BRODHEAD - It's hard to come back from a 25-point halftime deficit. But you can't blame the Cardinals for trying.
Playing without senior starter Justice Tway, the Cardinals went on a 26-10 run for the first 12 minutes of the second half to bring their deficit to nine, but that was all the further they could muster. In the end, Whitewater defeated Brodhead 64-41.
"They shot the ball well," Cardinals coach Nick Jarvis said. "We had some good looks that didn't go. At times I didn't feel like we contested particularly well. They hit everything that was open (in the first half) and we dug ourselves a hole."
The first half was one to forget for Brodhead (7-12, 5-10 Rock Valley). The game opened on a pregame technical foul due to a scorebook error that gave Whitewater two free throws and the ball. By the time the Cardinals had their first offensive possession, they trailed 4-0.
"We didn't come out shooting hot," Brodhead senior Brekan Day said.
With the score at 6-5 Whitewater, the Whippets (8-12, 6-10) went on a blistering 30-6 run that included six 3-pointers over the final 13:15 of the first half to make it 36-11 at the break.
"We didn't expect them to come out and shoot that well. Not a lot of teams shoot that well. We knew they weren't going to do it in the second half," Day said. "We just kind of got on each other's case in the locker room and picked the energy up a little bit - start to fight for something, really. We knew we could chip into it."
Whitewater only spent about 3 minutes in the locker room at half before coming back out to the court. The Whippet's exuberance was celebrated almost too early. Whitewater slowed down its offensive game to basically a "stall", passing around Brodhead's zone while taking one shot about every 45-60 seconds. That meant the Cardinals had to step up its defensive pressure, which led to many missed shots by the Whippets and some transition baskets for the home team.
"They started to play a little conservative and it took the air out of the ball and we took out chance to take it at them," Day said. "When we started hitting some shots we knew that we could get back into (the game)."
Brodhead's second-half run started without much care by Whitewater. Day drove to the hoop for a quick bucket seconds into the frame and then made a pair of free throws the next time down the court. Dawson McGinty then hit a 3-pointer to make it 38-18 with 16:03 left.
Over the next three minutes, only one basket was made, a tip in by Whitewater's James Dedrick. Then in quick succession Parker Johnson hit a 3 and later drove to the hoop, Alex Reimer added a triple and then Johnson put up a pull-up jumper from the right elbow to make it 40-28.
"I thought we played with a little more confidence, and we got better looks. In that stretch we turned the pressure up a little bit and got some things to go the other way," Jarvis said. "They had a nice lead that they were trying to maintain and I think our guys took advantage of it. It was nice to not throw in the towel."
The Whippets went on a short 6-0 run thanks to multiple shots deep in the post and second chance opportunities. Whitewater boasts a roster of eight players taller than 6-foot-3, including a 6-11 freshman, Jake Martin. Brodhead has just three players listed at 6-3, one of which was Tway, who was in street clothes.
"We rebounded all week in practice, but sometimes you can't simulate that physicality. To their credit, they go to the rim hard and maybe out worked us around the rim," Jarvis said of Whitewater.
The Cardinals went on another 9-0 spurt to make it 46-37 with 5:41 left to play, capped by a Day basket in transition. On the following defensive possession Brodhead again forced a turnover, and Day beat the defender to the ball on a breakaway, only to lose it out of bounds a step from going to the rim.
"I just saw (the defender) out of the corner of my eye and freaked out a little bit," Day said.
The missed opportunity, coupled with a missed 3 by Lukas Reed a possession later swung the momentum back to Whitewater, and the Whippets never looked back. The visiting team finished the game on an 18-4 run in the final five minutes and both teams emptied their bench for the reserves with 1:41 left to play.
"We made a lot of plays to get to that point (down by 9). It's a hard pace to maintain," Jarvis said. "(Whitewater) finished really well and knocked down their free throws."
Ben Kloskey and Roberto Navejas led Whitewater with 13 points each and teammate Daniel Fuller scored 10 before fouling out. The Cardinals were led by Johnson, who scored a game-high 16. Day finished with 13.
Brodhead's returns to action tomorrow night at Edgerton and then goes to Evansville on Monday - a tricky five-day stretch with three games just a week before playoffs.
