continuing that steady output in effort had to have been tough for the Bombers (2-5, 0-2 National Trail Conference).

But they persevered, and the Teutopolis coaches even complimented Rohr for it. He did the same to his own players after the game.

“I want to make sure that they stay mentally tough, and they put out every possible effort they can,” Rohr said. “We did that tonight, and other than the score, I was pretty pleased with how we came out and handled ourselves.”

He said he tinkered with a new offense, which was picked up by many players. He should get a truer indication of whether or not it works when the Bombers play at Windsor on Friday night.

On Tuesday, Teutopolis showed its might early, scoring after stealing Brownstown’s first possession and then stealing the inbound pass for another score just seconds later to move ahead, 4-0. By the end of the first period, the Shoes led, 28-5.

With two minutes left in the first half, Teutopolis did prove they were human, taking a foolish shot a couple feet behind the 3-point arc that never reached the rim, but the Shoes led 46-9 at the half.

The Bombers were able to grab only six rebounds in the half, two coming on the offensive end.

In the second half, Teutopolis toned down its press defense and cycled in its reserve players, allowing Brownstown to more freely run its offense. The Shoes did continue to score with ease, however, holding a 63-19 advantage after the third.

Senior Zach Rigdon opened the second half strongly for the Bombers, opening the third period with a two-pointer and hitting a second-chance bucket the next time down the court.

Rigdon added a third basket a few possessions later. He also made a pair of free throws at the end of the first quarter to finish with a team-high eight points.

At the end of the game, it was senior Zack Miller providing the scoring for the Bombers, making a field goal off senior Bryce Mason’s turnaround assist and netting the final shot of the game.

Last Friday, the Bombers dropped a road contest to Altamont, 63-29.

Rigdon led the way for Brownstown with 19 points, but after the Bombers only scored four points in the second quarter, the 38-14 halftime deficit was too much to overcome.

Tuesday, Dec. 7
vs. Teutopolis
Teutopolis 80
Brownstown 25

Points – Rigdon, 8; Jake Behrends, 6; Miller, 4; Mason, 3; Austin Hunter, 2; Matt Sefton, 2.
Record – 2-5 (0-2 NTC)
Bombers  5–4–10–6—25
Shoes  28–18–17–17—80
JV – Brownstown lost 70-19
Points – Behrends, 12; Hunter, 3; Nick Reeder, 2; Shane Sefton, 2.
Bombers 5–7–2–5—19
Shoes  23–20–17–10—70
Up Next – at Windsor on Friday

Friday, Dec. 3
at Altamont
Altamont 63
Brownstown 29

Points – Rigdon, 19; Miller, 4; Hunter, 2; Mason, 2; M. Sefton, 2.
Record – 2-4 (0-1 NTC)
Bombers  10–4–10–5—29
Altamont  21–17–13–12—63
JV – Brownstown lost 61-31
Points – Behrends, 13; Eric Gurtner, 7; Reeder, 5; Hunter, 2; S. Sefton, 2; Noah Oberlink, 1; Coleman Scott, 1.
Bombers  11–6–8–6—31
Altamont  14–21–17–9—61

Sophomore Austin Hunter (right) gets a shot over the Teutopolis defense during Brownstown’s 80-25 loss on Tuesday. Hunter had two points in the game.

Sophomore Matt Sefton fires a pass during Brownstown’s 80-25 loss to Teutopolis on Tuesday.

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