Elkhart Christian pulls off upset of Bremen
BREMEN — Maybe it was being down two players, including a starter, or the emotional drain of last week’s two conference wins finally catching up to them, or maybe it was just catching an opponent on a hot night while using a junk defense. It could have been all of the above, but what it amounted to was the Bremen High School boys basketball team taking a 59-41 non-conference loss to Elkhart Christian Academy Tuesday night at the Lions’ Den to snap a three-game winning streak.
With Bremen starting point guard Trevor Devine not in the lineup due to injury, ECA went to a defense that is not used much. In fact, they had not ever used it.
“I was thinking about using it, then I found out that (Devine) was out so that made me think a little more strongly about it,” said ECA head coach Chad Hibbard about the diamond-and-two his team employed where they defended standouts Carson Miller and Tony Hardin man-to-man while the other three Eagles played zone.
The move frustrated the Bremen pair and held them way below their scoring averages with Hardin finishing with 10 points, seven in the second half, and Miller finishing with just seven and none in the fourth quarter.
“Honestly, we didn’t practice ( the diamond- and- two),” added Hibbard, whose team moves to 3-4 while Bremen is now 6-3. “We talked about it and set up responsibilities. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys and how well they executed it. I’m super proud of them. From scouting Bremen, (Hardin and Miller) are fantastic players. They still got some points, but we tried to make it hard on them. Our mindset was to make the other guys be the ones to beat us.”
The Lions’ Dawson Hickman was a bright spot, hitting two 3s as part of a 17-point effort, but Bremen mustered only seven other total points.
“(Hickman) played very well for them,” Hibbard said. “He stepped up, but we got enough stops.”
The lead was tied three times in the first quarter, and Bremen led 14-13 heading into the second period. The game remained tight halfway through the next stanza, but a 7-0 run to end the frame, including a 3 at the buzzer, put the Eagles ahead by eight at the break, 29-21.
The lead reached as high as 13 twice in the third quarter before Bremen closed with a 9-0 spurt, led by five from Hardin, to close withing four, then Hickman’s put-back to start the fourth period pulled the hosts within two.
“Give them credit. They came back,” Hibbard said. “I’m proud of how our guys kept their composure though. You can’t get separation without stops. We strung together consecutive stops and we tried to spread them out.”
A 9-0 run by the Eagles pushed the lead back to 47-36 and Bremen only scored five more points the rest of the way, while ECA may have played its best of the night the final six minutes, pulling away with a 21-point quarter.
“We haven’t been playing as well as we are capable,” admitted Hibbard. “This was a big night for us offensively. Guys were trusting each other better and not forcing contested shots. We have a lot of talent, but we haven’t played smart this season. We did this time.”
Matthew Elmerick led the Eagles in scoring with 18 points.
“He did a fantastic job of driving,” Hibbard said of his senior guard. “His decision-making was so good when he got by his guy. He took open shots or hit the open guy.”
Noah Hunt was also in double figures with 13. Starter Matt Burns was a scratch due to injury.
Bremen returns to Northern Indiana Conference play for its next game, Friday at Elkhart.
• ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 59, BREMEN 41 At Bremen
Elk. Chr. 13 29 38 59
Bremen 14 21 34 41
ECA: Jacob Becker 2 0-0 5, Matthew Elmerick 7 2-2 18, Bryce Courson 2 0-0 6, Bryce Schrock 0 0-0 0, Sam Frost 0 0-0 0, Tony Maxwell 0 0-0 0, Aiden Hibbard 1 0-0 3, Noah Hunt 5 3-5 13, Andrew Stevens 4 0-0 8, Beau Cox 0 0-0 0, Aaron Buckles 3 0-0 6. TOTALS: 24 5-7 59. BREMEN: Ethan Nunemaker 0 0-0 0, Tony Hardin 4 0-0 8, Zach Czarnecki 0 0-0 0, Dawson Hickman 7 1-2 17, Brady Ginter 0 0-0 0, Ty Feldman 2 0-0 4, Connor Hundt 0 0-0 0, Carson Miller 2 2-2 7. TOTALS: 16 3-4 41. 3-pointers: Bremen 6 (Hardin 2, Hickman 2, Devine, Miller), ECA 6 (Elmerick 2, Courson 2, Becker, Hibbard). Fouls (fouled out): Bremen 11 (none), ECA 11 (none).
Records: Bremen 6-3, ECA 3-4
JV score: ECA 42, Bremen 39