Boys basketball: Brunswick beats Mentor to move into tie atop GCC

BRUNSWICK — Monday was fun day for the Brunswick boys basketball team. In the makeup of a Jan. 19 game that was postponed due to inclement weather, the Blue Devils played exceptionally well at both ends of the floor while downing Mentor 76-68 in a matchup of two of the best teams in a very deep Greater Cleveland Conference. The Cardinals (8-5, 6-1) fell into a tie in the loss column with the Blue Devils (14-2, 7-1), who will close the GCC season at Mentor on Feb. 23. Brunswick, which shot a sizzling 31-for-55 from the field (.564), got fantastic performances from shooting guard Quinn Barnett (20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), point guard Trey Drexler (20, 4, 6), center Aidan Shaker (11, 11, 1) and small forward Tommy Morgan (10, 5, 3, 4 blocks), but the real key was its defense. In holding Mentor to a scoring total that matched its season low, the Blue Devils limited the free-wheeling Cardinals to 26-of-63 shooting (.413), including 8-for-29 from behind the arc (.381). At one point, the Cardinals were 4-for-23 from deep. Under veteran coach Bob Krizancic, Mentor loves to run and gun, hoist 3-pointers and full-court trap after makes and misses. The Cardinals don't mind giving up open shots to increase the pace of the game, especially if it means the opponent is failing to get the ball to its best scorers. Mentor entered the game averaging 88.8 points but was allowing 83.8. It has topped the century mark in scoring three times, including a season-high 114 seven days ago in a 14-point GCC win over Strongsville, and allowed 100 or more points on two occasions. The Blue Devils were not fazed. "It's controlled chaos," Brunswick coach Joe Mackey said of Mentor's defense. "It's not like they're just out there running around. They have a system in place. (Krizancic) is a great coach, but he's not trying to hide anything, either. They give up some runs, but they're trying to go on three or four 10-0 runs a game." Brunswick, which entered the game averaging 70.9 points and allowing 54.7, had three goals coming in: handle pressure, control tempo and win the rebounding battle. It accomplished all three while not allowing the Cardinals any prolonged scoring outbursts. Mackey's belief was that if his team kept the score in the 70s, it was to the Blue Devils' advantage, but if it got into the 80s or 90s, the edge swung to Mentor. He was exactly right. Brunswick won the rebounding battle 34-21, got easy hoops by breaking Mentor's press and limited its turnover total to 13, nine of which came in the first and third periods, which they still won 37-29. "Over the last three years or so, as our skill level and athleticism have improved, we've been trying to speed almost every team up," Mackey said. "This is one of the few teams where we have to dial it down a notch, maybe two. "We wanted to attack their press for layups and open threes, but if we didn't have it, we wanted to pull the ball out and work it. If you try to score with them, they just have too much firepower." Brunswick led by 13 with 4:59 to play in the first half and would have been up 17 had it not missed two layups, which looked like it might prove costly when center Ian Ioppolo (25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) scored the last five points of the second period to get the Cardinals within 37-31. Mentor, whose previous losses came to GlenOak, Archbishop Moeller, Kell (Ga.) and Mater Lakes Academy (Fla.), never got closer than that despite 20 second-half points from small forward Matt Biddell (24, 4, 3). Barnett had nine points in the first 2:41 of the second half and 11 in the third period, while Drexler expertly controlled pace when Brunswick was in its half-court offense. The Blue Devils also got huge lifts from power forward Matt Morgan (6, 3, 2) and reserve Brian Hill (7, 3, 2), who scored all his points in the second quarter. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazzette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.