By Kevin Leibrock
INDIANAPOLIS — The Brownsburg boys’ basketball team hasn’t won a game since Dec. 5, and coach Joshua Kendrick pointed to one common factor behind the recent slide — poor shooting.
That’s what doomed them again Wednesday against Perry Meridian, as the Bulldogs shot 15-for-51 from the field in a 60-44 loss to the host Falcons.
“I thought we brought some energy, but we got down because we didn’t hit baskets,” Kendrick said. “We only shot 29 percent, and that’s not going to win you many games.”
Torrey Nibbs scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs (2-7) in their fifth straight defeat. Max Landis netted a game-high 20 points to pace Perry Meridian (6-3).
Brownsburg missed its first six attempts from the floor.
The Falcons came out firing from three-point range, scoring all 12 of their first-quarter points from beyond the arc. Three of those shots came from Landis, who helped Perry Meridian build a 12-5 lead after one.
Despite their shooting woes, the Bulldogs were not out of the game in the first half. They never trailed by more than 11 points.
A steal and coast-to-coast lay-up from Alan Paddock whittled Brownsburg’s deficit to 23-18 late in the second. A Nibbs jumper just before time expired brought the Bulldogs to within a manageable 24-20 at halftime.
But a 9-0 surge by Perry Meridian to start the third quarter halted any momentum the Bulldogs had built.
“It was the game,” Kendrick said. “That run to start the third quarter was the game.”
Brownsburg committed four turnovers during that span, and finally scored its first points of the second half on a reverse lay-up by Jacob Eldridge with 5:21 to play in the third. Eldridge — one of Brownsburg’s top scorers — was held to four points.
“We’ve got to get Jacob Eldridge scoring a little bit more,” Kendrick said. “Tonight he was trying to shoot with a cast on his hand, but we’ve got to get him back in the flow offfensively.”
The Bulldogs got no closer than six points in the fourth quarter.
Brownsburg received a first-round bye in the Hendricks County Tournament, and will take on the winner of Cascade and Danville at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Danville.
kevin.leibrock@flyergroup.com
