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BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio– A second-half adjustment and forcing 20 turnovers helped propel Brecksville to a 56-48 win over Buchtel Tuesday night.
“I got to give credit to the coaches, every week they put us in a great game plan,” Skaljac said. “Our offense is going to keep getting better as the months grow but I think defensively, if we can lean on that I think we can beat any team in the state.
It wasn’t all smiles for the Bees during the win as the first half was mainly controlled by the Griffins, as they made things very difficult for the Bees to get any sort of rhythm going offensively. It took the Bees three and a half minutes to score a point to start the game.
With the slow start, they were forced to get a series of runs and that’s what transpired ending the first quarter as the Bees led by one, 10-9, including a 9-0 run at one point.
The second quarter was where things got difficult for the Bees. With Luke Skaljac struggling to get his outside shoot to fall, the Bees had little answer offensively. Brady Ganlley did his best attacking the rim but would hurt his ankle driving to the rim deep in the second quarter.
“I’ve been playing on some weak ankles lately,” Ganley said with a smile on his face. “I was hurting the whole game but the adrenaline kept me going and I kept on playing.”
As for the Griffins, Zevin Gadson headlined an impressive first half that was dominated by the pace of play and second-chance points. He had nine of his team’s 24 points in the first half. The Griffins outscored the Bees 15-8 in the second quarter to head into halftime with a 24-18 lead.
HALFTIME: Buchtel leads Brecksville 24-18. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/L1pQqCu81M
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 31, 2024
The second half was a different story for the Bees. With a more controlled and motivated Luke Skaljac along with it’s uptempo zone defense, the Griffins ran into some trouble. The Bees opened the first five minutes of the second half on an 11-5 run. Skaljac was all over the floor as he recorded a game-high 8 steals during the win.
His defense at the top of the zone defense helped lead to a slew of transition buckets for the Bees throughout the second half, something the Griffins just didn’t have an answer for. His team would outscore the Griffins 18-9 in the third quarter and the Bee’s lead was three after three quarters.
End of 3rd: Brecksville leads Buchtel 36-33. @beeshoops @SportsKee1
The Bees finally found flow offensively, out-scoring the Griffins 18-9 in the 3rd Q. @colinseibert_ pic.twitter.com/uSlR78mrUT— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 31, 2024
Skaljac scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to help spark a comeback for his team. Players like Ganley and Steven Skaljac also contributed in a big way, with Ganley pouring in 13 points and younger brother Steven Skaljac scoring nine points–with seven of them coming in the second half.
The credit for the come-from-behind-win starts with the guys in the locker room according to head coach Steve Mehalik. He credits the way his guys come together with their preparation for every upcoming game.
“I give credit to our guys, they prepare really well,” Mehalik said. “They take the time to prepare and it shows.”
For Buchtel, Zevin Gadson paced his team during the loss with 19 points with Steven Diamond and Moustapha Ndao pouring in 10 and seven points, respectively.
As for the Bees, a nonconference win against the defending state champions brings all the confidence to a Bees team that’s lost just one game this season.
“It prepares us for the playoffs,” Ganley said. “We need games like that and it’s just going to keep on letting us go and get to the playoffs.”
