Boys basketball: Brunswick beats Mentor to repeat as GCC champs

BRUNSWICK — Trey Drexler was the first to climb the ladder, snipping his piece of history, pumping his fist and screaming "Let's goooo!" at the top of his lungs. He wasn't done, either, as he got to cut the final strand of nylon before spinning the net above his head like a helicopter. A jubilant celebration from the Brunswick boys basketball team's normally reserved star was well deserved Friday night after an impressive 98-85 victory over Mentor. The Blue Devils clinched a share of back-to-back championships in the Greater Cleveland Conference, one of the most respected public-school leagues in Ohio. "Obviously, this is amazing," Drexler said with the net hanging around his neck. "Big team goals like this are something that I value more than personal goals. Just to have this celebration with everyone, the whole community — you saw everyone on the floor, all the students — is just awesome for not only our team but for everyone in the community. "(The GCC has) every type of team. You've got Medina, who plays a little slower pace. You've got Cleveland Heights and Euclid, who are freakishly athletic. You've got Mentor, who plays super fast. You've got every different type of playstyle, and they'll really good at it. That's what makes this really special." The stars were special, too, with the lights at their brightest, as Drexler and Sean Barnett further cemented their legacy as one of the best one-two punches in school history. Drexler scored 21 of his game-high 37 points in the first half that ended with Brunswick (17-3, 12-0) ahead 44-34, while Barnett came alive with 22 of his 31 in the second half to keep the always-attacking Cardinals (13-6, 8-5) at bay. Barnett added 10 rebounds and five assists, tying teammate Adin Evert (10 points) for the team high in both categories. Drexler, meanwhile, was nearly perfect over the final three quarters, making 10-of-12 field goals, 3-of-3 3-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. He had 11 points in a 24-12 second quarter that changed the game for good. With six sophomores and a freshman in its nine-player rotation, Mentor got 20 points and 13 rebounds from 6-foot-7 center Tony Katava, 20 points from sweet-shooting ninth-grader Nate Sabin and six second-half 3-pointers from Mason Sauric, but a 4-for-16 second quarter in which the Cardinals missed numerous contested shots at the rim ultimately became their undoing. "(Mentor) came in, they were ready for us," Barnett said. "They had a great game plan and they had a really good press. They made a lot of shots, but the better team will always win the hard games." Brunswick struggled with Mentor's full-court trap early but got enough open layups and foul calls to trail only 22-20 at the quarter break. Things changed in the second period, with Evert playing a key role in the press breaker while adding eight points, Drexler coming alive offensively and the defense fine-tuning the game plan as the night wore on. Up 10 at halftime, the Blue Devils continued to stretch the lead to around 20 points due in large part to a tweak to the press breaker that involved Evert curling to catch a pass on the run to create odd-man transition opportunities. Drexler scored 10 points in the period but Mentor connected enough from the 3-point line — it made 10-of-17 attempts in the second half — to keep faint hope alive. That's when Barnett took over following a botched alley-oop attempt late in the third quarter. The 6-5 senior attacked the rim at will the rest of the night, scoring 15 points over the final 12 minutes. "He did a great job the whole night," Drexler said. "In the first half he was settling for some deep threes, but I told him and Coach (Joe Mackey) told him, 'Let's get to the hoop.' That's what he did. Obviously, you saw he was finishing and-ones with strong finishes the entire time. I was proud of him for being able to get that going." Brunswick was long known for being cursed in league title races, having none since 1966 before finally breaking through in 2015-16, when current junior varsity coach Zach Cebula was a key member of the greatest 3-point shooting team in Medina County history. The Blue Devils were a two-overtime classic away from sharing with Mentor in 2023-24 before capturing the league outright last winter. They'll have a chance to do so again Tuesday at Euclid (14-6, 10-2) in a rescheduled game from a Jan. 20 meeting that was postponed due to frigid weather. "It's a one-of-a-kind feeling," Barnett said. "I can't really describe it, you know? It's a great program, a great team and Coach Mackey's a really good coach." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 98, Mentor 85 MENTOR &emsp;&emsp;22 12 24 27 — 85 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;20 24 25 29 — 98 Mentor — Tommy Pavicic 2-1-7, Luke Gerard 2-1-6, Tony Katava 9-2-20, Jack Kennedy 0-2-2, Bernard Gnjatic 1-0-3, Nate Sabin 7-3-20, Connor White 2-0-4, Logan Lynch 1-2-5, Mason Sauric 6-0-18, Daniel Gnjatic 0-0-0. TOTALS: 30-11-85. Brunswick — Brandt Almady 0-0-0, Sean Barnett 13-4-31, Adin Evert 2-4-10, Luke Stella 3-1-7, Trey Drexler 13-8-37, Drew Matus 3-0-8, Prince Abi 0-0-0, Blayke Hamilton 1-1-3, Aaden Lombardo 0-0-0, Sam Watkins 0-0-0, Dom Fenton 0-2-2, Dirk Ziegler 0-0-0. TOTALS: 35-20-98. 3-point goals — Sauric 6, Sabin 3, Pavicic 2, Gerard, B. Gnjatic, Lynch, Drexler 3, Evert 2, Matus 2, Barnett. Rebounds — Mentor 30 (Katava 13), Brunswick 28 (Barnett, Evert 10). Assists — Mentor 15 (Pavicic, Gerard 5), Brunswick 17 (Barnett, Evert 5). Records — Mentor (13-6, 8-5), Brunswick (17-3, 12-0). Junior varsity — Brunswick 87, Mentor 63 (B: Hamilton 20).