Friday, March 15, 2002
Bill Bogan said this year's success has awakenedcommunity spirit.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON -- The Badger High basketball community was wide awake this season. The Braves served as the wake-up call.
Badger coach Bill Bogan used that analogy following his team's 66-40 loss to Loudonville in a Division III regional semifinal Thursday at Memorial Fieldhouse.
"They woke a community that had fallen asleep on us in basketball," Bogan said of his team. "They've shaken the community and woke them back up to some spirit and they got the students back into some spirit."
It had been 20 years since Badger last reached the regional tournament. But the Braves (20-4) made that a reality this season by winning the Trumbull Athletic Conference and the district title at Hubbard.
"This year, after we won our first couple games, we started getting on a roll," said Badger senior Ryan Miller, who scored a team-high 12 points Thursday. "We were selling our place out and the whole town was just going crazy."
Farewell: Badger's season of success also capped Bogan's head coaching tenure at the school. He has decided to step down after eight seasons.
"You'll see me playing around on the sideline with a bunch of third-graders next year and having the time of my life," said Bogan, who wanted to free time in his life for family and business.
As much momentum as the Braves had captured this season, it wasn't enough to stop Loudonville (22-2), which took command of Thursday's game in the second half en route to the lopsided victory.
Badger, which trailed 27-25 at halftime, made just one field goal in the third quarter and finished the second half 3-of-23 from the field.
"That's not where you need to be this time of year," Bogan said of his team's second-half shooting effort.
Loudonville outscored the Braves 16-5 in the third quarter to pull away.
"We didn't attack the rim as much as we planned," Bogan said. "We settled for a lot of jump shots in the third quarter that didn't fall.
"They forced us to step farther out than we wanted and had a hand in our face."
Combination: Loudonville coach Mark Schlabach felt the combination of his team's defense and Badger's weariness made the difference.
"We wanted to make them work for everything they got, and we did that in the second half," he said.
The game changed dramatically since the first quarter when Badger led the entire way, including 15-10 going into the second.
"I felt we had them back on their heels in the first quarter," Miller said. "We felt good at halftime, but they just out-executed us the whole second half. We got in panic mode."
To ease his players' disappointment after Thursday's loss, Bogan made sure to emphasize the big picture.
"We wrote on the board 'TAC-8' and 'sectional-district champs,' " he said. "Those are things that no one can ever take away from us."
Miller said, "We met our goals that we set at the beginning of the season. We were just going to come here and have fun and try to win some games, but it didn't turn out that way."
As Bogan leaves the program, he hopes the 2001-02 season will leave a lasting impression on his players, much like the impression his players left in their community.
"I hope they have a memory that lasts them a lifetime," he said.
richesson@vindy.com