NASHVILLE — Opening the season at home, the Brown County Eagles ran into a defensive brick wall Tuesday night in falling to the Bedford North Lawrence 64-27.
Trailing 18-10 after the first quarter, the Eagles were unable to put the ball in the basket to start the second period, going scoreless until the 2:58 mark.
Turnovers were the theme of the night for the Eagles, facing tough defensive pressure throughout the game. The Stars forced Brown County into 23 turnovers, with 16 coming in the first half.
“They really hounded us defensively,” Brown County coach Chuck Hutchins said. “They took us out of what we wanted to do, and that turned into a lot of turnovers and transition points for them. It was just really tough for us to score.”
The Eagles were able to cut down on their turnovers throughout the second half, but the defense for the Stars kept them from converting good offensive possessions into points.
Bedford North Lawrence, after leading 30-15 at halftime, outscored the Eagles 34-12 in the second half.
Brown County was led by Noah Carter’s 11 points and Ezra Scully’s eight points.
Hutchins expressed that the Stars would be one of the toughest opponents his team would face all year and that playing a team this good early on would only benefit his team moving forward.
“We may not see another team bring that defensive heat again all year. Getting the chance to play a team like that and to go against that is only going to help us,” Hutchins said. “We’re not going to get down about it. We are going to maintain our enthusiasm moving forward.”
