Bruns leads Brandon-Evansville boys to wins at Concordia

By EchoPress News

January 03, 2008 11:00 PM

Kyle Bruns led the Brandon-Evansville boys' basketball team to its first two-game winning streak of the season last weekend at the Concordia Holiday Tournament in Moorhead.

The 6'6" senior poured in 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Chargers' 71-55 win over Menahga on December 29.

That was not even his best game of the tournament, though. His 30-point, 17 rebound performance the day before gave his team a 60-52 win over Ulen-Hitterdal after they had lost in the opening round of the Cobber Classic to Lake Park-Audubon 65-50.

Bruns got some help against Menahga with 19 points from Tom Sullivan and 13 from Mike Bertrand.

"We got a great effort from the entire team, playing their third game in three days," head coach Paul Hansen said. "We ran the floor well and our seniors led us with points and hustle to get our second win in a row."

While the Chargers used a balanced scoring attack against the Braves, it was Bruns who stole the show in the win over Ulten-Hitterdal.

The Spartans could not contain the 6'6" senior. He was 9-of-11 from the field and 12-of-15 from the free throw line in what was maybe his best game of the season.

"[He] had another solid game," Hansen said. "Between he and Josh Guetter, they really controlled the boards."

The big night by Bruns trumped the seven threes the Spartans hit throughout the game.

"Ulen shot the ball very well from behind the arc," Hansen said. "We were fortunate to come away with a win."

They were not so fortunate in the opening round, though. The loss to Lake Park-Audubon was closer than the score indicated as both teams battled back and forth for most of the game. The Chargers held a one-point lead at the break and the game was tied with less than five minutes to go. That is when things went bad for the Chargers.

"The score was tied with four minutes to go in the game, but a bunch of turnovers late really did us in," Hansen said. "Defensive breakdowns also hurt. It was a pretty typical first game back after the break."

Sullivan led all Chargers' scorers against the Raiders with 14. Trent Hintermiester also added 13, while Bruns chipped in with 10.

GAME STATISTICS

CHARGERS 33 38 71

MENAHGA 20 35 55

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE INDIVIDUAL LEADERS - Trent Hintermiester - 6 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal; Tom Sullivan - 19 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Mike Bertrand - 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Joshua Guetter - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal; Kyle Bruns - 21 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 steals; Kyle Steffenson - 1 rebound; Derek Honebrink - 3 rebounds; Kullin Erickson - 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Aaron Lund - 1 point, 1 rebound

CHARGERS 23 37 60

ULEN-HITT. 25 27 52

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE INDIVIDUAL LEADERS - Joshua Guetter - 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist; Travis Lund - 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Kyle Bruns - 30 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Trent Hintermiester - 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Tom Sullivan - 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal; Mike Bertrand - 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals; Derek Honebrink - 1 steal; Kullin Erickson - 1 point, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

CHARGERS 33 17 50

LP-AUDUBON 32 33 65

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE INDIVIDUAL LEADERS - Mike Bertrand - 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Joshua Guetter - 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists; Kyle Bruns - 10 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal; Trent Hintermiester - 13 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists, 3 steals; Tom Sullivan - 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Kyle Steffenson - 1 rebound

CONCORDIA HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

(THURSDAY ROUND)

Norman County East 65, Rothsay 51

Barnesville 57, Parkers Prairie 46

Lake Park-Audubon 65, Brandon-Evansville 50

Ulen-Hitterdal 56, Menahga 52

Park Christian 71, New York Mills 65

(FRIDAY ROUND)

Brandon-Evansville 60, Ulen-Hitterdal 51

New York Mills 56, Barnesville 50

Norman County East 71, Lake Park-Audubon 50

Park Christian 84, Parkers Prairie 47