High school basketball: Another slow start dooms Brunswick

EUCLID — The Brunswick boys basketball players might need an earlier wake-up call or a cup of coffee.For the second consecutive game, the Blue Devils were doomed by a slow start, this time 61-58 Friday in a Greater Cleveland Conference loss to Euclid."Same as the other night against Medina," Brunswick coach Joe Mackey said. "We talked about it before the game. Trying to get off to a good start, that just wasn't the case. It came back to bite us again."Not much went right for Brunswick (11-8, 4-7) in the opening eight minutes, as it shot 4-for-14 while falling behind 18-12.The cold shooting continued, and the Blue Devils got little on the offensive end other than Marquis Barnett (28 points, 11 rebounds) and Tre Massey (18 points).Brunswick shot 18-for-55, including from 9-for-32 from 3-point range.The biggest blow came at the defensive end however, as the Panthers (5-7, 2-5) seemed to always come up with a big play on the offensive glass."It's either a lack of desire or a lack of execution on our half or a great offensive rebounding on their half," Mackey said. "It's probably a little bit of both. You have to give those guys credit. They attacked the glass very well."Brunswick was only outrebounded 35-33, but the Panthers' boards came during critical moments.Barnett did his best to rally the Blue Devils in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 consecutive points to give them a brief 56-55 lead with 4:00 remaining.Euclid responded by over the next 3:45 to regain the edge at 60-56.The Brunswick defense failed on multiple occasions to get the game-changing stop or box out on missed shots."We just haven't been good defensively all year long," Mackey said. "They didn't score a lot of points, but they definitely scored when they had to. It's been a frustrating end for us all season long, and tonight was no different."The Blue Devils had a chance to tie after Michael Patterson (18 points, 6 rebounds) missed the back end of a one-and-one, but Barnett's desperation shot for the top of the arc didn't fall. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com.Euclid 61, Brunswick 58BRUNSWICK 12 14 18 14 — 58EUCLID 18 14 17 12 — 61Brunswick — Tre Massey 6-4-18, Cameron Cruz 0-0-0, Zach Eyssen 1-1-3, Connin Som 1-0-3, Marquis Barnett 8-8-28, Thomas Krizsa 2-0-6, Randy Zimmerman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-13-58.Euclid — Michael Patterson 8-1-18, Jaden Wanton 6-0-14, Cameron Smith 3-1-7, Jordan Rees 0-0-0, Clayton Cunningham 7-0-16, Devin Benning 2-2-6, Khaaron Allen 0-0-0, Devon Ramsey 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-4-61.3-point goals — Barnett 4, Krizsa 2, Massey 2, Som, Cunningham 2, Wanton 2, Patterson. Rebounds — Brunswick 33 (Barnett 11), Euclid 35 (Smith 11). Assists — Brunswick 9 (Cruz 3), Euclid 7 (Smith, Wanton 2). Records — Brunswick (11-8, 4-7), Euclid (5-7, 2-5). Junior varsity — Brunswick 57, Euclid 43 (B: Tommy Morgan 18).