Frazier holds off Brownsville in assembly game
BROWNSVILLE 鈥� Rob Ramsey finally got to see his idea come to fruition.
The Brownsville boys basketball coach had a school assembly game inserted into his team鈥檚 schedule, an afternoon game where the entire Brownsville Area High School student body could watch the Falcons and Frazier play.
The game was scheduled for Jan. 22 but was postponed due to frigid weather but it was rescheduled for Monday.
Although he didn鈥檛 get the result he wanted 鈥� the Commodores hung on for a 53-45 non-section victory 鈥� Ramsey was still pleased to see the game become a reality.
鈥淭his was for the players,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淲e just wanted to play in front of a nice crowd with some excitement. I thought it went pretty well, other than the outcome.鈥�
Frazier coach Zach Keefer was glad his team could take part in the event.
鈥淚 thought it was really neat,鈥� Keefer said. 鈥淭he kids were excited. When it got canceled the first time we weren鈥檛 sure what was going to transpire with it. When they called and said they wanted to try to do it again the kids were pumped.
鈥淲hat a cool experience for, really, both teams.鈥�
With the home side of the gymnasium packed with cheerleaders and students to urge them on, the Falcons tried gamely to fight back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit but fell just short.
Dailan McManus scored a game-high 19 points and freshman Kolby Stewart contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds, including a key offensive putback with 30 seconds left, to lead the way for Frazier (5-15). Conlan Higbee added 10 points and Brant Alekson grabbed 14 rebounds.
Brownsville fell behind by 12 when the Commodores extended their 19-18 halftime lead to 30-18 with an 11-point run to start the third quarter. Higbee and McManus each had four points in the spurt. The Falcons (4-15) got to within seven on back-to-back buckets by Cam Phillips and Silas Patterson but Frazier took a 36-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Commodores went up by 12 again when they opened the final frame with a 4-1 run on two baskets by McManus for a 40-28 lead.
The Falcons kept clawing and got within three points twice.
A six-point Brownsville run, sparked by Maxime Dieodonne鈥檚 acrobatic layup, was capped when the Falcons made three of four foul shots 鈥� two by Phillips and one by Praster 鈥� after a personal foul and a technical foul were assessed to Frazier. Down 46-43, the Falcons had a chance to tie or cut the gap to one point but a turnover led to the Commodores鈥� Trey Whitehead being fouled with 56 seconds left and he made both free throws for a 48-43 lead.
Dieodonne scored again with 50 seconds left to get Brownsville with 48-45. McManus was fouled with 31 seconds left and misfired on both free throws but Stewart came up with the rebound of the second miss and scored to put the lead at five and Frazier would hang on from there.
鈥淜olby had some freshman moments there early on but to overcome that in front of an intense crowd was impressive,鈥� Keefer said. 鈥淭o have the wherewithal to get that rebound and then go right back up with it and score was a huge play at the end.鈥�
Praster tallied 15 points to lead the Falcons who also got nine points from Phillips and eight from Dieodonne.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the way we fought back,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淲e fought hard to get back in it and gave ourselves a chance. But we just didn鈥檛 play well offensively. We turned the ball over way too much. I was disappointed in that. I think we had 20-plus turnovers.
鈥淚 have a lot of respect for Frazier and Coach Keefer, though. They played a good game.鈥�
Keefer was pleased to see his team survive the Falcons鈥� comeback attempt.
鈥淚t got a little hairy there but when it came down to it at the end we did what was necessary to be victorious,鈥� Keefer said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of them for that.鈥�
The first quarter was mainly made up of two spurts.
Kaden Wimmer opened the scoring with a bucket for Brownsville but Frazier reeled off the next nine points for a 9-2 lead.
鈥淚 thought our kids brought some energy, especially early on,鈥� Keefer said.
The Falcons closed the quarter with an eight-point burst capped by Phillips鈥� 3-pointer to get the hosts within 9-8.
Brownsville started the second quarter with an 8-2 run to take its biggest lead at 16-11 before a 3-pointer by McManus sparked a half-ending 7-2 run to give Frazier a one-point lead at intermission.
The Falcons played the second half without Wimmer.
鈥淜aden is having issues with his knee,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 help.鈥�
Ramsey was pleased with his team鈥檚 effort but not its shooting performance.
鈥淲e had a very poor shooting game and that hurt us,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淚 think it had a little to do with nerves in front of the crowd. We missed a lot of layups from point blank range and to win a game you can鈥檛 do that.鈥�
Keefer thought the Commodores played well at both ends of the court.
鈥淚 was really happy with the way we moved the ball on offense,鈥� Keefer said. 鈥淲e looked for the open guy. We thought we had a size advantage. We tried to work it in the post and at times we did that really well. Overall I was really happy with what we did offensively.
鈥淒efense is always intense for us. They were talking and communicating. I think we made Brownsville play beyond the arc and maybe got them a little bit out of their comfort zone.鈥�
Ramsey has said his team would return the favor and come to Frazier for an assembly game next season, and Keefer said his school was open to the idea.
鈥淭his was just a great game,鈥� Keefer said. 鈥淚 thank Coach Ramsey for his hospitality. They always give a great effort. He does a great job over here.
鈥淚t was a nice old-school rivalry there during the day. We were glad we could be a part of it.鈥