Penns Valley boys basketball forward Zach Braucht scores 29 points in 59-39 win over Bald Eagle
Penns Valley forward Zach Braucht put in a great deal of time during the offseason to become a multifaceted basketball player.
His hard work was on display in Monday night’s 59-39 victory over Mountain League rival Bald Eagle. Braucht finished with 29 points and a bevy of flashy dunks — the first of which landed him a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
He wasn’t deterred from throwing down a few more dunks to finish his night.
“I like to believe in all of the work I put in — all of the hours,” Braucht said. “I know what I can do and I always take what the defense gives me because in a lot of games, there will be people chasing me around and stuff. So, I know if they are tight up on me, I know I can dish it to my teammates and if they’re giving me space, I can shoot it. On nights like tonight when I get lanes to the hoop, I know I can take it to the rim strong.”
Penns Valley head coach Rob Irwin was in awe of Braucht’s play. But it’s something that he’s come to expect each time he watches the 6-foot-4 senior lace up his Nikes and walk onto the court.
“He’s smart, he’s growing, he’s learning — it’s fun to see him grow and develop,” Irwin said. “He’s just really athletic and big and starting to make his teammates better, which is a really good thing to see. It’s definitely something that’s helped us for the last few games.”
Braucht got off to an early start by driving to finding open mid-range jumpers and driving to the rim for eight points to lead all scorers in the first quarter. Joining him on the stat sheet was Jackson Romig and Kyle Niewinski, who had three and two points, respectively. Blaze Angellotti had Bald Eagle’s lone two points for the Eagles to trail 13-2 at the end of the first.
Penns Valley continued to apply pressure in the second quarter and turned a number of turnovers into points. Braucht added six more points with Niewinski adding three more, Colin Niewinski adding four points and Aidan Culver with two points for a 29-12 lead at the half.
Romig added four more points in the third quarter, adding onto Braucht’s six points. Both Niewinskis finished the quarter with two points a piece and Gavin Robb netted a free throw. Burns, Alex Gavlock and Tyler Serb knocked down 3-point field goals in the third with Serb scoring a team-high six points in the quarter for a 46-26 Bald Eagle deficit.
Braucht capped off his 29-point night with nine points in the fourth quarter for the 59-39 victory. Bald Eagle head coach Kris Glunt said that his team couldn’t defend Braucht consistently throughout the game.
“We had no answer for Zach tonight — he played a tremendous game,” Glunt said. “Defensively, I thought we were a step slow. Offensively, we really struggled in the first half. I thought we did a lot better job in the second half, but we were basically trading three balls for layups and we just could not seem to find our defensive footing tonight. We couldn’t get situated right and we could do a good job of helping the guy that was defending Zach and he had a big night.”
Penns Valley 59, Bald Eagle 39
PV: Braucht 29, Romig 9, K. Niewinski 8, C. Niewinski 6, Culver 4, Brodzina 2, Robb 1
BEA: Gavlock 13, Serb 12, Burns 8, Watkins 4, Angellotti 2
First Half: 29-12, Penns Valley
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 8:54 AM.
