Nate Brede leads Wesclin to Mascoutah Tip-Off Classic title
The youngest member of the Wesclin Warriors’ senior-dominated lineup, Nate Brede, found his shooting touch at just the right time Friday at Mascoutah High School.
A 6-foot-6 junior forward, Brede scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors clinched the Inaugural Mascoutah Tip-Off Classic title with a 55-44 win over Cahokia Conference rival Columbia.
Top-ranked in the News-Democrat small-school poll, Wesclin (4-0) led only 42-38 following a layup by Eagles senior Jordan Holmes early in the fourth quarter. But after Columbia coach Mark Sandstrom was whistled for a technical foul, the Warriors took over the game.
Brede made the two technical foul free throws, and on the Warriors next possession, senior Justin Kellogg hit a layup to increase the lead to 46-38. When Brede made his third 3-point basket of the game 20 seconds later, Wesclin had a 49-38 lead with just under four minutes remaining.
“Nate (Brede) has always been the youngest of this group of players, and he’s been a little hesitant at times,” Wesclin coach Brent Brede said. “He’s got to become more aggressive on the offensive end of the court because he has the ability to score.
Hunter Ottensmeier chipped in with 13 points, and Brandon Courtney added 12 for the Warriors, who turned a 13-11 lead after one quarter into a 28-21 advantage at halftime.
Holmes, who led all scorers with 23 points, hit a pair of jumpers in the third quarter and scored five quick points early in the fourth quarter to draw his team close.
But Nate Brede took over.
“It’s always good to start the season 4-0,” Brent Brede said. “We have some things to work on, but I thought we played a better as the tournament went on this week.”
Columbia | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | — | 44 |
Wesclin | 13 | 15 | 12 | 15 | — | 55 |
Columbia (44):
Jordan Holmes 24, Cole Khoury 7, Brennen van Breusegen 7, Jon Peterson 4, Riley Hubler 2.
Totals:
FG-18 (5 3-point FG) FT-3/9 PF-17.
Wesclin (55):
Nate Brede 19,Brandon Courtney 12,Hunter Ottensmeier 12,Mick Stephens 7,Justin Kellogg 5.
Totals:
FG-18 (4 3-point FG) FT-15/26 PF-13.
Nashville 63, Mascoutah 49
Sophomore Carson Parker scored a career-high 21 points as the Hornets claimed the second-place trophy with a 14-point win over the host Indians.
Displaying their trademark stellar defense, the Hornets contained the Indians’ guards to take a six-point lead at halftime. With Parker and junior Bryson Bultman (17 points) providing much of the offense, the Hornets (2-2) pulled away in the final period.
“This is a nice win ... a nice team win against a very athletic (Mascoutah) team,” Nashville coach Wayne Harre said. “We’re a very young basketball team, and we really are playing a lot of young kids. But to finish 2-2, we’ll take that. We would rather have been 3-1 or 4-0, but 2-2 isn’t bad. We’ve got a lot to work, and we’ll get back at in Monday.”
Junior Malik Green led Mascoutah (2-2) with 19 points, while Jaydon Stewart added 10 points.
Nashville | 13 | 13 | 16 | 21 | — | 63 |
Mascoutah | 12 | 8 | 13 | 16 | — | 49 |
Nashville (63):
Carson Parker 23, Bultman 17, Jake Haley 8, Cameron Parker 6, M. Anderson 5, Pelczynski 4.
Totals:
FG-22 (3 3-point FG) FT-16/20 PF-14.
Mascoutah (49):
Green 19, Stewart 11, Weiss 7, Johnson 4, Andrews 2, Cooley 2, Jowett 2, Jung 2.
Totals:
FG-18 (4 3-point FG) FT-9/13 PF-21.
This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Nate Brede leads Wesclin to Mascoutah Tip-Off Classic title."