What had been a two-score game late into the third quarter turned into a 56-41 home loss for Bradley-Bourbonnais against Don Bosco Prep (Ind.) on Friday night.

The Dons had advantages over the Boilermakers (3-5) in both experience, with seven of the eight player seeing action being seniors, and size, with an average listed height of 6-foot-5 in Friday’s starting five.

But the younger Boilermakers battled through a back-and -forth first half and stayed within striking distance for most of the third quarter before the Dons closed out the game on a 20-10 run.

Bradley-Bourbonnais freshman DaJuan Brown, who finished fourth on the team with six points, said the team came ready to fight but were just unable to keep it up for all four quarters.

“Our philosophy is to play fast and to play defense,” he said. “I feel like we did that and we matched their height with out speed. In the first half, they couldn’t keep up with us. Sadly we couldn’t keep our energy high and the game went sideways.”

The Boilermakers trailed just 29-26 at halftime, but a hot start to the second half for the Dons saw that deficit grow to eight points.

They managed to cut the deficit back to five multiple times, but would not get closer than that.

Despite the loss, head coach Eric Long was happy with how the team competed against a battle-tested opponent.

“They’ve got guys from California, guys from Colorado, so they play a prep circuit to where they’re going all throughout the country,” he said. “I love what I saw tonight from our guys. We understand some of our size limitations, and we understand what we need to do to overcome that.

“I think we’re making progress in figuring out how to compete in physical games like that.”

As one of two freshman on the roster, Brown has stepped up as a starter and someone who is able to play beyond his years.

Long said that Brown has shown an ability to adjust to the high school level relatively quickly so he can compete against veteran teams like the one the Boilermakers faced Friday.

“He’s trying to fast basically four years, three years, and trying to be effective on the court against guys that are two or three years older than him,” Long said. “I think he plays with more composure than what a normal freshman does, and he’s a very talented kid that’s learning how to play high school basketball at the highest level.”

Brown said the experience of practicing against some of his more experienced teammates and the support he has gotten from Long and the coaching staff have helped ease his transition to the high school level.

“I’ve got to battle with (juniors Kobe Lawrence and Rontez Smith) at practice, so it keeps the physicality high and gets me better every day,” Brown said. “Coming out here, Coach Long, he trusts me with the ball and trusts to do whatever I need to do on the court. I value that a lot.”

Lawrence and Smith, who had nine and eight points respectively Friday, are the only varsity returners for the Boilermakers.

Lawrence said he has enjoyed being able to step into more of a leadership role as an upperclassmen.

“During the summer the coaches came up to me and gave me a different role,” he said. “Every open gym in the summer, every practice, I’ve just been going at it trying to get better at scoring the ball and being more physical than last year.”

Long said that having some experience back with Lawrence and Smith has been helpful with so many varsity newcomers.

“They set a great example, even though they’re still juniors themselves, being that voice of experience,” Long said. “It’s great for our team.”

Trey Lawrence led the Boilermakers with 12 points Friday. Drew Kubal and Julian Gonzalez added three points apiece.

They will be back in action Dec. 15 hosting Naperville Central before continuing Southwest Suburban Conference play on the road against Stagg the following day.