The News and Tribune
By MIKE HUTSELL

LOOGOOTEE — North Daviess took a slow, methodical approach to halt the postseason march of the Borden Braves.

Milking several seconds off the clock per possession, the Cougars were able to put the clamps on Borden’s high-powered postseason push, defeating the Braves 49-37 in the final of the Class A Loogootee Regional at Jack Butcher Arena.

In a near-flawless offensive performance, North Daviess committed just four turnovers and knocked down 17-of-18 attempts at the free throw line.

Its plodding patient approach on offense helped North Daviess hold Borden, which had scored at least 60 points in each of its four postseason wins, to its lowest point total since the 2003-04 season.

“Their offense set the tempo and their execution won them the game,” said Borden head coach Doc Nash. “They did the things that they wanted to do and it limited us from doing any of the things that we wanted to do.”

Senior forward Thomas Nugent scored 21 points, helping North Daviess match Borden’s feat of a season ago — winning the school’s first-ever regional title.

“I’m excited for this school, these kids, for everyone,” said Cougar head coach Brent Dalrymple. “This is a great moment and event to be a part of.”

North Daviess grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter behind Nugent, a senior forward who tallied seven points in the opening eight minutes to give the Cougars a 14-10 lead after one.

Borden got two quick buckets by Drake Potts and Chris Beam to knot things at 14 in the opening minute of the second period, but a 6-0 run by North Daviess pushed the Cougars back in front for the remainder of the period.

After Borden closed within one, at 22-21, on a 3 by Michael Chester with a minute remaining, the Cougars worked the clock for one final strike. That turned into a basket by Lucas Swartzentruber as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“I felt like they pretty much kicked our butts for the first half and looked up at the scoreboard and we were only down three,” said Nash. “I had to feel pretty good about that because I didn’t feel like we played well up to that point.”

The Braves eventually forged in front, grabbing a 27-26 lead on a Drake Potts jumper midway through the final period.

But the cushion was short-lived.

North Daviess scored a putback basket by senior Jacob Miller, and limited Borden to zero points the remainder of the period as it worked its way to a 32-27 lead after three quarters.

“What they did was something no team had been able to do to us throughout this run,” said Nash. “When we’ve won, we’ve made teams shoot the shots we wanted and tonight, we shot the shots they wanted us to shoot.”

Chance Clark and Chris Beam both scored 10 for Borden, which finished its season at 19-6, claimed a share of the Southern Athletic Conference title and won just the second sectional crown in school history.

The Braves lose a six-man senior class in Beam, Clark, Potts, Lee Kirchgessner, Michael Chester and Jordan Adams.

“These guys leave with the bar raised for future generations of Borden basketball players very high,” said Nash. “They turned us from a community that was happy to be winning to a community that expects to be winning and that’s exactly the type of community and program I want to be a part of.”



SEMIFINAL

Beam had 21 points and Dalton Wagoner finished with 17 points and nine rebounds as the Braves rolled into the final with a 74-61 win over Northeast Dubois.

Leading by six at halftime, Borden began the second half with a 14-2 run and was never threatened the rest of the way.

Drake Potts also reached double figures in the victory for the Braves, scoring 13 points.

Beam hit 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line in the win for Borden, which had eight players score in the contest.



CLASS A LOOGOOTEE REGIONAL

FINAL

NORTH DAVIESS 14 10 8 17—49

BORDEN 10 11 6 10—37

North Daviess — Swartzentruber 9, Wittmer 7, Nugent 21, Wagler 4, Miller 6, Graber 2, Byrer 0.

Borden — C. Beam 10, Chester 5, Wagoner 0, Potts 9, Clark 10, Kirchgessner 3, B. Beam 0, Adams 0, Martin 0, Scott 0, Little 0.

Three-point field goals — North Daviess 1 (Cartwright); Borden 3 (C. Beam, Chester, Kirchgessner).

Rebounds — Borden 13 (Clark 5); North Daviess 17 (Miller 5).

Turnovers — Borden 10, North Daviess 5



SEMIFINAL

BORDEN 22 12 20 20-74

NE DUBOIS 17 11 11 22-61

Borden — C. Beam 21, Chester 4, Potts 13, Wagoner 17, Clark 8, Kirchgessner 7, Scott 2, B. Beam 2.

Northeast Dubois — Heeke 7, Cartwright 11, Terwiske 0, Royer 17, Gordon 14, Seng 3, Atkins 3, Eisenhut 6.

Three-point field goals — Borden 6 (C. Beam 4, Wagoner, Kirchgessner); Northeast Dubois 7 (Eisenhut 2, Royer 2, Heeke, Cartwright).

Rebounds — Borden 27 (Wagoner 9); Northeast Dubois 21 (Royer 7).

Turnovers — Borden 7, Northeast Dubois 21.