Muncie, Ind – Before the Delta Eagles and Muncie Central Bearcats competed at the Muncie Central Fieldhouse Saturday evening, Delta head coach Mark Detweiler approached Bearcats’ head coach Justin Ullom.
“I told coach Ullom before the game that [the Bearcats] are close to turning the corner,” Detweiler said.
He wasn’t totally wrong as the Bearcats (1-5) gave everything they had to knock down the visiting Eagles (6-1). However, after having to play an extra period of basketball, the blue and gold held on to find the win column, defeating the purple and white 49-46.
“It was a good time,’’ Delta junior Lucas Bragg said. “It was the most fun I've ever had playing basketball in my life.”
The game did not start in the favor of the blue and gold as the Bearcats jumped out to a 10-6 lead. For the rest of the first half, the two teams used great defense to force bad shots and other mistakes. To Detweiler, it’s what he expected as the Bearcats led 19-17 at halftime.
“It was typical Muncie Central - Delta basketball,” Detweiler said. “It was ugly basketball… There's no other way to describe it. We bring out the worst in each other as far as execution.”
Coming out of the break, Delta went on a 6-0 run to steal the lead. Ullom said in the last few games, this is where the Bearcats’ main issues began.
“About that three games ago, when we went down eight, it'd have [turned] into 14,” he said.
That wasn’t the case tonight. The Bearcats answered with a run of their own and forced the Eagles to play their best basketball. Heading into the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the blue and gold trailed 41-37.
But at the 1:24 mark, sophomore Lucas Brag – who led the Eagles with 16 points and scored 14 of those in the second half and overtime – attempted a 3-pointer and was fouled. The ball found the bottom of the net, and after hitting the foul shot, it was a tied game at 41-41.
"It was honestly probably the biggest moment that I've had so far in my career,” Bragg said. “...It gave me confidence.”
After the Bearcats tied the game once again at the end of regulation, the two teams returned to the court for overtime. With a successful 3-pointer from senior Cooper Bratton, a costly foul on the Bearcats and clutch free throw shooting from the Eagles, Delta celebrated as the blue and gold took home their fifth-straight victory.
“We've played Delta basketball our whole lives,” Bratton said. “It's something we've always lived for, and finally being here on the big stage, it's a cool experience.”
Behind Brag were seniors Jordan Furney and Bronson Edwards who had 13 and 11 points. For Muncie Central, junior Shemar Taylor led the Bearcats with 21. To Ullom, Taylor has been doing everything the team has asked of him.
“Shrmar is really playing well, and he plays hard and he attacks the paint,” Ullom said. “He's learning how to play that two-guard position, and when it's time for him to take the shot and make it play, he does it.”
The Eagles will return to the court when they host the Delta Holiday Classic Dec. 27-28. They will face Fort Wayne South at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 27. For the tournament, Detweiler wants to see more complete bench play as he believes it will help prepare them for the rest of the season.
“We've gotta have our bench grow… but they're also young,” Detweiler said. “...For the tournament, we need to be able to go deeper in our rotation. I think it'll be a good opportunity for us.”
The Bearcats will also compete in the Eagles’ event and will face Columbia City at noon on the same day.
While Detweiler told Ullom his team was almost there before the contest, Ullom knows it, and now he wants his team to take the next step.
“We gotta figure out how to play those last four minutes,” Ullom said. “...I love our resilience to come back and we had freshmen make a couple of free throws. That's hard to do after a couple of turnovers. But again, our guys played hard and they all played well.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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