by This content is brought to you by – https://keeonsports.com/sponsors/
MACEDONIA, Ohio– Coming off an emotional win against Medina last week, Brunswick coach Joseph Mackey and his team knew they had more to prove.
They continued to feed off that win against their rival, as they defeated Nordonia Tuesday night, 73-68 after a sluggish first couple of minutes of the game.
“We came out of the gates real flat, called a timeout, and then settled in to finish the quarter on a really good run,” Mackey said about his team’s start to the night against Nordonia. “I was really proud of our kids, this was a really good team that beat Stow and I think Stow is as good as any team in the state.”
It took the Blue Devils about four minutes to get acclimated against the Knights and once they were able to figure that out, they started to click on all cylinders.
It started with the stellar guard play. The trio of Tommy Morgan, Quinn Barnett and Maxx Dickinson nearly outscored the Knights themselves in the first half. The Knights were able to get out to a 17-9 lead in the game’s opening five minutes and then hit a wall.
From there, the Blue Devils ended the first quarter on a 10-2 run, carrying that momentum over to the second quarter.
As a team, they dominated the closing of the first half, ending the final eight minutes on an 18-9 run to head into halftime with a 37-28 lead. The Blue Devils took their first game lead after a Trey Drexler 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the first half.
The freshman point guard had three points in the first half but created a slew of scoring plays for his team to get them out to an early lead.
“You look at your team, their strengths, weaknesses and your best five and that’s just the way we’re going to have to play,’ Mackey said about his team fighting through size, including four starters under six feet tall. “It’s a fun system to play in. I thought late in the game we found the right matchup and got some easy baskets. Our kids just made play after play.”
Playmaking was the strength of the Blue Devils throughout the second half, starting with Drexler. He ended the night with 16 points, 13 of them in the second half, including knocking down free throws late in the fourth quarter to eventually put the game out of reach for the Knights.
Throughout the third quarter, the Blue Devils stayed afloat with a solid offense that led to 3-pointers and fastbreak points.
@TreyDrexler knocks down a 3 to push Brunswick out in front 64-50, 3 mins left in the 4th Q. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/zv0AIUENdq
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 1, 2023
Their lead was nearing 20 points until the Knights were able to chip away at the start of the fourth quarter. In fact, they got the game within two possessions with under five minutes left in the game.
Big time 3-pointer from Tommy Morgan to squash the Nordonia momentum.
Brunswick leads 59-50, 4:42 left in the 4th @BrunswickBball @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/pEd3RZHfDg— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 1, 2023
Consistently knocking down team free throws continued to halt any comeback with under two minutes left in the game and that really proved to be the main factor down the stretch that kept the Knights from taking any sort of lead.
For the game, Tommy Morgan finished with a team-high 21 points. Maxx Dickinson, Drexler and Quinn Barnett rounded out the double-digit scoring, finishing with 16, 16 and 12 points, respectively.
“I think that just comes from the confidence and the work we put in the gym,” Drexler said after his team was able to knock down late-game shots to keep the game out of reach for the Knights.
For the Knights, Landon Naylor ended the night with a game-high 20 points during the loss. Liam Gopalakrishna and Joey Palinkas rounded out the scoring with 13 and 11 points each.
Mackey likes the way his team is starting to click this late in the season. He understands his team might be overlooked at times with a less-than-average starting five average height.
But he’s gotten his team a big confidence boost, starting with his freshman point guard helping lead them.
“We’re absolutely going towards the right direction,” Drexler said after the win. “We got two or three big wins in a row and we got a tough schedule coming up.”
