Zach Braucht’s buzzer beater earns Penns Valley basketball a win over Mifflin County
Zach Braucht was held to five points in Friday night’s Penns Valley boys’ basketball senior night game against Mifflin County, but he had the three most important ones.
The junior caught the inbound pass on the left wing with 1.6 seconds on the clock and quickly contorted his body toward the hoop, lifting off the ground at the same time.
He released his shot with less than a second remaining and watched as it splashed through the hoop with the final buzzer sounding to give the Rams the 40-37 win over the Huskies.
Penns Valley head coach Rob Irwin said Braucht’s unselfishness throughout the game shows the type of player he is.
“He battled the whole night,” Irwin said. “I thought he was very unselfish tonight. He created things defensively that were huge for us.”
Both teams came out in a zone defense and it was Mifflin County that first cracked the opponents.
The Huskies jumped on the Rams early in the game, scoring the first nine points on their way to a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. They beat the Rams’ zone with shots from deep and stayed staunch on the other end of the court to prevent Penns Valley from getting any penetration and easy buckets.
The tide turned at the start of the second quarter. The Rams outscored the Huskies 15-2 in the second eight minutes of action on the back of their defense and their offensive work inside. They used Braucht to create space inside for senior John Aston and the rest of the team.
Braucht drew the focus of the defense on offense and created openings when he drove inside and found Aston multiple times down low for shots under the rim on the team’s run to a 20-16 halftime lead. Braucht’s presence made an impact in that sense and was part of what helped the Rams gain the lead.
“Teams know that he’s one of our guys,” Irwin said. “If we can use that to our advantage, that’s great. We can use that to get guys involved. ... I think it was just patience that helped in the second quarter. We are so eager to be successful that we just need to slow down a little bit at the beginning of the game.”
The Rams maintained a lead in the third quarter, taking a 30-24 edge into the game’s final quarter. They went back and forth with the Huskies until late in the fourth quarter when the Rams drained the clock down to 7.4 seconds before the Huskies began fouling to force them to inbound the ball.
The final foul came with 1.6 seconds on the clock. That’s what led to Braucht’s game winner.
The junior hit the final shots but the team’s three seniors — Aston, Collin Emel and Caleb Narber — led the way in the game. The trio combined for 20 points in the senior night victory, including 10 from Aston.
“Narber stepped up and hit a big shot for us when we needed it,” Irwin said. “Emel hit a couple buckets early. John is just a presence in the paint, always battling, working his butt off from start to finish.”
The win pushes the Rams to 3-3 on the season with a matchup with Mountain League foe Philipsburg-Osceola ahead Tuesday night.
Penns Valley 40, Mifflin County 37
(Friday at Spring Mills)
Mifflin County 21 12 22 11 — 66
Penns Valley 6 10 8 8 — 32
Mifflin County
Owen Wise 0 (5) 0-0 15, Cade Penepacker 2 3-4 7, Cole Knable 2 2-2 6, Jayden Jackson 3 0-1 6, Ty Felmlee 0 3-3 3.
Penns Valley (3-3)
Aston 4 2-2 10, Logan Crater 2 (1) 0-1 7, Emel 2 (1) 0-0 7, Kyle Niewinski 2 2-2 6, Braucht 1 (1) 0-2 5, Narber 0 (1) 0-0 3, Aidan Culver 1 0-0 2.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 11:19 PM.
