By Bart Moss / For the FCT

The disappointment could clearly be seen on the faces of Mason Bragwell and Brant Bragwell in the post-game press conference. They didn’t expect their season to end this way – or this soon.

After building a seven-point lead early in the third quarter, everything began to unravel on the Bulldogs. It all ended in a 66-51 loss to R.A. Hubbard at the Northwest Regionals.

“It stinks,” said Mason Bragwell. “We just didn’t do what we needed to do in the second half.” Brant Bragwell echoed his teammate, “This was not the way we wanted it to end. We came out too relaxed in the second half, and it hurt us.”

Belgreen had fallen behind much earlier. The Chiefs jumped out to an 11-5 lead early in the first quarter. After a timeout, the Bulldogs seemed to regain their composure and rallied to cut R.A. Hubbard’s lead to 17-15 at the end of the quarter.

“We started slow, but we played hard and did a good job of battling back,” said Belgreen coach Clint Isbell.

The Bulldogs and Chiefs swapped baskets for much of the second quarter before Belgreen scored the last five points of the half to take a three-point lead at halftime, 33-30.

The Bulldogs continued their run early in the third quarter, pushing their lead to seven points, 37-30, capping off a 9-0 run.

After that, however, it was all R.A. Hubbard. The Chiefs went on a 16-1 run to close the third quarter and take a 46-38 lead. They continued their run into the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 16 points, 54-38, with six minutes to go in the game.

From there, the Chiefs shot free throws much of the rest of the game, winning easily.

“I think we got too relaxed early in the third quarter,” said Isbell. “We expected them to come out and pressure us in the second half, but they didn’t initially – then they did, and I think it caught us off guard. The game got physical, and we didn’t get some calls I thought should have gone our way.”

R.A. Hubbard coach Sonny Conwill said he wasn’t pleased with his team’s start but was happy with how his team adjusted.

“I didn’t think we played well in the first quarter,” explained Conwill. “We miss some early shots and made some turnovers. We made some adjustments at halftime and tightened up our defense.

“We played a lot of people, and we play fast. I think it just created fatigue, which worked to our advantage.”

The Chiefs’ pressure forced 26 Belgreen turnovers in the game. It also affected the Bulldogs’ shooting. Belgreen shot 57 percent from the field in the first half but just 29 percent in the second half.

Mason Bragwell led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Eli Hiser followed with 10 points. Jacob Mayberry finished the game with nine points, Brant Bragwell with six points, Seth Taylor with five points, Peyton Scott two points and Caleb Pinkard two points.