CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — With long faces and palpable disappointment written all over their body language, several members of the Brookville boys and girls basketball teams ambled into the post-game media room at Tippin Gymnasium after difficult losses.
(Pictured above, Brookville girls look to regroup during a timeout in a loss to Karns City)
Both teams had come off defeats in the District 9 Class 3A championship games on Thursday night — the girls in an offensive struggle, falling 36-20 to Karns City; the boys in heartbreaking fashion as a 3-pointer by Luke Burton rattled in and out at the final horn in a 58-57 setback against Moniteau.
“I mean, obviously, this one stings a lot,” said Brookville boys senior Jack Pete.
For the boys, it ended a three-year reign as District 9 champions.
The win was there for the taking against the Warriors. The Raiders led 54-47 in the late stages of the fourth quarter, but weren’t able to land the knockout punch.
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Turnovers and a 1-for-7 performance at the free throw line over the final eight minutes doomed Brookville.
But the loss did little to tarnish what has been an exception run for the Raiders over the years.
“Coming in when I was injured as a freshman and getting varsity time as a sophomore, I kind of had experience and I kind of know what it takes in these situations and be a leader for the team,” Pete said.
For first-year boys coach Matt Reitz, the loss is particularly tough.
“I just want to say to these guys, I couldn’t ask for a better group of seniors,” Reitz said. “We did shootarounds Monday, Wednesday, Friday and they never missed one. At 6 a.m., got out of bed and shot around. Couldn’t ask for better leadership.”
It was also a tough way to go out for the Brookville girls, who could never get into any offense rhythm against one of the better defenses around in Karns City.
The Raiders hit just seven field goals in the game and had a shooting percentage in the 20s.
“I told them (Wednesday) that we needed to hold them in the 30s to have a chance,” said Brookville girls coach Mark Powell. “We did that. We struggled on the offensive end.”
Brookville’s season was in a tailspin just a few weeks ago at 8-11 after consecutive losses to St. Marys and Elk County Catholic.
But the Raiders responded with an impressive overtime win over North Clarion and then toppled DuBois to set up a playoff date with Kane on Tuesday. They took care of business with a 58-45 win over the Wolves.
“If I had to look back, the (turning point) would be the win against North Clarion,” Powell said. “We really played hard that night. We battled them. We got it into overtime and we won the game. That started the three-game wins streak that turned into a four game win streak at the end of the season. That was the moment where I thought we really had a chance.”
It was the end of the line, though, for seniors Kerstyn Davie, Hannah Lundgren, Eden Wonderling and Bentley Hughey.
“Looking ahead, we want to get back here,” Powell said. “We’re going to miss these four here, but we have to strive to get back.”
Brookville Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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