RUTLAND CITY -- Using stifling defense in the first half and clinical precision from the free throw line, the No. 5 Twin Valley boys basketball team beat No. 4 Mount. St. Joseph 77-62 on the road in the quarterfinals of the Division 4 playoffs on Friday.
The Wildcats (18-4) were led by Brayden Brown, who had a team-high 27 points along with seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals. The junior also went 19-for-21 from the free throw line as the Wildcats were 90% on the night from the stripe. Freshman Landon Brown had 20 points and seven rebounds, while junior Niko Gerding and senior Brian Sullivan added 12 and nine points respectively. Senior Steve Oyer had four blocks and two steals and sophomore Benny Gerding played strong defense while adding four assists on the offensive end.
"We didn't back down and every time we needed a run to counter their run we had one," said Twin Valley head coach Chris Brown. "We played great, honestly."
After the Green Wave (18-3) scored the opening basket of the game, the Wildcats went on a 14-2 run kickstarted by a pair of baskets from Sullivan, and the home team was forced to call a timeout with 2:12 left in the first. Out of the timeout the two teams traded baskets, with Benny Gerding banking in a shot and Brayden Brown scoring a layup through contact with .1 seconds on the clock to answer baskets from the Green Wave. At the end of the first quarter the Wildcats led 18-8.
The Wildcats opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run including a combined eight points in that span from Brayden and Landon Brown to open up a 20-point lead. The Green Wave then scored a pair of baskets on either side of two Brayden Brown free throws. But with 19.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter Landon Brown was fouled and then bumped late out of bounds by Green Wave senior Jacob Lambert who was called for a technical foul, and the freshman hit all four free throws to give the Wildcats a 36-14 lead at the half.
The Green Wave started the third quarter on a 7-2 run and then forced a Wildcats timeout with their press, as Brayden Brown scored the lone points from the free throw line for the visitors in that span. But the Wildcats responded with going on a 10-2 run, getting in the bonus with just under five minutes left in the quarter and scoring all 10 of their points from the free throw line in that stretch. The Green Wave went on a 10-2 run of their own, but Brayden Brown scored a pair of free throws late in the quarter to give the Wildcats a 52-33 lead heading into the fourth.
The Wildcats went on a 12-4 run to begin the fourth quarter, kickstarted with an and-one layup by Oyer and capped with four free throws by Brayden Brown, the first two of which came after a flagrant foul by the Green Wave. Following a technical foul called on Brayden Brown the Green Wave went on a mini 5-2 burst, with a layup from Niko Gerding being the only points for the Wildcats in that span. The two teams then traded 3-pointers, as Niko Gerding once again hit for the Wildcats.
A 6-2 run by the Wildcats capped with a layup by Landon Brown gave them a 28-point lead in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. Following a 3-pointer by Green Wave senior Vincent Cavalieri, the home side called a timeout with 1:34 remaining allowing the Wildcats to empty their bench. The Green Wave ended the game on a 15-2 run as junior Gavin Treanor, who had a game-high 28 points, scored 10 for the home team in that stretch. Senior Konner Janovsky scored the lone basket for the Wildcats in that span, who did enough to earn the victory.
"We were trying to be patient, they were trying to speed us up, and I thought for the most part we did a pretty good job of just taking care of the ball," said coach Brown on the play in the second half.
This was the second game between these teams this season, as the Green Wave beat the Wildcats 79-75 in the title game of the Green Mountain Holiday Tournament on Dec. 18. Coach Brown said the main difference between the two games was defense, as the Wildcats limited the Green Wave to 62 points in the rematch, and under 50 before the final three minutes when they took out their starters. After giving up 79 points in the first game, coach Brown said defense was the emphasis going into Friday's matchup, and they did a better job executing this time.
With the win the Wildcats advance to the semifinals, where for the third game in a row they will have a rematch with a team they played early in the season. The Wildcats take on No. 1 Twinfield, to whom they lost 76-59 in the first round of the Bob Abrahamson Tournament on Dec. 12 in their first game of the regular season. That game was scheduled to be played on Monday night (look for coverage online at reformer.com and in Wednesday's print edition).
"We played them the first game of the season, they waxed us pretty good, but we'll be there and compete," said coach Brown.