In an old-fashioned rivalry game, the Brookeland Wildcats and the Broadus Bulldogs meet in the Bi-District round of the UIL State Basketball Playoffs and after a dead heat after two quarters the Wildcats were able to pull away and defeat the Bulldogs by 16 points, 52 to 36.
It was a packed home side of the gym at West Sabine High School in Pineland on Monday night as what seemed to be every person who lives in Brookeland came to the game to cheer on the home team. A good crowd from Broaddus was also on hand, but there was standing room only on the Brookeland side.
In the beginning of the game, it was an evenly matched game as both teams were playing good defense and at the end of the first quarter it was Broaddus who held a one-point lead 14 to 13. Brookeland outscored Broaddus by one point in the second quarter and the score was tied at 23 each as the teams headed for their locker rooms at halftime. Brookeland Coach Brandon Shumake said after the game, “We needed this game and to be pressed by Broaddus. We challenged the team in the locker room to go out and dominate in the second half and they did.”
In the third quarter the Wildcats switched to their man-to-man defense, and it changed the tempo and flow of the game. The Wildcats limited the Bulldogs to only 4 points in the quarter while they scored 13 to lead 36 to 27 with one quarter left in the game. The Wildcats would have their best scoring quarter in the fourth quarter to settle on the final 16-point margin of victory at 52 to 36.
Landon Smith led the Wildcats with 27 points in the game. Cade Morgan had 10 points; Sammy Lundquist added 8 points. Brookeland will have to wait until Tuesday for the outcome of the bi-district game between Jonesboro and Richland Springs to make plans for the Area Round game of the playoffs. The game will be on Thursday or Friday at the end of the week, but the winner of the game and the outcome of the Brookeland Lady Cats game might have a determining factor in the Wildcats’ next game. Coach Shumake said in closing, “Tonight was about character and the team showed that they have it by the way they played in the second half of the game”.
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