After that, Ryan Brandenburg took
over.
Brandenburg, the Terror’s second-leading scorer
entering the day, struggled badly in the three previous games,
averaging only 4.3 points on 5-for-25 shooting (20
percent).
None of that really mattered to Selby, who,
Brandenburg said, gave him the “green light.”
“I told
him right there at halftime, ‘It’s showtime,’” Selby
said.
Brandenburg scored 20 of his 23 points in the
second half on 5-for-8 shooting (4-7 on 3-pointers). He made
3s on the run, 3s while uncovered and one 3 from at least 3
feet beyond the arc.
The 5-foot-9 Brandenburg even sank
an awkward, floating layup over a Bullets’ forward for his
only 2-point basket, putting the Terror up 38-34.
“It
was a game-changing performance right there,” said McDaniel
swingman Brett Foelber. “He’s small and I don’t know how he
does all that crazy stuff.”
McDaniel wouldn’t lead for
good after Brandenburg’s layup. The Terror and Bullets (6-10,
4-6) exchanged the lead seven times and tied seven times in
the second half alone.
The final tie came with 7:12 to
go on a Foelber jumper that made it 53-53. Foelber then put
McDaniel ahead 34 seconds later, 55-53, an advantage the team
held for the duration.
Behind Dan Capkin and his
career-high 27 points, Gettysburg kept coming back, drawing
within one with 5:14 remaining and within two with 36 seconds
on the clock.
But Brandenburg sealed it with a steal
and two free throws in the last 14 seconds.
It seemed
fitting that Brandenburg snapped out of his funk with a real
purpose on a day like Saturday, helping pull his team together
for a crucial win.
“We needed this,” Brandenburg said.
“We played probably together as a team today more than I’ve
seen us play the whole year. That’s what Coach Flynn would’ve
wanted and it makes it that much sweeter.”
The first
half had been marred by sloppy, forced plays rather than
patient, smart ones.
Foelber, who scored 16 points and
grabbed 12 rebounds (10 in the first half), even mused about
the number of shots he missed before settling down after the
timeout.
The Terror shot an unspectacular 42.9 percent
overall, but made seven of their last 14 shots in the first
half and bested that by shooting 60 percent (15-25) in
outscoring Gettysburg 49-40 in the last 20 minutes.
All
McDaniel seemed to need was the difficult opening minutes to
pass.
Jemar Daniel continued his recent run of steady
inside play, contributing 10 points, eight rebounds and four
blocks. His energy from the tipoff was a major factor in
preventing the game from falling out of reach.
Ryan
Finch added plenty of energy as well, running all over the
floor when his team still hadn’t found its feet in the early
going.
Chad Arrington disrupted the Gettysburg flow
with a few timely rebounds and steals. Joe Hunter served as a
calm ballhandler. Josh McKay (eight points) gave McDaniel
quality play inside and outside.
“We just realized that
we’re not going to win with individual efforts,” Daniel said.
“We’ve got to have a team effort.”
Like Flynn would’ve
wanted, Daniel said.
The Terror could’ve gone one of
two ways: They could’ve fallen apart after a tough week or
they could’ve used those emotions to their benefit, dedicating
the season to Flynn by fulfilling his goal of reaching the
postseason.
Saturday had a little of
both.
Early, their emotions proved too draining. Late,
the players gave Flynn the ultimate tribute by moving one win
closer to a conference tournament berth.
“What they’ve
been through, to win that basketball game after getting down
16-6 …,” Selby said. “It’s almost like a
storybook.”
Reach Times staff writer Josh Land at
410-857-7875 or jland@lcniofmd.com.
|
