Glenn’s ‘Beast’ Enters Magical Zone Saturday To Propel Falcons To First Sectional Title Since ‘05
John Glenn High School big man Brycen Hannah had one of those out-of-body experiences you see standout athletes have once in a while.
Hannah, nicknamed ‘The Beast’ by MAX 98.3 FM’s announcer Tony Ross, entered the magical zone against Culver Military Academy Saturday night in the Knox Sectional Championship Game. It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
With his team trailing by six points in the third quarter, Hannah went all-world, and couldn’t and wouldn’t be stopped.
It started on the first possession of the quarter when he came off a screen and buried a three-pointer from the top of the key. Swish.
It was just the beginning of the 6-foot-4 senior’s remarkable third quarter.
How remarkable?
Try a 14-point outburst in just over five minutes.
In five minutes, Hannah hit four three-pointers.
CMA had absolutely no answer for the big man from Bourbon.
That’s just how good No. 14 was.
Long-time Falcon head coach Travis Hannah, Brycen’s father, was at a loss for words when asked about his son’s magical performance.
Fighting back tears during MAX 98.3 FM’s postgame show on the court, Hannah said, “No. 14 … wow, what a quarter.”
The Glenn coach wasn’t the only one taken aback by Hannah’s third-quarter onslaught.
The crowd assembled in Knox’s Harold Weinberg Gymnasium was in awe of it as they should’ve been, too. Before CMA knew what hit it, the Falcons led by a half dozen at 43-37 with 2:51 to go in the third.
A putback by Joe Shoue and a layup by Chase Miller to end the quarter and it was pretty much game over as the Eagles never got closer than five in the final frame.
Hannah didn’t score in the fourth quarter, but he didn’t need to. Falcon junior Joe Chrapliwy did most of the heavy lifting offensively in the final eight minutes, scoring seven of his 15 points.
The 58-47 win improved Glenn’s record to 16-10 on the season as Hannah led all scorers with 27 points.
Hannah’s Sectional Championship single-game performance was one of the best in the state of Indiana as was his three-game Sectional showing.
In wins over Tippecanoe Valley, Bremen and CMA, Hannah averaged just under 20 points per game and hit 17-of-20 free throws (remember he sat almost the entire fourth quarter against Bremen).
In every sense, Hannah put his team on his back and willed them to victory.
And in so doing, delivered the Falcons their first ever Class 3A sectional title and the school’s first boys basketball sectional crown since 2005.
Now Hannah and Co. have their sights set on winning a Regional championship. They will get their shot at 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 9 South Bend Washington at South Bend Washington. Glenn beat the Panthers by 21 points back in December.
Regional aside, there’s no doubt, the communities of Walkerton and North Liberty, and all those that follow Glenn hoops will remember March 4, 2023, forever reminiscing how Brycen Hannah went off against CMA.
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