Garnet Valley boys basketball players pose with Mike Brown, center, after his 200th career coaching win Thursday night, a 32-29 decision over previously unbeaten Penncrest. (DFM Photo)
By Matthew DeGeorge
Some basketball games come down to who has the ball last.
Thursday’s meeting between Central League front-runners Penncrest and Garnet Valley was about whose lengthy scoring drought would last.
Brady Krautzel’s steal and layup with 17 seconds left in regulation marked Garnet Valley’s first points of the fourth quarter, but it was enough to guide them to a 32-29 victory at the Kauffman Gymnasium, the 200th win in coach Mike Brown’s career and the first loss of the season for the Lions.
Krautzel’s finger roll ended a scoring drought of 11 minutes, 28 seconds for the Jaguars (13-3, 8-2 Central), from the point at which they had taken a 29-13 lead midway through the third quarter. That edge was possible because Penncrest’s offense blinked out for 8:42, from a halftime deficit of 22-13 to Theo Gladue’s 3-pointer with 1:03 left in the third.
Call it a game of runs, albeit a photo negative version.
“Teams always go hot and cold, so we definitely had a cold stretch,” Krautzel said. “But we trust every guy on our team to knock down a shot when needed, to come up clutch. So there was never any stress. We knew we just had to play our ball and finish out how we do.”
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