The score of the Engineers' meeting with visiting Freire Charter was 42-29. Not at halftime. After all 32 not-exactly titillating minutes.
The stands were filled to roughly 85 percent of capacity. All those spectators truly stirred just once, when E & S guard Sibley Robinson made a steal and scampered three-quarters' court for a layup that provided a 16-12 lead.
Otherwise? Mostly zzzzzzzz.
"Coach Brown doesn't like a lot of threes and crazy jump shots," said Brandon Brown, who's no relation to C.M., a k a Charlie. "He's really strict about moving the ball around to get high-percentage shots, mostly in the paint if we can. We're looking for high-lows or post-ups.
"After we take our time on offense, we really play defense. We try to keep teams in the 30s."
In time, Brandon was describing his role with the team.
"Um, to rebound, to post up and to pump-fake," he said.
So exciting!
He added: "I'm also one of the captains. I have to make sure to lift the guys' spirits if we're down for any reason."
Brown and varsity ball go 'way back. He first surfaced as a freshman and even owned a starting job as a soph. Well, briefly.
"I lost my spot after the first few games," he said. "I didn't know how to play offense and defense the way coach wanted me to. I didn't take my time enough.
"I can't say I was that disappointed. The guy who took my place was a senior, so that was OK. Seniors usually are the main guys on teams, anyway. Plus, I knew I had 2 years left. When I got to 11th grade, I knew exactly what I had to do, and I got my starting job back."
