Boys basketball: Talented trio keeps Brunswick undefeated and Shaker Heights winless

SHAKER HTS. — Despite making the game look easy so far this season, Brunswick's boys basketball team knows the Greater Cleveland Conference is not going to be a cakewalk. The Blue Devils faced better-than-its-record Shaker Heights on Friday and walked away with a solid 63-58 win to keep the loss column empty. Brunswick (6-0, 3-0) fell behind early, struggling initially with solid defensive pressure from the Raiders (0-4, 0-3) by committing five turnovers. "Sometimes going on the road and playing a close game like that isn't a bad thing," forward Tommy Morgan said. "Getting out of here with the win is just what we wanted." Shaker Heights capitalized and built a 7-2 lead just two minutes in, but Brunswick settled and started clicking behind Tommy Morgan, Quinn Barnett and Trey Drexler. The trio has been the center of most of the Blue Devils' offense this season, and Friday night was no exception as they combined for 54 points. Each had moments when they took over, and it seemed as though each time things got a little tight, one made a play, scored a big basket or made a needed pass. "It was great that we faced a little adversity," Drexler said. "In the second half, we responded with a nice little run and got us up. We could have closed the game better, but I think we did a good job in the second half." Morgan (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks) gave the Blue Devils their first lead at 13-11 with a 3-pointer off a Drexler (17, 3 assists) assist with 1:30 left in the opening frame. Drexler buried a triple off a feed from Morgan in the second quarter to give Brunswick the lead for good at 23-20, while Barnett (22 points) created need separation in the third after the Raiders closed to 28-27 with a four-point spurt that was capped with a two-hand dunk. "I think the big win over Cleveland Heights gave us a lot of confidence," Drexler said. "It didn't give us a big head, but it gave us confidence against Shaker, which is a similar team." The third quarter was the Barnett quarter, as he had 10 of his team's 17 points. The Raiders never got closer than three possessions in the fourth quarter as the talented Blue Devil three-headed monster led the way. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 63, Shaker Heights 58 BRUNSWICK&emsp;13 15 17 18 — 63 SHAKER HEIGHTS&emsp;16 8 15 19 — 58 Brunswick — Matt Morgan 1-2-4, Tommy Morgan 7-0-15, Aiden Shaker 2-1-5, Quinn Barnett 8-4-22, Trey Drexler 6-3-17, Ethan Jean 0-0-0, Colin Lancaster 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-10-63. Shaker Heights — Tae Smith 5-0-12, Jerith Eaddy 1-1-3, Landon Future 0-0-0, RJ Thomas 4-1-11, Kaden Aaron 9-5-25, Jace Griffin 1-0-3, Miles Shelton 2-0-4, Jacire Eaddy 0-0-0, Kevin Lowery 0-0-0, Quinn Coggins 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-7-58. 3-point goals — Barnett 2, Drexler 2, T. Morgan, Aaron 2, Smith 2, Thomas 2, Griffin. Rebounds — Brunswick 19 (T. Morgan, Shaker 6), Shaker Heights 21 (Smith 5). Assists —Brunswick 10 (T. Morgan 4), Shaker Heights 8 (Aaron 3). Records — Brunswick (6-0, 3-0), Shaker Heights (0-4, 0-3). Junior varsity — Brunswick 50, Shaker Heights 44 (B: Sean Barnett 11, Brian Hill 10, Kaeden Thompson 10).