PARIS – Ben Franzen took a pain pill near the end of Thursday’s game against Paris.
“Because I feel like my head’s going to pop off,” Bishop Brossart’s boys basketball coach said.
Franzen and the Mustangs eventually felt better. They won the boys 10th Region All “A” title, 74-62, at Earl Redwine Gymnasium.
Thursday was Brossart’s first small-school title since 2020.
“I don’t think there was a lot of pressure,” Brossart senior Logan Woosley said. “I think it was like a relief.”
Thursday’s win was also Brossart’s 16th All “A” regional win in school history.
“We’re all well aware of the history,” senior Luke Schumacher said. “It’s a tradition that we need to uphold; we knew that coming in.”
There were at least five reasons Brossart had reason to celebrate all the way to Alexandria. Woosley led the Mustangs with 20 points, Luke Schumacher had 13, Brandon Bezold contributed 12, Anthony Kruse pitched in 11 and Mason Sepate added 10, all five of them seniors.
Brossart (12-4) has been playing some of its best basketball of late – the Mustangs are riding a five-game winning streak and are 7-1 over their last eight.
That Paris was even in the finals was impressive – Greyhounds coach Shawn Ransom wasn’t hired until July.
“We didn’t get any summer ball with these guys,” Ransom said. “And then, half our team’s playing football; our football team goes deep in the playoffs. A two-month span, to tell me we’re coming out, we’re playing for a 10th Region Class A title, I couldn’t be happier as a coach.”
The Mustangs and Greyhounds started slowly – there were two ties and three lead changes in the first four-plus minutes. Anthony Kruse’s bucket gave Brossart a 6-4 lead.
“We knew it was going to be a tough fight,” Woosley said. “We just had to come in and do what we do and get the job done … Get to the basket quick, play good hard defense, not let (Paris) get to the basket.”
Paris (9-10) bounced back, 7-6 on Christian Blackwell’s bucket. Brossart (12-4) countered with buckets from Sepate, Alex Combs and Keegan Gulley on the way to a 13-9 lead after one quarter.
The Greyhounds opened the second stanza with a 6-3 mini-run on two points from Kaden Fredrick, a Malachi Ashford 3 and Jakari Ransom’s free throw. The result: Paris trailed by just 16-15.
Ransom led Paris with 19 points, and Ashford added 18.
You could’ve summarized Brossart’s strategy the rest of the quarter in a single word: attack.
A 71-second stretch was illustrative: two Sepate field goals, Kruse’s one and two Woosley free throws gave the Mustangs a 22-15 lead.
The third quarter, Brossart pulled away – the Mustangs’ 19-6 outburst turned into a 53-32 lead.
Brossart meets the 14th Region representative at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena.
As the Mustangs busied themselves with posing for pictures and cutting down a net, Franzen decided whatever ailed him earlier was gone.
“I think (the medicine) kicked in,” Franzen said. “It feels better. It feels better.”
BISHOP BROSSART 13 21 19 21 – 74
PARIS 9 16 12 25 – 62
Bishop Brossart (74) — Kruse 11, Woosley 20, Bezold 12, Sepate 10, Gulley 4, Combs 4, Schumacher 13. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Woosley 2, Bezold). FT: 15-21. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Woosley.
Paris (62) — Murrell 3, Alcorn 7, Ashford 18, Ransom 19, Frederick 6, Blackwell 9. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Ashford 2, Alcorn). FT: 19-31. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Ransom.