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By Emile Dawisha

Staff Writer

He is the Butler County scoring leader; but at 5-foot-8, Cincinnati Christian junior Nate Brusman sure doesn't look the part.

With blazing speed and deadly marksmanship, Brusman (23.3 ppg) has thrived in Cincinnati Christian's run-and-gun offense.

He was at it again Tuesday, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the first half to help the Cougars pull away early in a 67-47 victory at New Miami.

"We ran a lot of people at him," said New Miami coach Brian Baller. "But (Brusman) kept on making shots, especially in the first half."

The Cougars (7-6, 4-2 Miami Valley Conference) kept their foot on the pedal throughout, pulling up or driving to the hoop when given a sliver of courtspace.

Feasting off of an often sluggish and disorganized New Miami defense, CCS built a 37-16 first-half lead and never allowed the Vikings to pull within single-digits.

CCS, which beat Clark Montessori by 17 Friday, is playing its best basketball of the season, coach Ed Davis said.

"We only have one senior, so we've been pretty inconsistent at times," Davis said. "But we're really playing well these last few games."

"We've been working really hard, but we have a lot more potential," Brusman said.

Senior center Cory Davidson led the Vikings with 19 points. The 6-foot-8 center held a decided height advantage over the Cougars' undersized frontcourt.

"I think we did a pretty good job on him," Davis said. "We just tried to push him out towards the free throw line, make him shoot that 15-foot jump shot."

CCS hosts Summit Country Day Friday, while New Miami travels to Cincinnti Country Day.