Wossman boys basketball can't go back to back falling to Brusly in LHSAA Finals
· Yahoo Sports
To close out the first day of LHSAA Boys Basketball Marsh Madness championship matchups, fans were in for treat when Wossman and Brusly took the floor.
It was a clash of two Non-Select Division II titans, and neither heavyweight was going down without a fight. In the end, No. 3 seed Brusly landed the knockout blow, beating Wossman 45-38. For the Panthers, this win marks their first state championship since 1984, and it completes their revenge tour after losing to the Wildcats in the semifinals last year.
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All game long it was neck and neck between the two squads. By halftime, momentum was still up in the air with the score knotted up at 18 points. Leading the Panthers in the first half was senior Ben Radford, who made a living in the paint. Standing at over 6-feet, Radford was ready to fly anytime he got the ball finishing the first half leading all scorers with nine points.
In the second half, Brusly senior Micah Bryant came alive despite only making one field goal in the first half. From mid-range jumpers to deep treys, Wossman had no answer for Bryant in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 12 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Radford was just as effective in the second half for the Panthers and was named the Non-Select DII state championship game MVP. He racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
While Brusly relied on its core two scorers, Wossman turned to its elite guards to make it happen. Senior Jontae Turpin was almost always the Wildcats first option and ended the first half with six points. He ended the game with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. When it wasn’t Turpin, shooting guard Roosevelt Dean was big in second-chance opportunities. The senior shooting guard went on to score 14 leading his team’s offense while also snagging five boards.
In the end, the Panthers desire for breaking their over four-decade drought was stronger than the Wildcats comeback efforts. With this loss, Wossman's bid for three championships in a row comes to an end as it closes out the 2025-26 season with a 22-8 overall record.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Brusly boys basketball beats Wossman in LHSAA Non-Select DII Finals