Brookfield doesn't go down without a battle

The game marked Badger's third-straight win over the Warriors this season.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HUBBARD -- It took an extra session but Badger High ended Brookfield's Cinderella-like season, posting a come-from-behind 49-46 victory in a Division III district semifinal at Hubbard on Tuesday night.
"Give all the credit to Brookfield," Badger coach Bill Bogan said. "They took us out of our game, but thanks to our defense we were able to remain within striking distance.
"That is the main reason for tonight's victory."
Team directions: The Braves (19-3) have won six straight and 12 of their last 13. The Warriors (8-15) had an 11-game losing streak heading into tournament play but won their first two postseason games.
"We had great senior leadership this year," Warrior coach Chris Fahndrich said. "They kept us together during our 11-game tailspin and in turn they were our spark in the tournament."
The game marked the third straight win by the Braves this season over the Warriors. The Braves won both regular season games -- 53-47 and 51-43 -- after trailing at halftime.
"We had the lead in all three of our games with the Braves, but they are a veteran unit," Fahndrich said. "We fully expected them to come back tonight. We had a couple of bad possessions down the stretch and that proved costly in the end."
Brookfield had an 8-7 first quarter lead after the first quarter and a 22-21 halftime lead.
A Ted Swogger 3-pointer at the 3:45 mark of the third quarter gave Brookfield a 31-25 lead. The Braves, however, outscored the Warriors 7-2 the rest of the way to cut the margin to 33-32 heading into the fourth.
Final quarter: Brookfield scored the first five points, but Brett Bell scored six of his game-high 17 points in the final quarter to give the Braves a 42-40 lead with 1:14 remaining. Julian Hayes hit two free throws with 28 seconds to go, sending the game into overtime.
Ryan Miller's 3-point goal and two free throws by Bell increased the Braves' lead to 47-42. Two free throws and a bucket by the Warriors' Scott Stofan cut the margin to 47-46 with 53 seconds remaining, but Bell iced the victory by sinking two free throws with 20 seconds remaining.
Badger was 14-of-49 from the field, but just 7-of-30 in the first half. Brookfield made 17-of-50. Badger was 18-of-23 at the line -- including 10-of-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime session.
Brookfield was 9-of-10 at the charity stripe.