by: Brighton McConnell
Last week, the Brevard basketball programs had another busy slate of games. Both the boys and girls teams played 3 games through the week, with two home games and an away game.
On February 3, the Blue Devils hosted Smokey Mountain. Both Mustangs teams have been dominant this year, and came into the match holding 19-1 (boys) and 18-2 (girls) overall records. Brevard’s offenses struggled to keep up with Smokey’s scoring pace and strong defense. The Lady Devils fell 61-32 and the boys team suffered a 78-37 loss.
February 5 came the next game for Brevard, as they traveled to Franklin High. Both the boys and girls teams struggled again, and both lost their fourth straight games to the Panthers.
Friday, February 9, was Senior Night for the Devils as they hosted North Henderson. Both teams will be graduating numerous seniors from their rosters, and a ceremony was held during halftime to celebrate their playing time within the program.
The girls and boys teams played close games against the Knights. The Lady Devils trailed at halftime, but fought hard to come back and tie the game going into the fourth quarter. North’s tough defense quelled Brevard’s offensive momentum towards the end of the game, and the Knights pulled away to win 52-41.
Brevard’s boys team played a tight game as well. After being down by seven points with under two minutes to play in regulation, the Blue Devils scored three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 50 apiece. Senior Hunter Johnson scored the game-tying basket as time expired, and finished the night with 32 points. The Blue Devils started overtime on a 6-0 run before squandering the lead and the game headed into a second overtime. The game was decided when North’s offense scored on a designed play with three seconds left and Brevard’s last attempt clanked off the front rim as time expired. The final score was 62-60 in favor of the Knights.
Brevard has two more games scheduled before the end of the season. The girls (2-17) and boys (3-15) will travel to Pisgah High on February 10 and will host Polk High School on February 11 in a rescheduled game from last December.