LaBrae beaten by Berkshire to finish 19-4

The Badgers won, 73-54.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
KIRTLAND -- Junior Mike Ryan's 3-pointer with just more than a minute remaining in the first half gave LaBrae a 31-19 lead over Burton Berkshire Tuesday night in the Division III District semifinal at Lakeland Community College.
Though Berkshire cut the lead to 31-24 at halftime, Ryan scored inside at the 6:16 mark of the third period and LaBrae still led, 35-29.
No Viking scored again until Ryan tallied with 47 seconds left in the quarter to end a 17-0 Berkshire run. The Badgers led 46-37 after Ryan's basket and went on to a 73-54 victory over the Vikings.
Turnovers
"We turned the ball over four of our first possessions in the second half," LaBrae coach Gregg Isler said. "We had the ball to start the half and they get a steal and layup. You can't do that when you play a really good team."
Danny Hartman led LaBrae (19-4) in his final game with the Vikings, scoring 17 points. Ryan added 13 and Eric Hart and Kyle Rowan scored eight each.
Hartman and Rowan both were starters the previous two seasons when LaBrae won back-to-back Division III District titles at Hubbard.
"Danny and Kyle have done a lot and we've had a lot of success with them playing. I don't know if you can replace guys like that," Isler said. "But then again, that's one of the great things about high school athletics. Someone for LaBrae will be wearing number 34 next year and someone will be wearing number 31."
Berkshire (19-3) attacked the basket relentlessly, fast breaking when possible and moving the ball well which led to open looks at the hoop.
Top Badger
Six-foot-three senior guard Jason Ronyak led the Badgers with 20 points. Craig Voorhees, a 6-1 senior, added 14 points.
"We intended to play zone in the third quarter on defense, but never had a chance to set up," Isler said about Berkshire's penchant for getting shots off quickly. "On offense we stopped moving a little bit."
LaBrae had few good looks at the basket during their scoreless spell of more than five minutes in the third quarter. When the Vikings pressed in order to get back in the game, Berkshire just kept running.
"They are a nice team, they moved the ball well and executed extremely well against our pressure," Isler said.
After the Badgers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to go ahead 51-37, LaBrae never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. Berkshire is scheduled to face Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph Friday night in the district championship game.