The Bears’ 6-foot-5 senior scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots as Frewsburg took down nonleague Brocton, 70-59, at Frewsburg High School.

“I like seeing the ball go inside and I like seeing him finish. That’s tough to stop,” Frewsburg coach Tom Nelson said. “When he’s on and he shoots well from the foul line, it hopefully opens up some things from the perimeter, too.”

It was the continuance of a strong start to his senior year for Conlan who is now averaging 24.0 points per game in four games this season after averaging 5.3 ppg as a sophomore and 14.2 ppg as a junior.

“I think big kids take a little longer to develop,” Nelson added. “He’s worked so hard, it’s good to see it pay off.”

Frewsburg’s Brad Nelson (21) dribbles past Brocton’s Riley Rivera (24) during Friday’s nonleague basketball game at Frewsburg High School. P-J photo by Alex Shipherd

Junior Brad Nelson added 14 points, including 12-for-12 shooting from the free throw line, and six assists while fellow junior Aaron Hair had 12 points, six rebounds and two steals for the Bears (2-2, 0-1 CCAA Division 1 West).

Senior Ronald “Bubba” Brown led the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1 CCAA Division 2 West) with 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals while senior Darien Booker added 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.

“One thing I love about this team is our depth. Darien Booker, it wasn’t an easy job for him to guard Conlan. … I think most guys on our team contributed and added value to our team,” Brocton coach Collin Mulcahy said. ” … This team beat us pretty badly in the playoffs last year. … To only lose by 11 tonight, I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

Playing without 6-foot-6 senior Dylan Pearson who was injured early in Wednesday’s game at Fredonia, the Bears struggled on the glass as Brocton won the rebounding battle, 28-21, but 18 turnovers were the Bulldogs’ undoing.

“Hats off to Frewsburg. They played great defensively. They are long and they’re athletic. They have a lot of great athletes that are getting hands in the passing lanes,” Mulcahy said. “It’s just something we have to clean up and fix going forward.”

Frewsburg's Nolan Brink (5) takes the ball to the basket as teammate Quinn Conlan (31) looks on. P-J photo by Alex Shipherd

Conlan scored nine points in the opening quarter and Hair added six on a pair of 3-pointers as Frewsburg took a 19-8 lead. The quarter was capped by a Conlan three-point play with 1:32 remaining.

The Bears’ lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Mulcahy was coaxed into a timeout after Nelson found Conlan for his second bucket of the quarter. The break did little to slow Frewsburg, which scored on its next five possessions to go up 36-18 on a Nolan Brink transition bucket. With under a minute to play in the half, sophomore Trayden Gray nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key allowing the hosts to take a 39-21 lead into the locker room.

“Coming out of halftime, I told these guys ‘Just chip away at this team. Take it one possession at a time and make them take tough shots,'” Mulcahy said. ” … That meant getting Brad out of a rhythm, not getting the ball inside to Conlan where he could just dominate us down low.”

The Bulldogs played their best basketball of the night in the third quarter and used a 10-2 run capped by a Booker bucket to close the gap to 10 points. After Conlan scored to push it back up to 12, Brown hit a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining in the period to get it within single digits.

“We have to play smarter. … It’s not like ‘Hoosiers’ where you have to pass four times before you shoot, but just be smart,” Coach Nelson said. “We don’t need to throw the long passes. We can just run the offense and take what comes. Don’t force it.”

Booker again made it a nine-point game early in the fourth quarter, but Brocton then hit a cold spell during which it went 0 for 7 with three turnovers, allowing the Bears to push the lead back up to a comfortable 18. The Bulldogs eventually got within seven on a Caleb Chelton 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining, but Frewsburg hit 13 of 18 free throws — Nelson made all eight of his attempts — in the final period to put the game away.

“I think there should be a stat for how you shoot down the stretch of the game,” Coach Nelson said. “A lot of guys are good foul shooters early, and then when the end of the game comes their collar gets a little tight.”

NOTES: Frewsburg was 21 of 46 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, to go along with 25-of-33 shooting at the charity stripe. … Brocton was 17 of 56, including 5 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc, to go along with 20-of-28 shooting at the foul line. … Frewsburg won the jayvee game, 54-36. Zack Carr led the Bears with 16 points, Connor Murray added 14 and Aidan Cardone had 10. David Caron and Ryan Laurito each had 9 points for the Bulldogs.

BROCTON (59)

Chelton 2 3 9, Booker 5 6 16, Morello 0 0 0, Brown 6 6 20, Steward 0 2 2, Burns 0 0 0, Dispense 0 0 0, Rivera 2 1 5, Weaver 1 0 3, Putcher 0 2 2, McFadden 1 0 2, Planty 0 0 0. Totals 17 20 59.

FREWSBURG (70)

Brink 2 1 5, Carr 1 0 2, Gray 1 0 3, Dustin 0 0 0, Nelson 1 12 14, Reinagel 0 4 4, Hayes 0 0 0, Hair 4 2 12, Conlan 12 6 30. Totals 21 25 70.

3-point goals–Chelton 2, Brown 2, Weaver, Gray, Hair 2.

Brocton 8 21 21 9 — 59

Frewsburg 19 20 14 17 — 70

Jayvees: Frewsburg won, 54-36.