(Billy Smith led Brebuef with 15 points)

 

It was overtime night at Brebeuf as the varsity game against Hamilton Southeastern went an extra frame and the junior varsity contested played two overtime periods. In the varsity battle, Brebeuf used a spurt in the extra stanza to beat the Royals 62-57.

 

HSE used a balanced attack to take an early 10-6 lead. Still, consecutive threes from Miami of Ohio signee Billy Smith and Alex Gothard gave Brebeuf the advantage heading to the second. Cameron Freeman scored to make it an 8-0 Braves run early in the second quarter before Sam Jacobs finally broke the streak.

 

For most of the second period, Hamilton Southeastern’s offense stalled. Jacobs was the only Royal to score in the period until Rephaim Stevenson took a feed from Tyler Lacy for a basket. Before that, it looked as if Brebeuf was destined to blow out HSE.  With Jacobs and Stevenson fueling the offense, the Royals cut Brebuef’s lead to four points at the break. They combined for 16 of HSE’s 26 first-half points.

 

The third quarter was primarily a defensive battle as Brebeuf’s offense did not create many easy looks for most of the period. On the other end, HSE was not lighting it up, but Jacobs scored eight points in the frame to give the Royals a lead. His ability to create shots for himself was the difference in the third-quarter spurt. Jacobs had defenders looking silly as he attacked and used shots fakes and pivots to find open looks.

 

A lid was on the basket to begin the fourth quarter as neither team scored for more than two minutes. Then, finally, Paul Stubblefield set up Cameron Freeman for a three-pointer, and Freeman did the rest. A couple of minutes later, the sequence flipped as Freeman created a three-pointer for Stubblefield. It was an impressive stretch for Freeman as he grabbed a defensive rebound after assisting Stubbefield’s triple, then knocked down another three to give Brebeuf a 47-43 lead with 3:30 remaining in the game.

 

Unfortunately for Brebeuf, that was the final field goal the Braves made in regulation. On a three-point attempt, Freeman fouled HSE’s Caleb Smock, and Smock converted two of the free throws. A minute later, Stevenson used his strength to score inside as Brebeuf’s lead shrank to one.

 

Brebeuf tried to hang on to the lead but threw away an inbound pass with 32 seconds left. That gave the ball to Hamilton Southeastern with a chance to tie or take the lead. Clearly, the Royals would rely on Jacobs to make the decisive play.

 

As the clock wound down, Jacobs created off the dribble and drew a foul with 1.9 seconds left. Then, to add to the moment, Jacobs missed the first free throw before making the second to tie the game.

 

Brebeuf did not get a shot off before the regulation buzzer.

 

In overtime, Marial Puou stole the show. For most of the game, the senior forward made an impact blocking shots, rebounding, and getting the occasional rim score. However, he flipped a switch in the extra frame to go to a new gear. His top-of-the-key three-pointer seemed to take the wind out of Hamilton Southeastern’s sails. The Braves opened overtime with a 10-0 run, and the Royals never threatened Brebeuf after that.

 

Smith sealed the win at the free-throw line. The senior guard went six of six on his way to a team-high 15 points.

 

Brebeuf had five players in double figures. Along with Smith, Puou recorded 10 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks. Freeman, Stubblefield, and Gothard each scored 11 points.

 

Jacobs went eight-of-fourteen from the field for a game-high 22 points. He also had five rebounds in the loss. Stevenson was a great second option as he tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Brebeuf is 2-0, and both wins came in overtime. Hamilton Southeastern dropped to 0-1.