High school basketball: Defensive woes continue as Brunswick boys lose GCC matchup

BRUNSWICK — Santa will not be gifting a defense to Brunswick's boys basketball team on Christmas morning. The Blue Devils are going to have to earn one on their own. While the season is only four games old, Brunswick is trending in the wrong direction for a singular reason. The undersized, offensive-minded Blue Devils aren't getting stops, and that was on full display Tuesday in a 78-65 Greater Cleveland Conference loss to experienced Solon. Brunswick (2-2, 0-2) has allowed 78 points in consecutive games, lifting its season defensive average to 69.0. The pace is the Blue Devils' highest since 1994-95 (69.7), when current coach Joe Mackey was a senior point guard for what was then known as Baldwin-Wallace College. "Unlike (Friday) night (in a 78-75 loss to Medina), we just got outclassed," Mackey said. "They exposed us in every possible way on the defensive end, and that's two games in a row we've given up 70-some points, which is unheard of around here. "The other night, we felt like we let one get away. Tonight, it was bad. It was about as bad as it gets." Multi-faceted standout Marquis Barnett hit pull-up 3-pointers, drove to the rack and scored with his back to the basket en route to a career-high 32 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. He is averaging 25.8 points, 12.0 boards, 3.5 assists and 1.8 blocks this season, but his effort against the Comets (2-0, 1-0) was overshadowed by a second-quarter meltdown by the Blue Devils. Behind 10 points from Barnett, Brunswick led 18-11 after one quarter and flirted with a double-digit lead before momentum flipped for good. The Blue Devils already had a serious matchup problem with long-armed 6-foot-4 center Sam Marbury (24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists), but also allowed All-GCC point guard Marcus Steele (26 points) to go off for a ridiculous 17 points in the period. The Blue Devils went from leading by seven to trailing by double digits in a matter of seven minutes. They were down only 41-34 at halftime despite giving up 30 points in the second, but Marbury took over and previously quiet Solon sixth man Jimmie Williams (13 points) got hot to push the lead to 57-42 midway through the third quarter. The Comets, who went 18-7 last season, shot 23-for-40 (.575) over the final three quarters. "We don't have a center who cleans up," Mackey said. "(Barnett) is a really good shot-blocker, but we don't have a lot of size down there and we get beat off the bounce. We might have to go back to the old days and that 2-3 zone and keep the games in the 40s and 50s." The last gasp for Brunswick came at the start of the fourth, as quick scores cut the deficit to 59-51. The theme of the night followed immediately, however, as the Blue Devils left Williams wide open for a 3-pointer and turned over the ball to set up a Steele putback that pushed the score to 64-51. Compounding matters, Brunswick made just 1-of-8 3-pointers in the second half after starting 7-for-17. The Blue Devils also got zero bench points for the second straight game, though starting power forward Zach Eyssen continued to play well at both ends and finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. "We're going to have to figure it out," Mackey said. "We're going to have to do a lot of soul-searching as a coaching staff. We just don't defend at a high level." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Solon 78, Brunswick 65 SOLON &emsp;&emsp;11 30 18 19 — 78 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;18 16 14 17 — 65 Solon — Noah Obert 0-0-0, Pat McQuaide 1-0-3, Sam Marbury 9-4-24, Rayquan Thompson 2-5-9, Marcus Stele 11-1-26, Jimmie Williams 5-0-13, Caleb Walker 0-3-3. TOTALS: 28-13-78. Brunswick — Cameron Cruz 2-0-6, Zach Eyssen 3-2-9, Marquis Barnett 10-9-32, Tre Massey 5-2-14, Landon Kistler 2-0-4, Connin Som 0-0-0, Tommy Morgan 0-0-0, Connin Som 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-13-65. 3-point goals — Steele 3, Williams 3, Marbury 2, McQuaide, Barnett 3, Cruz 2, Massey, Eyssen. Rebounds — Solon 30 (Marbury 9), Brunswick 25 (Barnett 10). Assists — Solon 13 (Marbury 4), Brunswick 11 (Massey 4). Records — Solon (2-0, 1-0), Brunswick (2-2, 0-2). Junior varsity — No game.