Boys district basketball: Brunswick shoots lights out in win over John Marshall

BRUNSWICK — Most believe losing superstar point guard Trey Drexler for the season to a broken left wrist will be the Brunswick boys basketball team's biggest tragedy. Sean Barnett and the rest of the Blue Devils believe it will be their biggest triumph. Expectations haven't changed with the popular Drexler on the bench with a blue cast wrapped around his healing hand. The top-seeded Blue Devils are still gunning for a district championship and more, and that journey began Tuesday with a 90-41 victory over 17th-seeded John Marshall in a Division I, Northeast 2 semifinal. Brunswick (20-3), which scored an incredible 27 points over a 4:12 stretch late in the first quarter en route to tying the 10th-largest margin of victory in program history, advanced to play fifth-seeded Perrysburg (17-6) at Copley on Saturday afternoon. "There have been a lot of ups and downs (since Friday). Trey's not going to play, and obviously that hurts us a lot," Barnett said. "He's one of the best players in Ohio. There's nothing we can do about it, so we're going to keep going forward. Obviously, physically it's going to affect us, but mentally it's not at all. We know we're in for it against a really good Perrysburg team, but we're coming to battle, for sure. "It's sad. He is the hardest worker I've ever seen. He's a really good player and to go out like that right before the tournament, it's a really sad thing. He'll be there to support us because that's the kind of teammate he is. We're going to do a lot of good things without him." Drexler received a warm ovation when public address announcer Paul Zahn informed the crowd of the senior's career résumé before introducing the Blue Devils' starting lineup. Among the facts were 1,754 points — second in Medina County history behind Highland's Rob Wininiger (1,842, 1989-93) — plus 231 3-pointers in 91 games and a Mr. Basketball finalist accolade in 2024-25. After a plodding opening 3:45 in which the score was tied at 9 and coach Joe Mackey called a full timeout to right the ship, Brunswick put on a serious offensive show. Barnett was at the forefront, scoring 18 of his game-high 32 points as the Blue Devils scored a school-record 36 points in the first quarter. Drew Matus added 11 points in the period and finished with 16, three rebounds and four assists, Luke Stella did a bit of everything early en route to nine points and four dimes and Adin Evert posted four points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists. The Blue Devils made 13-of-17 field goals, 7-of-10 3-pointers and 3-of-3 free throws in the first. They extended the lead to 58-23 at halftime, leading to the entire second half being played with a running clock. "It was good to see (Barnett) see the ball go through. He hasn't shot it well the past month the way he's capable of," Mackey said. "We're going to need everything on Saturday. We're going to need our community to come out and we're going to need our guys to play really well. "Perrysburg's a very good basketball team. We scrimmaged them this year. They have really good players. They're well-coached. It's going to be tough. It was going to be tough without Drexler. Without him it's going to be harder, but our guys understand we have a winning culture. Our guys are used to winning, and they're excited for the opportunity to play for a district championship." The Lawyers (6-17) got 14 points from Josh Nieves and 12 from fellow guard Arman Mitchell that featured stellar footwork in the paint but were outrebounded by a whopping 32-10 in a game that took a mere 59 minutes to complete. Brunswick had a bunch of notable performances in the second half, too. Blayke Hamilton (10 points) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, Dylan Evert (5 points) and Drew Justice made their varsity debuts, Dom Fenton had seven points and three assists in the fourth quarter and Prince Abi posted four points, six rebounds and two assists in extended action. Barnett also moved into 10th in school history with 881 career points, 10 behind brother Quinn (2021-24), who is now the leading scorer for 25-3 Walsh University. The Flager (Fla.) recruit was determined to make his final home game memorable, making 11-of-18 field goals, 6-of-9 3-pointers and 4-of-5 free throws while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. "I told myself before the game started I had to come out strong," he said. "I'm never going to play here again. I wouldn't want to spend my last game here with any other group. Being able to laugh together — we even cry together — is a blessing." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 90, John Marshall 41 Division I, Northeast 3 District Semifinal JOHN MARSHALL &emsp;&emsp;11 12 8 10 — 41 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;36 22 15 17 — 90 John Marshall — Berendis Pinero 1-2-4, Jeshon Williams 1-0-3, Ty Richardson 3-0-6, Josh Nieves 4-4-14, Arman Mitchell 5-2-12, Orlando O'Conner 1-0-2, Adelso Santos 0-0-0, Stephen Blake 0-0-0, Colin Talkington 0-0-0, Jerome Ogletree 0-0-0, Marcleo Garcia 0-0-0, Leo Stinson Jr. 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-8-41. Brunswick — Blayke Hamilton 4-0-10, Sean Barnett 11-4-32, Adin Evert 2-0-4, Luke Stella 4-1-9, Drew Matus 6-0-16, Prince Abi 2-0-4, Brandt Almady 1-0-3, Sam Watkins 0-0-0, Aaden Lombardo 0-0-0, Dom Felton 2-1-7, Dylan Evert 2-1-5, Drew Justice 0-0-0. TOTALS: 34-7-90. 3-point goals — Nieves 2, Williams, Barnett 6, Matus 4, Hamilton 2, Felton 2, Almady. Rebounds — John Marshall 10 (Mitchell 4), Brunswick 32 (Barnett 8). Assists — John Marshall 3 (Mitchell 3), Brunswick 22 (Evert 5). Records — John Marshall (6-17), Brunswick (20-3).