BRODHEAD - Steve Krupke's return to Brodhead as the Evansville boys basketball coach brought some mixed feelings as the Blue Devils knocked off the Cardinals 60-46 Tuesday night.
Krupke served as the Brodhead softball coach for 12 years and guided the Cardinals to eight conference championships, four regional titles and a state title in 2004. He's in his first year coaching the Evansville boys basketball program.
"My motive when I left Brodhead was to leave coaching," Krupke said. "The last thing I wanted to do is come back and coach against Brodhead. I have a lot of good friends and great memories in Brodhead. It was very hard. There were some mixed emotions."
Brodhead (4-13, 1-11 Rock Valley) went on an 8-3 run to start the fourth quarter. Brodhead senior Trent Gerlach scored on a putback with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 43.
The Blue Devils answered with a 6-0 spurt and never relinquished the lead. Evansville senior Cody Ampomah scored on a putback with 3:49 to go to give the Blue Devils a 49-43 lead. Evansville senior Owen Schoenenberger, who scored a game-high 19 points, scored on a layup with 2:01 left to give the Blue Devils a 51-45 lead.
The Blue Devils had nine offensive rebounds in the second half that led to several second chance scoring opportunities. Evansville also made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:30 to seal the victory.
"If we don't box out and limit their second and third chance scoring opportunities we won't win games," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "That was the turning point in the game. We can still shoot 30 or 40 percent if we are doing the little things."
Brodhead senior Danny Lewis had a big game, posting a double-double (14 points and 15 rebounds). Brodhead sophomore Josiah DeLorme also scored 14 points. DeLorme was coming off an illness that kept him out last week.
Kammerer said there are several players that are battling the flu, but he didn't want to use that as an excuse.
"We are not pointing fingers or making excuses," he said. "I don't care if you had the flu, you can still box out and we didn't do it."
Early on, the Cardinals had a hot shooting touch. DeLorme scored nine points in the first half and he drilled a 3-pointer with 5:44 left in the second quarter to give the Cardinals a 17-10 lead. Gerlach scored on a putback and Lewis knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a four-point lead. Sophomore Griffin Day then knifed in for a layup to give the Cardinals a 25-19 lead with 1:40 to go in the period.
Despite shooting 32 percent in the first half (10-for-31), the Blue Devils were within striking distance. Schoenenberger hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to slice the Cardinals' lead to 27-24 at the half.
"Brodhead came out and took it to us," Krupke said. "We could have folded. I'm really proud that my kids fought through it."
The Blue Devils went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter. After shooting 46 percent (12-for-26) in the first half, the Cardinals struggled in the second half shooting 6-for-23 and finished with 14 turnovers in the game. Evansville junior Josh Chenoweth, who scored 14 points, had six points during the third quarter run. Chenoweth scored on a putback after an offensive rebound with 3:20 left in the period to give the Blue Devils a 33-29 lead. Evansville junior Nick Walczak scored on a putback at the end of the third quarter to give the Blue Devils a 40-35 lead.
"All we had to do is box out," Kammerer said. "We are not a team that can play from behind and expect to win. Give Evansville credit. They came down and hit their free throws."
Krupke served as the Brodhead softball coach for 12 years and guided the Cardinals to eight conference championships, four regional titles and a state title in 2004. He's in his first year coaching the Evansville boys basketball program.
"My motive when I left Brodhead was to leave coaching," Krupke said. "The last thing I wanted to do is come back and coach against Brodhead. I have a lot of good friends and great memories in Brodhead. It was very hard. There were some mixed emotions."
Brodhead (4-13, 1-11 Rock Valley) went on an 8-3 run to start the fourth quarter. Brodhead senior Trent Gerlach scored on a putback with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 43.
The Blue Devils answered with a 6-0 spurt and never relinquished the lead. Evansville senior Cody Ampomah scored on a putback with 3:49 to go to give the Blue Devils a 49-43 lead. Evansville senior Owen Schoenenberger, who scored a game-high 19 points, scored on a layup with 2:01 left to give the Blue Devils a 51-45 lead.
The Blue Devils had nine offensive rebounds in the second half that led to several second chance scoring opportunities. Evansville also made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:30 to seal the victory.
"If we don't box out and limit their second and third chance scoring opportunities we won't win games," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "That was the turning point in the game. We can still shoot 30 or 40 percent if we are doing the little things."
Brodhead senior Danny Lewis had a big game, posting a double-double (14 points and 15 rebounds). Brodhead sophomore Josiah DeLorme also scored 14 points. DeLorme was coming off an illness that kept him out last week.
Kammerer said there are several players that are battling the flu, but he didn't want to use that as an excuse.
"We are not pointing fingers or making excuses," he said. "I don't care if you had the flu, you can still box out and we didn't do it."
Early on, the Cardinals had a hot shooting touch. DeLorme scored nine points in the first half and he drilled a 3-pointer with 5:44 left in the second quarter to give the Cardinals a 17-10 lead. Gerlach scored on a putback and Lewis knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a four-point lead. Sophomore Griffin Day then knifed in for a layup to give the Cardinals a 25-19 lead with 1:40 to go in the period.
Despite shooting 32 percent in the first half (10-for-31), the Blue Devils were within striking distance. Schoenenberger hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to slice the Cardinals' lead to 27-24 at the half.
"Brodhead came out and took it to us," Krupke said. "We could have folded. I'm really proud that my kids fought through it."
The Blue Devils went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter. After shooting 46 percent (12-for-26) in the first half, the Cardinals struggled in the second half shooting 6-for-23 and finished with 14 turnovers in the game. Evansville junior Josh Chenoweth, who scored 14 points, had six points during the third quarter run. Chenoweth scored on a putback after an offensive rebound with 3:20 left in the period to give the Blue Devils a 33-29 lead. Evansville junior Nick Walczak scored on a putback at the end of the third quarter to give the Blue Devils a 40-35 lead.
"All we had to do is box out," Kammerer said. "We are not a team that can play from behind and expect to win. Give Evansville credit. They came down and hit their free throws."
