Antonio Harris’ only bucket of the night could not have come at a better time. The junior guard hit a three-pointer from right in front of the Brebeuf student section at the 3:19 mark of the fourth quarter to nudge the Braves ahead of Hamilton Southeastern 57-55, a lead that their defense would make stand up, defeating the Royals 59-56 and capturing their first win of the season after two near-misses. Following Harris’ dagger, Brebeuf’s ball-handling shortened the game, with a single possession that dribbled over two minutes off the clock. Both teams missed shots, and with 11 seconds left, HSE- a much taller team than Brebeuf (something we’ll say a lot this season)- got one of their rare offensive rebounds of the night, putting their leading scorer, senior forward Landon Osswald on the line with 11 seconds left. Osswald is an 83% free throw shooter, and he drilled the first one. 57-56. Osswald had scored all 9 HSE points in the fourth, and one more would tie the game. Then, a funny thing happened. Especially when you consider that Allen Glunt’s Brebeuf team could easily be 2-0 with wins over Ohio powerhouse St. Xavier (an overtime loss) and 3A #1 Cathedral (whom Brebeuf hasn’t beaten since Coach Glunt was playing middle school ball, but hung with in a nine-point loss last week). Osswald missed. Whaddaya know? Chace Ford was fouled after the rebound, and calmly hit both free throws for the final margin. It was second win over HSE in the past three seasons for Brebeuf, and a great way for the Braves to reintroduce themselves to an old friend, HSE’s new coach Bobby Allen, hired away from Guerin Catholic in the offseason. Coach Allen’s Golden Eagles ended each of Coach Glunt’s first three Braves teams’ seasons in the sectional round, so it was at least a speck of basketball karma for the Brebeuf coach to have the winning grip in the handshake line after this hard-fought win. The Braves have a short turnaround before hosting Beech Grove tomorrow night, weather permitting. Leave the house early to make sure you’re at Brebeuf for the 7:30 tip. Consider bringing a snow shovel. Go Braves!