Hawks force overtime but lose to Brown County

Jan 17, 2019 3:51 AM Jan 17, 2019 6:34 AM

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Carrollton junior point guard Ethan Brannan fires a three-point shot while Brown County's Camden Schmitz attempts to block the shot in the Winchester Invitational Tournament.

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WINCHESTER - Ethan Brannan had no time to think.

He could only react and trust his instincts.

Down 59-57 with under three seconds remaining in regulation against the Brown County Hornets, Brannan tracked down a rebound near the baseline from a missed shot by Hunter Flowers just outside the free throw line. The 5-foot-10 point guard quickly hoisted a mid-range shot just before the buzzer the sounded and the ball rimmed into the basket to tie the game and force overtime.

“I just wanted to get it off. That’s the first thing that went through my mind,” Brannan said. “I saw the ball bounce, and I went over and jumped and got it. I threw it up and prayed it went in. That’s all I could hope for.”

Unfortunately for the Hawks, that was all they had left in the tank.

The Hornets scored six straight points in the first 90 seconds of the four-minute overtime and eventually hung on for a 70-65 victory in the consolation championship of the Winchester Invitational Tournament on Wednesday night.

Carrollton falls to 8-10 and ends their three-game winning streak.

“I do credit us because we stuck around and stuck around. I felt like we ran out of steam,” Carrollton head coach Matt Goetten said. “There were some positive things. My guys never quit, and we were finally able to pressure the way we want to. We were able to do some things to confuse them late. It just didn’t carry into the overtime.”

With the win, the Hornets improved to 9-7.

Junior forward Nathan Hendricker scored a game-high 28 points and was 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Camden Schmitz tallied 17 points, and Tate Fullerton added 13.

As a team, Brown County shot 62 percent from the field (27-of-43)

“I credit Brown County because they got to their spots. Schmitz kept getting to that high-post area and was deadly,” Goetten said. “They’re a good team. “I know we’re in the consolation bracket, and we shouldn’t be talking about that, but they’re a solid team and played hard tonight.”

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Gabe Jones tied a season-high of 25 points for the Hawks. He scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half and was face-guarded in a box-and-one by the Hornets in the second half. Brannan followed with 13 points, and Nathan Walked added ten.

“Showing that our team doesn’t quit when it gets late in the game, we fought until the end,” Brannan said. “I’m really proud we don’t give up and keep going hard non-stop.”

Brown County held a slim 30-29 halftime lead but came out of the locker room to start the second half with a 14-6 run. Their biggest lead of the game was 44-35.

On Tuesday night against North Greene, Hunter Flowers scored a career-high 27 points, but due to early foul trouble, he was limited to eight points. However, he was an essential asset in propelling the Hawks in the second half.

“Hunter could do no wrong last night. Tonight he got two quick [fouls]. We felt like if we could get to halftime under a dozen, we’d be alright and we were there for a while,” Goetten said. “When Hunter got back into the game against that box-and-one he’s hard to guard when he catches high-post because you never know what he’s going to do with it.”

Carrollton trailed Brown County 45-39 but slowly trimmed the deficit down by forcing steals, attacking the basket, and knocking down free throws.

With 1:49 to play, Brannan tied the game by knocking down two free throws. A Brady Bergman basket made it 57-55 before Flowers made 1-of-2 shots at the charity stripe. With 49 seconds left, Brannan had a chance to give Carrollton a one-point lead with two free throws but made one.

The Hornets held the ball for the next 25 seconds while facing double-teams by the Hawks. With 17.4 seconds to play, Hendricker saw an opening and drove to the basket to lay the ball up and in to give his team a 59-57 lead. Moments later Brannan forced overtime.

“We don’t run the play that we drew up. It kinda got broken up, and then Ethan just finds a way to put the ball in the basket,” Goetten said. “I hope that’s a trampoline for Ethan because he’s been struggling a little bit lately. I was proud of Ethan for sticking with it. He’s a kid that needs to get his confidence going because he’s deadly when he’s confident. I think he will.”

Heading into the extra frame, Goetten and the Hawks seemingly had the momentum, while Schmitz and Chance Fuqua each had four fouls. Within 80 seconds Hendricker, Schmitz, and Fuqua each recorded a basket to put the Hornets up by six and to put Carrollton in what would turn out to be an insurmountable position.

“I felt good,” Goetten said on going into overtime. “They had a kid who just fouled out and two other kids in foul trouble. I think what changed was they got a couple of easy ones, we forced a couple of shots that didn’t go in, and then we dug ourselves an early hole. I felt that first minute of the overtime was the difference in the game. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.”