ELNORA
With 29 ticks on the clock, down by two points to the No. 1 team in Class 2A, Jacoby Shade caught a drive-and-dish from fellow Brownstown Central senior Zach McCory on the right side of the 3-point arc.
Shade rose up on the catch-and-shoot and buried the trey for what would be the go-ahead basket against Barr-Reeve.
With the 58-57 victory, the Braves will have a chance to repeat as champions at the Graber Post Buildings Classic at North Daviess High School.
Barr-Reeve had a 3-piont shot with .8 seconds on the clock off an inbounds play, but Braves guard Cody Waskom was there with pressure to ensure the win.
“We dug in, made some stops and got a huge basket by Jacoby there at the end,” Braves coach Dave Benter said. “We went down and switched to a zone and got a huge stop there late.
“We thought they were going to get it to Logan James, the ball inside, or a slip off a screen. They slipped to Trevor Yoder off a double screen and tried sneaking a 3-pointer on the wing. Cody read it, got out there and challenged that shot.”
In the first quarter, neither team could manage much offense as the score was locked at 10-all.
McCory accounted for half of the Braves’ points, which included an and-one conversion with 2:26 on the clock.
Brownstown junior Gavin Bane opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and Waskom added a free throw to put the Braves up early.
Up 28-23 with 1:20 left in the first half, James hit back-to-back three pointers — including a trey at the buzzer — to give the Vikings a 29-28 advantage at intermission.
Waskom notched seven of his 15 points in the game in the second quarter for the Braves.
The lead would change six times in the third quarter until Brownstown Central senior Matthew Nierman sank a 3-pointer with 48 seconds to give the Braves a 46-44 advantage.
Neither team could build more than a three-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
Shade would account for five points in the final stretch and Waskom added a pair of field goals to help secure the win.
McCory and Waskom led the Braves with 15 points each, and Shade managed 13 with six rebounds.
On the boards, Bar-Reeve outrebounded Brownstown 22-20 behind eight from Trevor Lengacher.
“Cody, Zach and Jacoby really stepped up and played well,” Benter said. “We just have to put 32 minutes together. We got a little stagnant first half offensively.
“(Waskom) has always been a scorer, but the last two or three weeks he has taken pride in his defense. He’s becoming a more complete basketball player. I thought he has done a nice job the last two nights.”
James finished with 17 points on four 3-pointers. Barr-Reeve tallied eight 3-pointers in the game.
“Logan had an outstanding game for them,” Benter said. “He willed them back into the game and into a lead late.
“(Barr-Reeve players) are so patient that they will wait until they get a 3-pointer or a post-up from (Trevor Lengacher). Lengacher had a really nice game, too. He is a really skilled player. They have a nice blend of shooters with a skilled big man.”
The Braves will play Pike Central on Saturday in the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
Pike Central defeated Class 3A No. 1 Park Tudor 58-54 on Wednesday.