BROOKVILLE, Pa. – What a way to start the season for the Warren Dragons.

Jake Kupchella’s steal and layup with just under a minute left lifted them to a dramatic 44-42 comeback win over Brockway in the opening round of the Brookville Tip-Off Tournament on Friday.

Kupchella scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter of the comeback win.

“We had a slow first-half start, down by seven at the half,” said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. “We came out in the second half and outscored them 11-4 and tied the game up (entering the fourth quarter).”

Kupchella also pulled down eight rebounds, while fellow senior Caleb Ei matched Kupchella’s scoring output with 14

“We were much more patient moving the ball (in the second half), and got better looks,” said Berdine. “Jake hit three 3’s in the second half, and defensively, we held them to 16 points in the second half.”

Griffin Suppa played a superb game running the offense, dishing out nine assists and turning it over just twice. Kupchella, Devin McMeans and Mitch Grosch all had two steals each.

The Dragons trailed 26-19 at halftime.

Alec Freemer had 14 points to lead Brockway, while Jon Wood added 12.

Warren advances to tonight’s title game against host Brookville (7:30 p.m.), an easy winner over Brookville in the other game.

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WARREN (44)

Morrison 2-0-0-4, Kupchella 5-1-2-14, McMeans 1-2-4-2, Ei 7-0-0-14, Suppa 2-0-0-4, Grosch 1-0-0-2, Funari 1-0-0-2, Bablak 0-0-0-0, Totals 19-3-6-44

BROCKWAY (42)

Puhala 3-0-0-7, Heckman 0-0-0-0, Wood 5-0-0-12, Freemer 5-2-3-14, Clark 1-0-0-3, Copelli 3-0-0-6, Cramer 0-0-0-0, Totals 17-3-4-53

By Quarters

Warren 16 3 11 14 – 44

Brockway 19 7 4 12 – 42

Three-point FGs: Brockway (6) – Freemer 2, Wood 2, Puhala, Clark; Warren (3) – Kupchella 3