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VERNON -- The Bristol Panthers capped off their regular season with a huge 76-38 victory Friday night over the Badger Braves. The win gives the Panthers (20-2) a perfect 11-0 record on the road and the fourth season with at least 20 wins under head coach Craig Giesy.
"Right off the bat I thought we had good energy," Giesy said. We made shots early and when we do that, we'll keep playing hot like we did."
The Panthers had a 28-point first quarter, finishing the half with a 44-11 lead over Badger. Leading the charge for Bristol was junior Gage Elza, putting up a career high 27 points, and Bobby Evan with 15.
"He (Elza) is a good player," Giesy said. "I think he's averaging 14 (points), 4 (assists) and 4 (rebounds). He does a lot for us, defensively does a lot. This was supposed to be his breakout year, but he got hurt and that set him back a little bit. But now that he's back, he can really fill it up."
Aiden Miller led the Braves in points (11) and used his size to his advantage, also leading the team in blocks (3). Miller was the only player for the Braves scoring in double digits. Logan Lednak was second on the team in points with nine.
"That team (Bristol) is good," Badger coach Joshua Upshire said. "Craig (Giesy) does a great job, I love coaching against him, and I think he brings out the best in us.
"Not tonight he didn't, but he does a phenomenal job with having those kids ready no matter who they're playing. They execute well, they get after you on defense. Unfortunately, the scoreboard doesn't show it, but those are the teams we need to play to get us ready for the gauntlet of this tournament."
Bristol's defensive game proved to be a crucial obstacle for the Braves to overcome. The Panthers came down with 23 rebounds, with seniors Bryan Gabrielson (5) and Evan (5) leading the team. Matt Church came down with 4 rebounds as well.
The Braves open up the Division IV sectional tournament with a home standoff against fellow Northeastern Athletic Conference school, Chalker. Bristol has a first-round bye, and faces the winner of Mathews and Ashtabula St. John at home.
"We've been doing things the last two months, trying to prepare for this tournament," Giesy said. "We're going to continue to do those things and make sure that we're playing at a high level when this tournament rolls around."