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LYNDHURST, Ohio– A strong showing to start the second half was all it took for the Brush Arcs to capture its fifth consecutive Western Reserve Conference championship on Feb. 17.
The Arcs were able to take a 13-point lead at halftime and turn it into 24 points after three quarters, ultimately setting the Arcs up for an 85-46 win over Willoughby South.
The win ends the Arcs’ season at 13-4 and 6-0 in the WRC to crown themselves conference champions for yet another year.
“Winning a championship at any level is tough,” Mason said. “It’s hard to win championships and when you win these things, you got to save them….again, it’s hard to win championships at any level.”
Junior guard Elmore James finished the night with a game-high 36 points, with 21 of them coming in the first half alone. Antwone Woolfolk had 15 points along with nine from Andrew Jones to lead the Arcs.
It was a fast start for the Arcs Wednesday night, they got out to an early double-digit lead in the first six minutes of the game. The lead would be just nine points after the opening quarter after James was able to beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
Elmore James beats the buzzer to give @BrushAthletics a 22-13 lead after the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/Xv8ilgYEVr
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 18, 2021
Willoughby South was able to hang around some more in the second quarter behind Tyree Talley’s eight points. The Rebels were able to cut the lead to as little as seven points, but too much Woolfolk and James offensively stopped any momentum for South. The Arcs took a 38-25 lead heading into halftime.
The Arcs made a couple of runs to start the third quarter to really open the game up. James connected on two three-point plays near the rim, finishing the quarter with 12 points. That propelled his team to outscore the Rebels 22-11 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for Doug Barber and his team.
In the end, the Rebels were held to just 21 points in the second half. Rebounding and physicality appeared to be an advantage for the Arcs all night and that is what started to open the game up in the second half according to Willoughby South coach Doug Barber.
“They’re very good. They’re very big and physical and that’s where they kind of won it tonight,” Barber said. “Offensively I thought we did fine. Ultimately, we didn’t get it done on the glass and they shot a high percentage from three and that was the difference in the second half.”
The Rebels end their season playing three games in the next three nights. Their record drops to 1-8 on the year following the 85-46 loss to the Arcs.
For James and his team, they’ll have to wait exactly one week till their next game. The Arcs open up postseason play hosting Willoughby South on Feb. 24.
Ending the regular season with a win and a conference title was the mindset for Mason and his team entering Wednesday night. It’s only giving some of his players more confidence as the season continues.
“It means a lot,” James said after winning another conference championship. “We knew we had to come out with a winning mindset and give it our all to win a championship.
“I feel like we’re at a very good point in the season,” he continued. “I feel like we’re at a very high point and we’ve been getting better and better as the games have been going on as a team and I’m very confident moving forward.”
