Brewer dominates Arab to reach first Elite Eight in 52 years
HANCEVILLE — Brewer head coach Matthew Crowe was emotional thinking about what his team had just accomplished.
Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the Class 5A, Northwest Regional, Brewer dominated Arab 64-44. The win was historic as it put the Patriots in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1973, which was the school’s first year in existence.
Crowe, a Brewer graduate, knows exactly how special the victory is and how much it took to get to this point.
“It’s a testament to what these guys have done in the last three years. When I came here, these seniors were 10th graders. and they put in a lot of work — extra work — to get to this point,” Crowe said. “This means a lot to me because I’m from Brewer, but it means more to me because I know what these guys have sacrificed to get here.”
Said senior Austyn Holmes: “It’s taken us three years to get here, but from day one, Coach Crowe told us he wants a state championship. He’s instilled that confidence in us.”
The win was also special for the members of the Brewer community who descended upon Tom Drake Coliseum at Wallace State Community College on Thursday. The Patriot faithful have waited a long time to see that win.
“It was cool to have our whole surroundings be our community, people that came to support us,” said senior Cason Oden. “Brewer has a reputation historically of being not great, but our coaches and our community put a lot of faith in us. To get this win for them, it felt good.”
Arab started the game on an 8-2 run, but after that it was all Brewer.
The Patriots claimed the lead 13-10 by the end of the first quarter and outscored the Knights 18-9 in the second quarter to lead 31-19 at halftime.
Holmes led Brewer in scoring with 12 points, while Oden had 11. Dayton Wilson added 10.
Brewer will play in the Northwest Regional final Monday at 5:45. The Patriots will attempt to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.
“When you get to regionals, every team is good, so it’s going to take three hard days of practice,” Crowe said. “We’re fortunate to be here, but we don’t want to waste this opportunity.”
