The 15-8 overall, #9 ranked Bruin boys varsity boys basketball team traveled to Portland Saturday to start their post season journey against the #7 ranked Oregon Episcopal Aardvarks who enter the play-offs carrying a 15-8 overall record and coming off a double digit loss to #2 ranked De La Salle North Catholic.
The Bruins broke down the 2-3 zone Aardvark defense early, grabbing an early 7-6 lead midway through the first period. Oregon Episcopal, in an attempt to keep the Bruins from stringing points together and establish an early lead, applied a full court press with 3:00 minutes left in the first period. The Bruins, led by 5 points from Wyatt Harms, including a 3 pointer, pushed their lead to 6 points, and would lead 14-8 after the first period.
The Aardvarks applied a full press again to start the second period, trapping the Bruin ball handlers who struggled early to handle the pressure. Rallying off of turnovers, Oregon Episcopal took their first lead of the game with just under 5:00 minutes left in the quarter.
The Bruins continued to disrupt the Aardvark offense with their man to man defense, and Oregon Episcopal continued their full court press. With the game tied at 22-22, both teams traded shots with less than 1:30 left in the half. As the cold shooting for the Aardvarks continued, the Bruins Jake Beaman, Brad Russell and Jaren Fronckowiak combined for 12 points in the period, to take a 1 point lead into the break.
The Bruins came out shooting in the third period with Jaren Fronckowiak hitting a 3 pointer just seconds into the period giving the Bruins a 29-25 lead. Both teams continued with what was working, the Aardvarks with their pressure trapping press, and the Bruins in their man to man defense with the score tied at 29, and 2:00 minutes gone in the quarter, and both teams worked to establish a lead. Fronckowiak and Oregon Episcopal traded baskets through out the period as Fronckowiak hit for 10 of the Bruins 14 points in the period, including two 3 pointers and hitting 2 of 2 from the foul line.
Leading by one, 40-39 to start the final period, the Aardvark defense held the Bruins scoreless for the first three and half minutes of the fourth period while stringing together a 9-0 run before Brad Russell got the Bruins on the scoreboard with 4:30 left in the game.
Oregon Episcopal kept up the full court press, forcing a late turnover that would lead to an Aardvark 3 pointer, and a 10 point lead that the Bruins could not recover from making Brookings-Harbor foul late to stop the clock, and force the Aardvarks to earn their points at the line, ending the Bruin 2022 season, 52-61.
