By KEVIN HARRIS
Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com
PAOLI — Recent Providence-Brownstown games have been close, competitive contests that have gone down to the wire.
That was not the case though in the latest matchup Friday at the Class 2A Paoli Sectional semifinal.
On the strength of Taylor Wischmeier’s double-double, the top-ranked and defending state runner-up Braves ended the Pioneers’ season with a 51-33 victory. Brownstown will face Pekin Eastern in tonight’s 7:30 championship. The Musketeers downed the host Rams in Friday’s second semi, 53-51.
Wischmeier, a 6-foot-8 senior center, got the job done in the paint by recording game highs in points (21) and rebounds (12). Wischmeier shot 6-of-8 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
The Pioneers tried to contain Wischmeier by putting a man in front of him. But as a result, Wischmeier drew several fouls and played a big part in three Providence frontline players — Jacob Wethington, George Knott and Michael Griffith — fouling out. For the game, the Pioneers committed 24 fouls.
“We didn’t do anything different than we do against any post player. We always try to front the postman,” Pioneers’ head coach Lou Lefevre said. “My attitude is do what you do. That’s what we do and it could’ve worked.”
Brownstown (23-0) did most of its scoring from the stripe, making 21-of-31 foul shots. The Braves made four more free throws than the Pioneers attempted, as Providence shot 9-of-17 from the line.
“They’re not just good, but they’re smart,” Lefevre said about Brownstown. “Defensively, we did a good job, but there were too many fouls. Fouls are errors.”
The Braves were on the verge of applying the knockout to Providence (13-8) in the first half. With the score tied at 12, Brownstown reeled off 10 consecutive points to go up 22-12.
But at the 25.7-second mark in the second quarter, Wischmeier went to the bench and the Pioneers took advantage.
Providence senior Zev Crawley made a putback basket, and then teammate A.J. Schmidt connected on a 3-pointer right before the halftime horn to pull within five.
But the Pioneers could not maintain that momentum in the second half. They shot just 3-of-10 in the third quarter to trail 32-23. Then the Braves began the fourth with a 10-1 spurt to extend their lead to 18 points.
“We were in a good position at the half. We didn’t play terrific, but we were only down two baskets,” said Lefevre, whose team shot 11-of-40 for the contest (28 percent). “But the bottom line was we couldn’t get our opportunities on offense.”
Schmidt was the only Pioneer to score in double figures with 20 points, shooting 5-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-13 from the line. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
“He was aggressive and got to the line in the second half. In the first half, he hit some open shots,” Schmidt said. “He really got more aggressive this season.”
Despite the loss, Lefevre was proud of the way his young squad bounced back this season. After beginning the campaign 3-6, the Pioneers won 10 of their last 12 games.
“As a whole, it was a productive season,” Lefevre said. “At Christmas, I didn’t think we would win five or six games. I was not very hopeful.”
As for next year and years to come, the Pioneers have lots of potential. Crawley is Providence’s lone senior, meaning 12 of the 13 Pioneers will be back.
“In the future, we could potentially be a good team. But that’s only a projection,” Lefevre said. “Just being pretty good in this sectional is not going to win any championships. We have to be great, so time will tell.”
Note: In the early moments of Friday’s second semifinal, Paoli head coach Joe Hinton fainted on the sidelines. Hinton was rushed to a local hospital shortly after the fainting spell occurred. No other details were given on the former Floyd Central and Providence coach at press time.
CLASS 2A PAOLI SECTIONAL
SEMIFINAL
PROVIDENCE 8 9 6 10—33
BROWNSTOWN 10 12 10 19—51
Providence (13-8) — R. Schmidt 1, Daly 0, Duley 0, A. Schmidt 20, Very 2, Wethington 2, B. Schmidt 0, Andres 0, Knott 4, Griffith 0, Crawley 4.
Brownstown (23-0) — DeHart 0, S. Allman 11, Toppe 0, Shoemaker 2, Snodgrass 3, McCory 0, Leitzman 9, C. Allman 0, Wischmeier 21, Olson 0, Eggersman 5, Wagner 0.
3-point field goals — Providence 2 (A. Schmidt 2); Brownstown 2 (S. Allman, Snodgrass).
Rebounds — Providence 24 (A. Schmidt 8); Brownstown 26 (Wischmeier 12).
Turnovers — Providence 6, Brownstown 10.
