Boys basketball: Brunswick pounds Strongsville in latest installment of heated rivalry

BRUNSWICK — First-team All-Ohio point guard Trey Drexler quietly closed the locker room door and All-Ohio quarterback Sean Barnett wouldn't let coach Joe Mackey in. The Brunswick boys basketball players had to ready themselves first. Water bottles were passed out, and about a minute later Mackey braced himself for the inevitable celebratory mini shower. Blowouts usually don't require such a postgame raucous, but the intensity of the Brunswick-Strongsville rivalry has ratcheted in recent years. Final score Friday in Greater Cleveland Conference play: Blue Devils 65, Mustangs 31, and it could have been epically worse after Brunswick posted a shutout in the second quarter and pulled its starters after three. Yes, that's right: a shutout in the second quarter of a Division I boys basketball game. "You know, usually when you win by that many you don't get that (shower), but it's a rivalry game, right?" Mackey said after a trip to the coach's office to dry off. "We take those very seriously around here. We're one of the few schools in Ohio that has two rivals (Medina), so four times a year those games mean something." Brunswick (5-0, 3-0) held Strongsville (1-5, 0-3) scoreless for the opening 4:55 and led 21-12 at the quarter break before putting the game on the verge of running clock status to begin the second half. The Mustangs were 0-of-10 from the floor and 0-of-7 from 3-point range, committed six turnovers and were outrebounded 9-4 in the second period, which ended with the Blue Devils ahead 46-12. The lead ballooned to 63-20 heading into the fourth and could have been north of 50 had Brunswick not shot 1-for-8 from 3-point land in the quarter. The backups played the entire fourth, with Dom Fenton recording the Blue Devils' only two points. "I thought we played great team basketball," said wing Luke Stella, who had nine points and nine rebounds (6 offensive). "We've been super unselfish all year." Drexler started the game 1-for-6 from the floor but was unstoppable in a whirlwind finish to the first half en route to 24 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Adin Evert perfectly maintained his Medina County-leading 14.0 rebounding average and tip-dunked an offensive board for a 16-0 lead, while Barnett was hounded throughout and still put up 14 points, six rebounds and a chase-down block and Drew Matus put up eight points, three boards and two dimes. Strongsville, which was gutted by graduation losses after going 19-4 a season ago, got 11 points and five rebounds from Matthew Heffke but little else. The Mustangs made 12-of-47 field goals (.255), 4-of-25 3-pointers (.160) and 3-of-4 free throws (.750) — they didn't go to the line until the fourth — and were dominated 40-26 on the glass. "We haven't guarded well all season, and we wanted to lock down to start the game," Stella said. The cold, blustery night was made for a blowout, and Brunswick delivered with ease. The road will get tougher against Olentangy Liberty at the Coaches for a Cure Classic hosted by Capital University on Sunday and at home vs. Rhodes in the Herron Holiday Hoops Classic. That's just fine with the Blue Devils, who are getting healthy again and playing with confidence. "I'm proud of our kids," Mackey said. "We wanted to establish ourselves on the defensive end. We waited a long time the other night (Tuesday in a 70-52 win at Archbishop Hoban) to do that, but from the opening tip tonight I thought we really established ourselves on that end." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 65, Strongsville 31 STRONGSVILLE &emsp;&emsp;12 0 8 11 — 31 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;21 25 17 2 — 65 Strongsville — Brandon Byers 1-0-2, Abdul Awawda 1-0-3, Adrian Fuentes 1-0-2, Matthew Heffke 5-0-11, Shane McIntyre 2-0-6, Harsh Patel 0-0-0, Ayden Straub 0-0-0, Pavlo Kadras 0-0-0, Brandon Studler 0-2-2, Troy Corder 0-0-0, Markos Finks 1-0-2, Evan Gusching 1-1-3. TOTALS: 12-3-31. Brunswick — Luke Stella 4-1-9, Sean Barnett 6-1-14, Adin Evert 3-0-8, Drew Matus 4-0-8, Trey Drexler 9-4-24, Prince Abi 0-0-0, Dom Fenton 1-0-2, Aaden Lombardo 0-0-0, Sam Watkins 0-0-0, Brandt Almady 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-6-65. 3-point goals — McIntyre 2, Heffke, Awawda, Evert 2, Drexler 2, Barnett. Rebounds — Strongsville 26 (Heffke 5), Brunswick 40 (Evert 14). Assists — Strongsville 6 (Patel 4), Brunswick 15 (Drexler 7). Records — Strongsville (1-5, 0-3), Brunswick (5-0, 3-0). Junior varsity — Brunswick 52, Strongsville 36 (B: Lombardo 16).