Section 6A boys' basketball: Brandon-Evansville can't get past Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa

Talk about it

The Brandon-Evansville boys’ basketball team ran into a Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa group that seems determined to get back to the state tournament and win it after a 78-37 win over the Chargers in the 6A South quarterfinals last Thursday.

The Jaguars were not going to let Brandon-Evansville stand in their way in their quest to capture a second straight 6A title. BBE played like the top-ranked team it is against the Chargers, jumping out to a 56-19 lead at the break. It was a showing that left Brandon-Evansville head coach John Holsten thoroughly impressed.

“They are really good,” he said. “I think their kids are on a mission.”

Kirby Montbriand was the catalyst of the Jaguars’ attack. He finished with 23 points to lead four players in double figures. Connor Goodwin added 16, Brian Goodwin 15 and Billy Borgerding had 14.

The Jaguars pumped the brakes a little in the second half. They scored 22 points after the break once they went to their bench. BBE finished the night shooting 52 percent (31-60) and had just six turnovers to the Chargers’ 27.

“They showed a lot of class in the second half,” Holsten said. “They played a lot of their deep reserves. I thought that was a classy move on their part. They could have named their score.”

John Haseman was one of two players in double figures for Brandon-Evansville. The junior forward finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while senior Jared Goehringer went out with 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Goehringer was one of three seniors that played their last game in a Chargers’ uniform against BBE. Zach Hintermeister and Hunter Langlie will also graduate after helping this team recover from an 0-6 start to go 10-9 over its last 19 games.

“They could have packed it in,” Holsten said of his team. “Instead, they decided to get better and see what they could accomplish. That really says a lot about our seniors. Zach, Jared and Hunter – they did a great job of leading, and their contributions were very significant to the program.”

The goal now will be to build on that heading into next winter. The Chargers know what they have returning in a player like Haseman. They will need some guys who maybe aren’t on the radar yet to step onto the scene next season.

“We have one really good player coming back,” Holsten said. “But he can’t do it all himself. This isn’t singles tennis. We need four or five other guys to improve their games. I think we have the kids here who are interested in doing it, but I don’t know what their names are yet.”

GAME STATISTICS

BBE 56 22 – 78

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE 19 18 – 37

TOTALS – Brandon-Evansville – FG – 15-41; FT – 6-8; Rebounds – 26; Turnovers – 27; BBE – FG – 31-60; FT – 8-10; Rebounds – 41; Turnovers – 6

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE – Hunter Langlie – 3 points, 1 rebound; Mitch Anderson – 2 points; Pat Schaffer – 2 rebounds; Haseman – 16 points, 9 rebounds; Goehringer – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists; John Huisman – 1 rebound; Blake Satterlie – 1 rebound; Hintermeister – 4 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 6 assists; Cody Lund – 1 steal; James Huisman – 2 points, 1 assist

BBE SCORING – Austin Imdieke – 2; Goodwin – 15; James Kuefler – 8; Borgerding – 14; Montbriand – 23; Goodwin – 16

Tags: brandon evansville sports, sports, chargers, boys, basketball, section, 6a