Brookwood falls in first round of State Basketball Playoffs

The Brookwood Warriors faced a tough loss in the first round of state playoffs on Wednesday night against the Lakeview Academy Lions, 26-57.

The Warriors started out sluggish, not scoring until three minutes were left in the first quarter. Kaden Giles was able to drain a 3-pointer, while both TJ Thomas and Levi Williams contributed two points each.

However, the Lions came out roaring, scoring 16 points.

Headed into the second quarter, the Warriors trailed 7-16.

The Warriors faced an even tougher second quarter, only scoring 4 points, while the Lions played their best quarter, amassing a huge 20 points.

Rodge Waldrop and Giles were the lone scorers for the Warriors.

Going into halftime, the Warriors needed to come up with a game-plan to overcome their 25 point deficit.

Following a pep talk from Head Coach Nate VanDuyne, the Warriors returned to the court for their best quarter yet, scoring 12 points.

Thomas led the team in the third quarter, scoring five points, while Chris May and Williams both contributed two points. Sophomore Walker Jackson also put some points on the board.

Even with a great quarter, it still wasn’t enough to beat Lakeview’s 14 points they put up.

The Warriors put up three final points by May, while Lakeveiw finished up with seven more points to add to the total.

While it wasn’t the result Van-Duyne was hoping for, he said the team has had an amazing year with a lot of highs and built a great foundation for years to come.

“I’m frustrated and disappointed by the way it ended, but big picture we grew a lot,” VanDuyne said. “Sometimes you have to look at the quality of play, and tonight we didn’t play our best, but we have a lot of youth. We’re positioned to have lasting success.”

VanDuyne went on to say that a longstanding program, like Brookwood’s basketball team, isn’t positioned to have just one great year, but should have year’s of success.

“I think for us to get 22 wins this year, even with our youth that’s a really big step and just shows we are doing something right,” he said. “Tonight, we just got beat by a better team.”

VanDuyne didn’t want the night’s loss to take away from the hard work every player has put in, especially the seniors.

“They will be greatly missed and I don’t want that to get lost in projecting the future,” he said. “They have done a phenomenal job.”

VanDuyne said he wishes them nothing but the best for them and looks forward to seeing what they do in the next chapter of their lives. For now, he and the other Warriors will continue to work hard and prepare for next year’s challenge.