Boys regional basketball: Hot start cools off fast as Brunswick loses to Elyria

AKRON — Sean Barnett set the tone in the first quarter and Adin Evert came out of halftime like a ball of fire for the Brunswick boys basketball team. It just wasn't enough for the Blue Devils to withstand a deeper, fully-healthy Elyria squad Wednesday. Jermiah Daniels scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and Kendyll Compton had nine points and eight rebounds, allowing the Pioneers to advance with a 54-39 victory over Brunswick in the Division I, Region 1 semifinals at the University of Akron's James A. Rhodes Arena. Senior power forward Barnett had 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior center Evert collected seven points, a game-high 12 rebounds and five assists as the Blue Devils (21-4) bowed out in the big-school tournament. "When you look at the big picture, it was a really special season for our team and community," Brunswick coach Joe Mackey said. "Right now, though, it's hard. None of us were prepared for the season to end tonight. "We really thought we could get this one." With Ohio Mr. Basketball finalist Trey Drexler wearing warmups and a hard cast on his broken left wrist, the Blue Devils were outnumbered — statistically and literally — as they stuck with a six-man rotation. Barnett, Evert, Drew Matus and Luke Stella were on the court for all but the final 37 seconds, while Blake Hamilton and Prince Abi split 32 minutes at the fifth spot. Elyria exploited their fatigue, using their top eight players for at least one quarter apiece. "It's really tough knowing what we could have done with our Mr. Basketball, but I still feel like what we had was enough," Evert said. "The coaches did a great job getting us ready and we felt good. We just didn't start the game very well today." Matus also reached double-digits in scoring with 10 points and Stella chipped in five points and three assists. Brunswick's lone lead was at 3-2 on a Barnett 3-pointer and it only pulled within one possession once in the final 2½ quarters, also on a Barnett three to open the third that cut Elyria's advantage to 25-22. Barnett made 3-of-9 3-pointers, but the rest of the Blue Devils missed 14 of their 15 combined tries, including their final 13. Brunswick also committed 17 turnovers to nine by the Pioneers (19-6), who grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first period. "First and foremost, I want to put all the blame on me as a team leader," Flagler College signee Barnett said. "I didn't rebound in the first half like I should have, and it hurt us. "Elyria made more shots than we did and a couple of their guys came through with big plays every time we got close." Barnett's six points and physical determination were the only reason the Blue Devils were within 15-11 going into the second. Evert took the baton in the third with five points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists. The latter performance allowed Brunswick to survive an 11-0 run that gave Elyria a 36-22 lead. Brunswick answered with 10 straight points, four of them on Barnett-to-Matus feeds to get as close as 36-32. Pioneers point guard Tink Shelton, who had seven points and five assists, Cam Bell and Daniels put the game to bed in the fourth. The dagger came with 2:27 remaining on a Daniels 3-pointer that made it 50-37. The last time the Blue Devils were held to fewer than 39 points was on Dec. 18, 2016, when they beat Walsh Jesuit 31-28 at St. Vincent-St. Mary. It was a bitter ending to their second regional appearance in three years. "When you don't rebound and make shots in the Sweet 16, you're not going to win," Mackey said. "Collectively, we could not put the ball in the basket and we had some untimely turnovers." Contact Brian Dulik at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow @BrianDulik on X. Elyria 54, Brunswick 39 Division I, Region 1 Semifinal ELYRIA&emsp;15 10 15 14 — 54 BRUNSWICK&emsp;11 8 14 6 — 39 Elyria — Cam Bell 3-5 0-0 6, Rondell Grimmett 2-8 0-0 4, Kendyll Compton 3-12 2-2 9, Jermiah Daniels 7-13 1-2 18, Tink Shelton 3-6 0-1 7, Seth Wilkerson 0-3 0-0 0, Micah Jackson 3-5 0-0 6, Christian Rogers 1-2 0-0 2, Ethan Rogers 1-2 0-0 2, Isaiah Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0, Khalil Washington 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23-56 3-5 54. Brunswick — Blayke Hamilton 0-4 0-0 0, Sean Barnett 5-14 2-2 15, Adin Evert 2-7 3-6 7, Drew Matus 5-12 0-0 10, Drew Stella 2-4 0-0 5, Prince Abi 0-1 0-0 0, Brandt Almady 0-0 0-0 0, Dom Fenton 0-0 0-0 0, Aedon Lombardo 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Evert 1-1 0-1 2, Sam Watkins 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15-43 5-9 39. 3-point goals — Elyria 5-17 (Daniels 3-6, Compton 1-3, Shelton 1-3, Wilkerson 0-1, Jackson 0-1, C.Rogers 0-1, Grimmett 0-2), Brunswick 4-24 (Barnett 3-9, Stella 1-3, Hamilton 0-2, Evert 0-4, Matus 0-6). Fouled out - None. Rebounds — Elyria 32 (Bell, Compton 8), Brunswick 28 (Evert 12). Assists — Elyria 12 (Shelton 5), Brunswick 12 (Evert 5). Turnovers — Elyria 9 (Daniels, Shelton 3), Brunswick 17 (Stella 5). Total fouls — Elyria 9, Brunswick 12. Records — Elyria (19-6), Brunswick (21-4).