Bruins fall to Annandale in Regular-Season Finale; Playoffs Ahead

It wasn’t the game Lake Braddock wanted to have going into the playoffs.

With the No. 2 seed in the Patriot District already in hand, the game Friday night at Annandale was for pride, more than anything.

“(But) we weren’t trying to lose, so it doesn’t matter if it was the two seed or the three seed, we were trying to win,” said Bruins’ coach Brian Metress.

However, that’s the way it worked out, as Lake Braddock couldn’t contain Annandale’s Karl Ziegler (35 points) and D’Angelo Boyce (26) en route to a 75-65 loss.

“If they can get their two main guys going, Ziegler and Boyce, they’re awful tough to beat,” said Metress. “We would have preferred to have won, but they’re a good basketball team. If anything, it makes us pay attention more.”

The teams traded the lead throughout the first half, but the Atoms finally took hold of the game for good when Ziegler put back an offensive rebound with 3:30 to play in the second quarter to make it 23-22. That play kicked off a 9-0 Annandale run that made it 30-22 just 90 seconds later. Lake Braddock closed the gap to 33-28 before the half.

“They’re one of the better teams in our league, we’re one of the better teams in our league,” Metress said. “We knew it was going to be a battle.”

Ziegler had 14 points in the half, but he hadn’t even gotten hot yet.

Six straight points midway through the third quarter from Matt Zanellato and Bob Freedman tied the game briefly at 36, but Ziegler had a hand in the next seven Annandale points, and the Bruins couldn’t match their spurt. The key play was a kick-out from Ziegler to Boyce, who nailed a 3-pointer to make it 43-36.

Annandale stretched its lead to eight when Ziegler hit a three of his own to open the fourth quarter.

“Their two guys were premier tonight, and we just couldn’t control them,” Metress said.

Annandale got ahead by as much as 14, but the Bruins had one last rally. With Ziegler on the bench after a freak accident while diving for a loose ball near midcourt left him with a chipped tooth, a bloody nose and a gash above his left eye, Corey Bonds, Ibrahim Wehelie and Brendan McHale tossed in a few shots that cut the Atoms’ lead to 66-61.

But it really was Ziegler’s night, as he re-entered the game with 40 seconds to go, and proceeded to nail six free throws in a row to boost Annandale’s advantage back to 72-63.

Freedman, who led the Bruins with 18 points, thought his team came out a little flat. But he was already looking forward to the tournament’s second round, when the teams would meet again if the seeding accurately predicts the match-up.

“I can’t wait to play them again. I think we can beat ‘em,” he said.

Lake Braddock plays West Springfield on Tuesday in the opening game of the district tournament. The Bruins downed the Spartans by more than 20 points in each game this season.