Boys basketball: Brunswick dominates Mentor in GCC clash

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick boys basketball team was so dominant Friday night that legendary Mentor coach Bob Krizancic didn't even bother to lobby the officials for calls. After giving up the first bucket of the game, the Blue Devils never trailed again en route to an impressive 85-65 Greater Cleveland Conference victory. Brunswick (8-3, 4-0) led the struggling Cardinals (6-4, 2-3) by 11 after the first period and by 21 at halftime. After letting their advantage get cut to 10 with 1:26 to play in the third, the Blue Devils got a quick tongue-lashing from coach Joe Mackey, then went on an 18-2 run to go up 77-51 midway through the fourth. There were stars aplenty for Brunswick, none bigger than 6-foot-6 center Aidan Shaker, who finished with game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds to go along with an assist, two blocks and two steals. Shaker set the tone early, scoring his team's first nine points and finishing the opening period with 11 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals as the Blue Devils went up 22-11. "I've known Aidan since travel ball, and his progress has been amazing," Brunswick sixth man Ethan Jean said. "He's just dominating. I don't think there's a lot of people who can stop him in the whole state of Ohio." While Shaker finished the game 10-for-14 from the field, junior point guard Trey Drexler hit six of his team's 13 3-pointers en route to 24 points, four boards and a game-high seven assists. The left-hander had three 3-pointers and 13 points in the second quarter as the Blue Devils went up 50-29 at intermission. "My shot was falling," he said. "It felt good coming off my hand every time. I was on." So was the burly Jean, who started the first six games of the season before being replaced by Adin Evert (3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists). Jean hit two trifectas in the opening period, including one the first time he touched the ball, en route to 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, three boards and an assist. "I was a senior looking to start, but I'm always going to listen to Coach Mackey," he said. "He's right 100% of the time and Adin's one of my best friends. I'm not going to sit here and cry about it. I'll take my role and accept it." Jean's primary role now is to provide offense off the bench, which is exactly what he's been doing while also playing solid defense and working on the boards. "Coach Mackey always tells me that whenever I'm open, shoot it," he said. "If I can come in and do that all the time, that would be the perfect role." On a night when everyone played well, the Blue Devils also got solid games from shooting guard Sean Barnett (9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and small forward Matt Morgan (9, 2, 1). As a team, Brunswick finished 34-for-63 from the field (.540) and 13-for-28 from behind the arc (.464) while committing just seven turnovers. "We hit a lot of shots," Drexler said. "If you don't turn it over against Mentor, you're going to get an open look." Mentor was paced by diminutive freshman point guard Jack Kennedy, who had 21 points, three rebounds and two assists to lead or tie for the team lead in all three categories, though 11 of his points came after the Cardinals had fallen behind by 26. Ayo Olulami and Marcus Sierputowski added 11 points apiece, but turnover issues, shaky defense and getting outrebounded 29-18 resulted in the feisty Krizancic yelling at his players instead of the officials. "Our transition offense was amazing," Jean said. "We rebounded the ball and got it out to (Drexler), and he's one of the best point guards in Ohio. He's either going to score or find someone. That's where we really excelled tonight." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Brunswick 85, Mentor 65 MENTOR 11 18 20 16 — 65 BRUNSWICK 22 28 14 21 — 85 Mentor — Peter Kennedy 2-0-4, Ayo Olulami 5-0-11, Tony Katava 3-0-8, Marcus Sierputowski 5-0-11, Jack Kennedy 8-2-21, Kobe Frasure-Azzano 1-0-2, Dominic Baroni 1-3-5, Bernard Gnjatic 1-0-3, Quinton Green 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-5-65. Brunswick — Matt Morgan 4-0-9, Adin Evert 1-0-3, Aidan Shaker 10-4-25, Sean Barnett 4-0-9, Trey Drexler 9-0-24, Ethan Jean 5-0-12, Luke Stella 0-0-0, Shawn Grabowski 0-0-0, Drew Matus 0-0-0, Jacob Millsop 1-0-3, Brandty Almady 0-0-0, Dillon Vinson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 34-4-85. 3-point goals — J. Kennedy 3, Katava 2, Olulami, Sierputowski, B. Gnjatic, Drexler 6, Jean 2, Shaker, Barnett, Evert, Morgan, Millsop. Rebounds — Mentor 18 (Katava, Sierputowski, Baroni, J. Kennedy 3), Brunswick 29 (Shaker 10). Assists — Mentor 6 (J. Kennedy, Sierputowski 2), Brunswick 20 (Drexler 7). Records — Mentor (6-4, 2-3), Brunswick (8-3, 4-0). Junior varsity — Brunswick 76, Mentor 59 (B: Matus 27, Millsop 11).