BETHALTO – The Eagles were not to be outshined by a potential record-breaking night for Jersey’s Jaxon Brunaugh.
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CM head coach Lee Green knew of the situation – Brunaugh fastly approaching the Jersey all-time scoring record – but his goal was simple; win the game.
Both of those things happened.
The Eagles got off to a fast start, opening the game on a 10-2 run and leading the whole time en route to a 66-45 win.
Brunaugh led the Panthers, as he often does, finishing the night with 12 points. That was enough to become Jersey’s all-time leading scorer with 1,489 career points.
That record was previously held by current Jersey head coach Matt Murphy.
Murphy graduated in 2012 and was the all-time leader in both points with 1,488 and rebounds with 958. He had also been a huge inspiration to a young Jaxon Brunaugh who loved coming to Jersey basketball games since he was a kid.
“I wouldn’t say it was a competition,” Brunaugh said with a smile. “It’s a little bittersweet because he’s done a lot for me, and I’ve really looked up to him. But I know he’s happy for me and he’s really supported me this whole way. Couldn’t have done it without him.”
And Murphy was indeed Brunaugh’s biggest fan.
“100 percent,” Murphy said. “To be honest, his freshman year I was helping whenever Stote [Reeder] was here, and he started getting a lot of playing time. I thought to myself, ‘Man that kid’s good at basketball, that might be the one right there.’ And a couple years later, I’m coaching him. I’m really happy for him.”
“It means a lot,” Brunaugh said on the accomplishment. “Like I said in the past, it’s nice to be cemented, hanging up on the walls in Jerseyville. But I really wanted to become more than just how many points I’ve scored. There are a lot of things that I’ve done in my career at Jerseyville, non-basketball related, that I’ve prioritized like my academic scores, my character, and the way I try to evolve and help the younger kids. That’s what I really want to be remembered for. The record is nice, but that’s not my main goal.”
“Not only is he good at basketball but he’s such a good kid from a great family,” Murphy said. “It’s awesome. It’s a good feeling for me, plus him.”
Breaking that record was unfortunately about all the Panthers had to show for Friday night at CM.
They put the first points on the board thanks to John Paul Vogel’s steal and score, but that would be Jersey’s only lead.
CM hit back-to-back three-pointers from Adam Ogden and Charlie Kilpatrick before a basket and two free throws from Riley Lamb made it 10-2. The fast start led to a 22-11 lead after the first quarter.
“We’ve been getting off to great starts,” Green said. “Against Staunton, we’re up 11-0 at the end of the first quarter. Tonight, I don’t know exactly what it was, but I think we had it in the 20s. But we’re really coming together. Ever since the Columbia tournament, we’ve been playing really well.”
It was CM’s sixth win in a row as it improved to 11-6 on the season and 2-3 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.
“Nobody’s undefeated in this conference, so we’re right there. We believe we can win games in this league,” Green said.
Other scores from around the MVC include Highland beating Mascoutah 50-43 and Triad winning over Waterloo 42-35.
CM opened the second quarter on another 10-2 run thanks to some work in the post from August Frankfort and Lamb. When they weren’t allowed a shot, they kicked it out and CM made its threes as well.
“Tuesday night, we had a bunch of threes against Staunton,” Green said. “They were taking away our inside game. Tonight we were getting both. Riley and August are really good down there. They’re big kids, but they’re still undersized post players. They play bigger than they are.”
They both led the Eagles in scoring. Frankfort finished with 17 points and Lamb scored 16. Kilpatrick added 13 points, and Ogden got nine.
The Eagles outscored Jersey 29-21 in the second half to secure the win.
“The kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now, shooting the ball well,” Green said. “They feel like they’re going to win every game. They’ve kind of got that refuse-to-lose attitude right now. We’ve been practicing extremely hard, getting after it every day, and it’s showing.”
The Panthers slip to 7-13 on the season and 0-6 in the MVC.
Brunaugh led the Panthers with 12 points. Abe Kribs added 11 and Vogel had 10.
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