Boys basketball: Adin Evert cleans glass as Brunswick beats Mentor

MENTOR — The spark can come from a lot of different places for the Brunswick boys basketball team. In a 77-56 Greater Cleveland Conference matchup with Mentor on Friday, it came from a gritty effort from Adin Evert on the glass and a bunch of fouls from the Cardinals. The Blue Devils (11-1, 6-0) fell behind early and looked a little disjointed, but Evert (11 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists) dominated in the paint and Trey Drexler (31, 4, 2) started a path to the free throw line to help their team take control. Evert had seven rebounds in the first quarter, with four of those coming on the offensive end, and seven points. "We started off slow again," he said. "I just had to bring energy and once again try and grab every rebound, especially on offense." Evert nearly had a double-double at the half with nine points and 11 rebounds. The Cardinals (6-3, 2-2) committed nine first-quarter fouls, helping Brunswick kick-start its offense after Mentor built a 6-0 lead with 4:35 left. Luke Stella (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) made the Blue Devils' first shot off an Evert assist, which started a 19-3 Brunswick run. "We've started our last few games really slow," Stella said. "In practice at the beginning of the year we couldn't make a free throw. We really locked in on our free throws. We stayed calm, knocked them in and that really helped calm us down and allowed us to get back, lock up, get into our sets and break their press." Stella was a nearly perfect 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, with his only miss coming on a first-quarter 3-point attempt. The Blue Devils hit just 6-of-11 at the line in the opening period, but the trips to the charity stripe woke up the offense. "That helps everyone," Drexler said. "Seeing a few go through the hoop gets your confidence up. Our whole team was kind of struggling at the beginning, but even individually just getting to the line and getting yourself going, which can also lead to getting other people going, that really helped us out." Brunswick finished 15-of-21 for the game, with Drexler hitting 7-of-9. The free throws ignited the reigning Gazette MVP, who returned after missing a Tuesdaay game at Cleveland Heights. The senior point guard scored 12 points in the second quarer to help the Blue Devils extend their lead to 39-23 at the break. Drexler scored nine more in the third quarter, which came to an end with the Blue Devils ahead 56-37. Initially, the Cardinals held off on their traditional high-pressure, full-court defense last season, when Brunswick set school records for 3-pointers made (20) and points in a 109-70 win. When Mentor decided to pressure, ball handling and quick ball movement led to a lot of Blue Devils layups. On the defensive end, the Blue Devils' perimeter defense against a 3-point-heavy squad kept Mentor from getting back into the game. "The whole week that was our key: Run them off the line, make them shoot tough twos," Drexler said. "I think we really did a good job of that. Toward the end they started getting to the line and pounding it into the post, but other than that I think we did an amazing job scrambling our butts off." The Cardinals made just 2-of-19 3-point attempts, with the majority of those attempts coming with a hand in their face. "We watch a ton of film," Evert said. "Coach (Joe) Mackey always stresses how much they shoot.." Sean Barnett followed his heroic performance against Cleveland Heights with another great all-around effort, scoring 14 points, grabbing three rebounds, dishing out four assists, swatting two shots and cappig his night with a big fourth-quarter dunk. Drew Matus added seven points and seven boards for the Blue Devils. The Cardinals were led by 6-foot-7 forward Tony Katava (20 points, 11 rebounds), Logan Lynch (17, 8) and Jack Kennedy (11). Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 77, Mentor 56 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;19 20 17 21 — 77 MENTOR &emsp;&emsp; 9 14 14 19 — 56 Brunswick — Sean Barnett 5-3-14, Luke Stella 7-0-14, Adin Evert 4-2-11, Drew Matus 2-3-7, Trey Drexler 11-7-31, Prince Abi 0-0-0, Brandt Almady 0-0-0, Dom Fenton 0-0-0, Sam Watkins 0-0-0, Aaden Lombardo 0-0-0. TOTALS: 29-15-77 Mentor — Logan Lynch 7-3-17, Bernard Gnjatic 0-0-0, Tony Katava 7-6-20, Tommy Pavicic 0-0-0, Jack Kennedy 4-2-11, Luke Gerard 0-0-0, Connor Witte 2-0-4, Mason Sauric 1-1-4, Nate Sabin 0-0-0, Daniel Gnjatic 0-0-0, Jack Larson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-12-56. 3-point goals — Drexler 2, Barnett, Evert, Kennedy Sauric. Rebounds — Brunswick 34 (Evert 14), Mentor 26 (Katava 11). Assists — Brunswick 15 (Barnett, Evert 4), Mentor 6 (Pavicic 3). Records — Brunswick (11-1, 6-0), Mentor (6-3, 2-2). Junior varsity — Brunswick 64, Mentor 47 (B: Lombardo 20, Zach Soeder 10).