"We can't let this one (loss) turn into two. We have to get our feet back under us and get some guys back from injury," Day said.
Playing without senior starter Justice Tway, the Cardinals went on a 26-10 run for the first 12 minutes of the second half to bring their deficit to nine, but that was all the further they could muster. In the end, Whitewater defeated Brodhead 64-41.
"They shot the ball well," Cardinals coach Nick Jarvis said. "We had some good looks that didn't go. At times I didn't feel like we contested particularly well. They hit everything that was open (in the first half) and we dug ourselves a hole."
The first half was one to forget for Brodhead (7-12, 5-10 Rock Valley). The game opened on a pregame technical foul due to a scorebook error that gave Whitewater two free throws and the ball. By the time the Cardinals had their first offensive possession, they trailed 4-0.
"We didn't come out shooting hot," Brodhead senior Brekan Day said.
With the score at 6-5 Whitewater, the Whippets (8-12, 6-10) went on a blistering 30-6 run that included six 3-pointers over the final 13:15 of the first half to make it 36-11 at the break.
"We didn't expect them to come out and shoot that well. Not a lot of teams shoot that well. We knew they weren't going to do it in the second half," Day said. "We just kind of got on each other's case in the locker room and picked the energy up a little bit - start to fight for something, really. We knew we could chip into it."
Whitewater only spent about 3 minutes in the locker room at half before coming back out to the court. The Whippet's exuberance was celebrated almost too early. Whitewater slowed down its offensive game to basically a "stall", passing around Brodhead's zone while taking one shot about every 45-60 seconds. That meant the Cardinals had to step up its defensive pressure, which led to many missed shots by the Whippets and some transition baskets for the home team.
"They started to play a little conservative and it took the air out of the ball and we took out chance to take it at them," Day said. "When we started hitting some shots we knew that we could get back into (the game)."
Brodhead's second-half run started without much care by Whitewater. Day drove to the hoop for a quick bucket seconds into the frame and then made a pair of free throws the next time down the court. Dawson McGinty then hit a 3-pointer to make it 38-18 with 16:03 left.
Over the next three minutes, only one basket was made, a tip in by Whitewater's James Dedrick. Then in quick succession Parker Johnson hit a 3 and later drove to the hoop, Alex Reimer added a triple and then Johnson put up a pull-up jumper from the right elbow to make it 40-28.
"I thought we played with a little more confidence, and we got better looks. In that stretch we turned the pressure up a little bit and got some things to go the other way," Jarvis said. "They had a nice lead that they were trying to maintain and I think our guys took advantage of it. It was nice to not throw in the towel."
The Whippets went on a short 6-0 run thanks to multiple shots deep in the post and second chance opportunities. Whitewater boasts a roster of eight players taller than 6-foot-3, including a 6-11 freshman, Jake Martin. Brodhead has just three players listed at 6-3, one of which was Tway, who was in street clothes.
"We rebounded all week in practice, but sometimes you can't simulate that physicality. To their credit, they go to the rim hard and maybe out worked us around the rim," Jarvis said of Whitewater.
The Cardinals went on another 9-0 spurt to make it 46-37 with 5:41 left to play, capped by a Day basket in transition. On the following defensive possession Brodhead again forced a turnover, and Day beat the defender to the ball on a breakaway, only to lose it out of bounds a step from going to the rim.
"I just saw (the defender) out of the corner of my eye and freaked out a little bit," Day said.
The missed opportunity, coupled with a missed 3 by Lukas Reed a possession later swung the momentum back to Whitewater, and the Whippets never looked back. The visiting team finished the game on an 18-4 run in the final five minutes and both teams emptied their bench for the reserves with 1:41 left to play.
"We made a lot of plays to get to that point (down by 9). It's a hard pace to maintain," Jarvis said. "(Whitewater) finished really well and knocked down their free throws."
Ben Kloskey and Roberto Navejas led Whitewater with 13 points each and teammate Daniel Fuller scored 10 before fouling out. The Cardinals were led by Johnson, who scored a game-high 16. Day finished with 13.
Brodhead's returns to action tomorrow night at Edgerton and then goes to Evansville on Monday - a tricky five-day stretch with three games just a week before playoffs.
"We can't let this one (loss) turn into two. We have to get our feet back under us and get some guys back from injury," Day said.
