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Brookfield downs Hubbard in rowdy game
By Steve Wilaj
HUBBARD
Warning to opposing student sections: Don’t let Brookfield’s Jeremy Quinlan fool you. It may seem like he’s not listening to the chants and trash talk, he hears it.
“It fuels me a little bit,” Quinlan said.
With the Warriors visiting Hubbard on Tuesday night, Quinlan — who entered the matchup averaging just under 26 points per game — was the main target of the Eagles’ student section.
But the senior forward used the razzing to his advantage, scoring 27 points and grabbing eight rebounds as Brookfield defeated Hubbard, 58-37.
“It’s a really tough environment,” Quinlan said. “It’s a rivalry game for us, so we just came in pumped up and we got the W.”
Sparked by rowdy student sections from both schools, the action in the stands got a little chippy late in the fourth quarter until Hubbard officials and a police officer restored order.
Brookfield coach Bill Kovach said his team was expecting the hectic atmosphere.
“We knew it was going to be a tough environment,” he said. “Our guys did a very good job, especially at the end, of maintaining their composure.”
In the second and third quarters, the Eagles (1-3) seemed to lose their composure. While committing the majority of its 21 turnovers, Hubbard scored just eight points in the two quarters combined.
“In the second and third quarter, [Brookfield] just came out and did whatever they wanted,” Hubbard coach Rick Fox said. “We had no answer.”
As a result, the Warriors (4-0) turned a 12-10 first-quarter deficit into a 41-20 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
“The pressure that we put on them was the difference,” Kovach said. “They had a hard time handling it. Our length and our size upfront really forced some bad passes on their part.”
Quinlan said: “We preach team defense and that’s what we did. We got hands on the ball, got some fast breaks and scored some points.”
Ryan Mosora chipped in 10 points and Collin Harkulich scored eight for Brookfield. Still, the night once again belonged to Quinlan, who boosted his season scoring average to an even 26 points.
“He has a knack to score,” Kovach said. “He’s a finisher and never lets up. When he goes to the hole, it’s full-go all the time.”
Jordan Thompson, Aaron Loveless and Larry Minotti led Hubbard with six points each.
“They ran that 1-3-1 [zone] and our kids were just standing around not doing what they need to do,” Fox said. “We’ve got to work on that. I’m happy with my kids because they do play hard most of the time, but we have to play hard all four quarters.”