Athenians season closes with loss to Braves

CHS senior Alec Saidian led the Athenians with 19 points.

Susan Ehrlich/Journal Review Photo

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 25 FIRST ROUND

Brebeuf Jesuit 12 17 24 19 — 72

Crawfordsville 14 7 9 16 — 46

BREBEUF (14-8): Chase Edmundson 2-3 0-0 5, Nick Sobek 7-14 4-9 19, Manny Smith 2-2 0-0 5, Jacob Strickland 3-11 0-0 7, Austin Ford 7-14 1-1 18, Jayden Washington 2-8 0-0 4, Christian Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Cooper Sherman 0-0 0-0 0, Ben McKinney 2-2 2-4 6, James Clark 1-2 1-2 3, Chace Ford 1-3 2-2 4, Malachi Lesnet 0-3 1-2 1; Totals 27-65 11-20 72.

CRAWFORDSVILLE (6-17): Cohen McClamroch 0-0 0-0 0, Mason McCarty 5-20 3-4 16, Jason Minnette 1-1 0-0 3, Johnovan Smith 0-5 1-2 1, Jantzen Thayer 0-0 0-0 0, Nolan Watt 0-0 0-0 0, Alec Saidian 9-15 0-2 19, Andrew Hurt 0-0 0-0 0, Rowan Gambrel 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Lee 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson Wireman 2-2 1-2 7, Landon Gerold 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 17-47 5-10 46.

3-Point Shooting: Brebeuf 7-26 (Ford 3, Edmundson, Sobeck, Smith, Strickland). CHS 6-16 (McCarty 3, Wireman 2, Saidian, Minnette).

Rebounds: Brebeuf 43 (Strickland 9), CHS 23 (McCarty 7).

Turnovers: Brebeuf 6, CHS 14

FRANKFORT — Crawfordsville boys basketball dropped their sectional opener on Wednesday 72-46 to Brebeuf Jesuit.

The Athenians entered Class 3A Sectional No. 25 at Frankfort as an underdog with a 6-16 record against a field that featured five teams with winning records, including the Braves who pushed their record to 14-8 and will play Guerin Catholic today.

Crawfordsville fell behind 8-1 in the first three minutes of the game, but responded with a 13-4 run to close the first quarter and take a 14-12 lead behind a half-court heave from sophomore Jason Minnette as time expired.

Mason McCarty then hit a three to start the second quarter to put the Athenians ahead 17-12.

“I was proud of the guys competitiveness,” Crawfordsville coach David Pierce said. “I felt like they came to compete.”

The 17-12 early second quarter lead for Crawfordsville quickly disappeared with Brebeuf going on an 11-0 run and holding the Athenians over five minutes without scoring to build a 28-21 halftime advantage.

Brebeuf’s biggest advantage was turning Crawfordsville turnovers into points and cashing in on second-chance opportunities.

“Unfortunately we gave up too many offensive rebounds and struggled hitting shots,” Pierce said.

The Braves scored 25 points off 14 Crawfordsville turnovers and turned 18 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.

Brebeuf outscored Crawfordsville 24-9 in the third quarter to put the game away. Nick Sobek led the Braves with 19, while Austin Ford added 18. Brebeuf shot 27-of-65 for the game, including 16-of-30 in the second half.

Alec Saidian, who gave the Athenians a spark all season, led the way with 19 points. McCarty added 16 as Crawfordsville shot just 36% (17-47) from the field.

Crawfordsville will graduate just two seniors in Saidian and Jantzen Thayer.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors,” Pierce said. “Jantzen had an important role on our team and saw it through to the end. Alec, our guys were genuinely bummed after the game, realizing he’s gone. Alec was a a great leader and friend, and made this season super enjoyable.”