SPRINGFIELD - No one can say the Chamois Pirates didn't play the best of the best when they arrived at the Class 1 Final Four.
With Friday night's loss to second-ranked Eminence in the semifinals, Chamois had to turn around in less than 24 hours and play the North Andrew Cardinals - who entered this weekend as the No. 1 team in Class 1 - in the third-place game.
Despite getting a stellar performance from senior Aaron Brandt in his final game as a Pirate, Chamois ended its season with a 72-58 loss to North Andrew on Saturday at Hammons Student Center.
"We played hard," Chamois coach Kyle Burkett said. "We had a few breakdowns on the defensive end in the first half, but I'm proud of our effort."
Brandt finished with game-highs of 39 points and 10 rebounds. To eliminate the possibility of a scoring drought like he faced in Friday's loss, the Chamois 6-foot-6 guard wasted little time getting on the board Saturday.
Brandt made 2-of-3 free throws just 38 seconds into the game. He would finish with at least seven points in each quarter, a much different tune than waiting more than 28 minutes to score against Eminence.
"That was a big difference, obviously," Burkett said. "Whenever the best player is relevant and doing good on the offensive end, that makes us better. It lifts the spirits on the other end too."
But early shooting woes would prevent Chamois from ever having the lead in the first half. The Pirates missed a handful of layup attempts in the opening quarter, falling behind 17-13 after eight minutes.
"That definitely could have changed the course of the game," Burkett said of the missed opportunities. "We missed some chippies."
Brandt scored Chamois' first 12 points of the second quarter, each basket or pair of free throws pulling the Pirates within one possession of the lead.
"We just couldn't quite get over the hump," Burkett said. "We got into a little bit of a transition game in the first half, and they're way better at that transition game than we are. It's not our game."
North Andrew used a 7-0 run to turn a one-point lead into an eight-point cushion. Ryan Hughes, a 5-5 senior, scored the Cardinals' last six points of the first half to make the score 39-29 at intermission.
"What makes him so good is he can shoot from the outside," Burkett said of Hughes, who had 13 points in the first half and finished with 16. "So if you're not up guarding him, he can knock down the 3 ball, and he's so fast, we had a very difficult time staying in front of him."
Chamois scored eight straight points in the third quarter - which included a breakaway dunk by Brandt - to cut the North Andrew lead to 44-41 with 3:23 to go in the quarter.
Aidan DeLong answered with a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with a team-high 18 points for North Andrew, and helped push the lead back to 54-48 entering the fourth quarter.
North Andrew (29-1) started the fourth on a 10-1 run and would lead by double digits the rest of the game.
"A lot of that has to do with our depth," North Andrew coach Del Morley said of his team's late surge. " That's been something that has worked for us all year long. Not only do we have players, but we have quality players."
Brandt scored seven of Chamois' last nine points and left the court with :39 remaining after hitting a pair of free throws. He finished 12-of-23 from the field and 11-of-18 from the free-throw line.
"We've played against good players this year, and he's obviously one of the better ones," Morley said.
Brandt finished his high-school career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, milestones he reached during the district tournament.
"He can stick the ball in the hole like nobody I've ever dealt with," Burkett said. "He's put a ton of time and effort into the game. I love him to death."
Kyle Bockting also reached double figures with 10 points for Chamois (21-11), which will lose five seniors to graduation, including three starters.
"I thought it was fun and exciting," said junior Anthony Keilholz, one of Chamois' returning starters. "Even though we didn't get the outcome (we were wanting), it was still a well-worth experience."