CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — The Brookville boys basketball team wasn’t about to take anything for granted.
Sure, the Raiders were heading into the District 9 Class 3A championship game riding a 16-game winning streak, and sure, they were facing off against Moniteau, a team that had lost three straight.
But this is the playoffs. Anything can happen.
(Pictured above, Brookville celebrates its District 9 Class 3A title)
The Raiders were mindful of that and watched Moniteau cut deep into a few large leads before Brookville pulled away again and again to ultimately win the D9 Class 3A crown, 63-37, over the Warriors on Tuesday night at Tippin Gymnasium on the campus of PennWest Clarion.
“There was no give in them,” said Brookville coach Dalton Park of Moniteau. “I told their coach, ‘Your team is good. Don’t let the kids think anything different.'”
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Brookville (20-2) is certainly good, too, and the Raiders showed just how good they are, racing out to an 8-0 lead early in the first, a 21-9 advantage after eight minutes and a 33-19 cushion at the half.
The flurry of points only revved up the big Brookville crowd.
The Raiders fed off that energy.
(The Brookville fans played a factor in the district title win for the Raiders)
“It’s big. To me starting the game, the first two to four minutes is very important,” Park said. “It sets the tone. We want to tell the other team, ‘You’re not going to score easy on us. You’re gonna score, but it isn’t going to be easy.’ We want to set that tone from tip-off on. And with the energy of the kids in the stands, it’s easier to sell that to my players.”
Brookville was balanced and several shined in key sequences.
Noah Peterson scored nine of his 13 points in the first quarter to get the Raiders rolling. Clayton Cook put up 11 of his game-high 17 points in the third to help staunch the bleeding from a Moniteau run that closed the gap to 35-24 early in the second half.
Jack Pete added 12 points and Conner Marshall 10 for Brookville.
The way the Raiders are playing now has Park seeing some similarities with the team that marched to the PIAA title game two years ago.
“This team reminds me of the year we went to states,” Park said. “I’m not saying we’re gonna do it again, but I think we can make a run if we play like we’ve been.”
Just playing in a District 9 championship game was refreshing for Brookville.
Last year, the Raiders were the only district team in the Class 3A bracket.
“It feels good — last year we didn’t have anyone to play,” Park said. “They deserved to be in front of a crowd and play in front of a crowd and get the experience of the big gym and the big court. It’s good for the program.”
Brookville will take on District 8 Perry Academy in the PIAA subregional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Friday at Brashear High School.
That winner gets the winner of the District 5 championship game — either Bedford or Chestnut Ridge — for the subregion 5/8/9 title on March 2 at a site and time to be determined.
For Moniteau (12-11), the wish is this is a stepping stone to bigger things.
“I’m hoping that is the case,” said Warriors’ coach Michael Jewart. “I was flat out honest with Coach Park, told him very simply that I have been watching his program for several years now and I was very impressed with how he’s built it. And my plan is to try to emulate it as much as possible.”
Colton Thomas led Moniteau with 15 points and freshman point guard Andrew Zepeda chipped in nine.
The Warriors were playing again without Chasen Delarosa-Rugg, one of their leading scorers and best shooters, who was lost for the season with a knee injury against Keystone on Jan. 27.
“I mean, that hurts,” Jewart said. “He’s a guy if I need a bucket, he can get it,” Jewart said.
Jewart was pleased with how hard his team fought against Brookville.
“We’ve been fighting all year, man,” the coach said. “We weren’t ready for the physicality at the beginning and the speed. It took us a little while to settle in. We knocked it down to 14 at the half and 11 at the start of the second quarter and got them to call a timeout. But they’re good. They got the ball to Cook and he dominated the third quarter. They were just physically stronger.”
Brookville Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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