COVINGTON – Having faced a tough Mason County Royals group just a few weeks ago, Bishop Brossart coach Scott Code knew his team was in for an uphill battle if the boys were to pull off the upset in the second go-around.
His Mustangs gave the Royals all they could handle and then some early, but seemingly ran out of gas as the game wore on.
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In the second half – the Royals' defensive intensity took its toll on the Mustangs – who struggled to convert late in their 69-50 loss to Mason County at hosting Holmes High School on Wednesday night in the KHSAA 10th Region quarterfinals.
Brossart began the contest with a stout first handful of possessions. The Mustangs (12-19) worked the rock to senior David Govan. Govan, a 6-foot-6-inch senior for the Mustangs, made the most of his height advantage with a few early baskets to put Brossart ahead early.
In response, the Royals (24-5) upped the ante defensively, pressuring and trapping in the full court. Their intensity led to a number of Mustang turnovers, spurring a 21-6 run to close the quarter in favor of the Royals – who led 24-15 after one quarter of play.
“We started off in man, then quickly went to zone to switch up defenses early,” Code spoke of the play early. “When we went zone – give them credit – they stung us with a couple of threes there.”
Both teams looked sharp offensively in the second quarter, but Brossart managed to convert some stops defensively into timely buckets. Brossart junior Mason Sepate nailed a couple timely 3-pointers, complemented by a late post hook by Govan. Courtesy of their offensive spurt, Brossart trimmed it to a three-point deficit entering halftime, with the Mustangs feeling confident entering the break.
Despite enduring a sluggish shooting quarter, the Mustangs remained within striking distance for much of the third quarter. Mason’s Nate Mitchell did his best to provide a little breathing room for the Royals from the upset-minded Mustangs. Mitchell – who finished with a game-high 21 points – scored six in the quarter, including a steal and coast-to-coast score to put his team ahead 51-42 entering the final quarter of play.
From there, Brossart was forced to begin pressuring the ball more than Code would have liked, and Mason did a stellar job of converting free throws late. Mason outscored Brossart 33-17 in the second half, with shooting woes plaguing the Mustangs late.
“This isn’t on anyone in particular – we had some good looks,” Code said. “To beat a team like Mason, you have to shoot better than we did. We had some easy opportunities that we squandered.”
In the waning seconds, Code called a timeout to give Govan – who led the Mustangs with 14 points – a standing ovation in his final contest as a Mustang. Postgame, Code spoke glowingly of Govan’s leadership and contributions for a young group of Mustangs this year.
“He’s the perfect leader. When we’re running a drill, he’s the first one in, the first one over to a huddle. To be honest, it’s often unfair how much we ask of (David Govan) sometimes. We ask him to be our best ball handler, our best playmaker, our best big, best defender,” Code said.
“We’ve taxed David so much through the course of the year, but we needed to. . . He welcomes it and your really good players want to be pushed and challenged. That’s why he’s so instrumental in our program.”
With the loss, Brossart ends their season at 12-19. The Royals, on the other hand, improve to 24-5 and will face the winner of George Rogers Clark (30-1) and Robertson County (13-20) in Monday’s 10th Region semifinal at Holmes.
MC – 24 12 15 18 – 69
BB – 15 18 9 8 – 50
Brossart scoring: Govan (14), Sepate (12), Kruse (7), Bezold (5), Woosley (4), Schumacher (4).
MC scoring: Mitchell (21), Hamilton (17), Henry (10), Butler (6), Bierley (6), Walton (4), Booker (3).
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