Brookwood advances to semi-finals

The Brookwood Warriors made a statement to the rest of GIAA 3A with a 50-point win over ninth seeded Valwood in the first round of the state playoffs on Saturday. It was a game that the Warriors dominated from start to finish, going up by double digits early on in the first quarter. This is a big win for the Warriors, who have struggled to get out of the first round of the state playoffs in recent years. “It’s a relief, that’s for sure,” said Brookwood head coach Nate VanDuyne. “It’s exciting that you did it, but on the other side it’s exciting to think about how you played. We were fantastic across the board. We had the most transition points we’ve had in a game all year (42), we talked so much about rebounding all year long and we just absolutely dominated the boards, only had five turnovers for the game, shot it lights out.” Brookwood is expected to make the state championship game, which will take place on Friday night at Columbus State University. First, however, the Warriors will have to get past the Knights of Deerfield-Windsor. This is a matchup that favors Brookwood. The Warriors have faced the Deerfield, the best team in the region behind Brookwood, three times this season and have claimed victory all three contests. The first came at the begining of the new year when Brookwood traveled to Albany on January 4. The Warriors handed the Knights their first loss of the season in a 50-24 beating that saw Deerfield score their lowest point total of the season. Their next meeting came almost a month later on February 5 when Brookwood again defeated the Knights 64-33. The two teams would meet for a third time in the region tournament in a game that was much closer. Deerfield took an early lead and held on to it into the fourth quarter. The Kights forced Brookwood to play slow, something the Warriors aren’t necessarily built for. Brookwood took over late in the game and defeated the Knights 50-42 and would go on to claim the region title. “We have to come out and take care of business,” VanDuyne said about the Warriors fourth matchup with the Knights. “We see where we need to be better and we see the changes that need to be made. This is not just an assumption that we’re going to move on becasue we’ve gone 3-0. We have to come out and we have to do the same thing we did in the first round.” The big key for this game will be pace. In the first two games the Warriors forced the Knights to play fast, something Brookwood is better at than anybody. However, it was the Knights who took an early lead an slowed the game down in their third matchup with Brookwood. An early lead and a fast pace on Wednesday will likely lead to a Brookwood victory. Deefield-Windsor enters this semifinal game with an overall record of 23- 3, with Brookwood being the only team they have lost to this season. Brookwood, meanwhile, enters this contest as heavy favorites. Waiting on the other side of the bracket is a famliar matchup. Two seed St. Andrews and three seed Lakeview Academy will face off for the second year in a row with tip off scheduled for 4:30 pm on Wednesday. This is a rematch of last year’s semi-final game that saw Lakeview win by two, 56-54. The Lions of Lakeview would go on to win the state title over Heritage. The pair also met in the 2023 playoffs with St. Andrews claiming a second round victory on their way to a state title win over Heritage.    Brookwood’s fourth matchup of the season with Deerfield-Windsor will take place on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm after St. Andrews vs Lakeview at Columbus State University.