Jared Kinzer scored 15 points and Cole Bundren collected all 14 of his points in the second half as Franklin conquered visiting Brookville 64-53 at a packed Darrell Hedric Gymnasium.
“It was honestly surreal,” said Kinzer, a junior guard. “This is really what you practice for. I’m just speechless … six in a row. I think we just outhustled them. We just wanted it more than they did. We hung our hat on D, and free throws won the game for us.”
The Wildcats led most of the night, yet found themselves behind 35-34 midway through the third period. The hosts then went on a 10-point run to grab control of the game.
Franklin, which converted 10 of 19 shots beyond the arc, improved to 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the SWBL. The Blue Devils are 16-3, 7-3.
FHS has two league games left, at home against Eaton on Friday and at Valley View next Friday. The Wildcats won 54-47 at Brookville on Jan. 13.
“We’ve been talking all year about that sixth straight championship and playing with a chip on our shoulder,” said Bundren, a junior forward. “We wanted to make sure our seniors had a great night to remember on Senior Night, and it happened.”
Franklin carved its path to victory by making big shots and maintaining possession with hustle plays. Bundren and Kinzer in particular came up with some huge offensive rebounds simply on effort.
“We like to say it’s a part of our culture,” Bundren said. “When we see the ball, we want to go after it every chance we get.”
Braden White had 10 points and Ryan Montgomery added nine for the Wildcats, who made 18 of 25 free throws. The Blue Devils were 8 of 16.
“I just thought when it came time to make big plays, our guys did it,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “I thought our guys were all in and fearless tonight, and that was kind of our war cry going into the game. I actually think that adversity this weekend prepared us for a tough moment. It got our focus back.”
Tyler Scherer notched 18 points and seven rebounds for Brookville, and teammate Dalton Stewart scored 14 points. The Blue Devils lost point guard Jacob Gudorf to a knee injury with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter.
“I’ve got four or five guards I rotate in, and you take my point guard out and that hurts us,” said Brookville coach Jeff Davidson, noting that Gudorf might have a sprained MCL. “The other guys filled their roles nicely, but where it hurt us was other guys getting fatigued in the second half. Franklin just kept cycling guys in.
“You could just tell we were heavy-legged, and you can’t leave those guys open. They do a nice job of spreading the floor and beating you off the dribble and drawing help and kicking out and making 3s. I had heard they struggled shooting the 3 at Oakwood (last Friday), and I had a feeling this might just happen. You cannot relax against a team that has five shooters on the floor.”
The Wildcats converted seven treys in the second half. White started that 10-point surge in the third stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers, while Bundren made four in the last 11 minutes.
“Bundren … it looked to me like the basket was 10 feet wide in his eyes,” Bales said.
How did that second half feel?
“I feel like I’m not going to miss,” Bundren said. “I didn’t really take any shots in the first half, and my shots were falling in the second half. We were moving the ball really well, and it just started clicking.”
Franklin definitely found its groove, but offense wasn’t the only reason it took over after intermission.
“We made an adjustment late in the third, early in the fourth where we went to a zone,” Bales said. “I thought our guys did a really nice job of throwing them off rhythm a little bit.”
Payton Knott had seven points and six assists for the Wildcats. Bundren (seven) and Noah Kremer (six) led the hosts in rebounds, and Kinzer added four assists and four boards.
“I thought it was a great, great atmosphere for high school basketball both ways, Brookville as well,” Bales said. “I have a lot of respect for Brookville. Obviously Gudorf is a big piece of their puzzle, and I hated that he went down early. We knew it was going to be a battle. They’ve got a special group of seniors this year.”
The Blue Devils can still get a piece of the Southwestern crown if they win their last two games (at home against Bellbrook on Friday and Monroe next Friday) and Franklin loses its last two.
“It’s kind of a stretch at this point, but we’ve learned to take nothing for granted,” Davidson said. “It’s nice for our kids to play in this environment. I think it gets us tournament-ready. We’ll go back home and refocus and go get the next goal.”
Both teams are state ranked this week. The Wildcats are No. 10 in the Associated Press Division II poll, while Brookville is No. 10 in D-III. The Blue Devils have tied their program record for most regular-season wins.
Brookville 11-14-14-14—53
Franklin 15-11-23-15—64
BROOKVILLE (16-3, 7-3 SWBL Southwestern): Cody Cox 1 0 3, Dalton Stewart 6 0 14, Bryce Yeary 1 0 3, Christian Berry 2 2 6, Jacob Gudorf 1 0 3, Wade Turner 2 0 6, Tyler Scherer 6 6 18. Totals: 19-8-53
FRANKLIN (16-3, 9-1 SWBL Southwestern): Noah Kremer 2 0 4, Payton Knott 3 0 7, Cole Bundren 4 2 14, Braden White 3 1 10, Ryan Montgomery 3 3 9, Jared Kinzer 2 10 15, Konnor Black 1 2 5. Totals: 18-18-64
3-pointers: B 7 (Stewart 2, Turner 2, Cox, Yeary, Gudorf), F 10 (Bundren 4, White 3, Knott, Kinzer, Black)
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