Brunswick won its holiday tournament by shocking top-ranked Shaker Heights, 56-54 in overtime in boys basketball action.
Brunswick entered the championship game of the eighth annual Brunswick Holiday Tournament against Shaker Heights as an underdog.
But after defeating the No. 1 Raiders, 56-54, in an overtime thriller, the Blue Devils look more like a powerhouse in training.
Not many people expected the young Blue Devils, who start two sophomores and have only three seniors on the roster, to make the championship game of the tournament, let alone win.
Brunswick managed to not only take down the best team in the area, but also keep Louisville recruit Terry Rozier as much as a non factor as possible.
Rozier led the game with 21 points, but in crunch time, sophomore Ryan Badowski showed mature leadership and a crucial clutch mentality. As the clock ran under 10 seconds, the teams were locked at 54-54.
Badowski, Brunswick's point guard, had a plan of action.
"I was looking to drive, penetrate and kick it out," he said.
As Badowski dribbled a couple of steps in front of the 3-point line, he received a couple of feet of breathing room between the defender.
Badowski took the shot.
"Ryan, for a sophomore, is a big-time player," said coach Joe Mackey. "That's the guy we want shooting."
The jump shot, a shot the packed house in the Brunswick gymnasium won't soon forget, fell through the net and sealed a victory for the unranked Blue Devils over powerhouse Shaker Heights.
"When you're the No. 1 team in the area, guys are going to give you their best shot," said Shaker Heights coach Danny Young. "Our guys have got to understand that you have to be ready to play out of the gate."
The Raiders were a bit slow to start, as a technical foul from a pre-game dunk allowed the Blue Devils to take a quick 2-0 lead.
Badowski followed with a 3-pointer for five unanswered opening points.
Badowski finished the game with 20 points.
"We want to win our home tournament every year," Badowski said. "But beating the No. 1 team in the area . . . you'll remember it for the rest of your life."
Although Badowski hit the game-winning shot, his biggest accomplishment of the game may have come with 10.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, when his team trailed, 46-43.
The Blue Devils struggled to find an open shot twice, as the Warriors defense committed a couple of fouls, forcing a few inbound plays.
On the third attempt, Badowski spotted up for a 3-pointer.
Badowski was fouled.
The sophomore kept his composure, and knocked down each foul shot, forcing overtime.
"They had the lead there late," Mackey said. "We still found a way to execute down the stretch. I loved the execution down the stretch."
At halftime, Shaker Heights had not taken any type of lead.
But the Raiders never trailed by more than six points.
With less than three minutes in the half, Brunswick led, 26-20, following a 6-0 run.
That was the largest margin between the two teams in the game.
From there, neither team would lead by more than four points.
Mayfield 56, Solon 55: After leading the entire game, Mayfield saw what was once a 20-point lead turn into a 54-53 deficit against Solon with 1:32 remaining in the game.
"For three quarters we were playing really, really well," said coach Keith Leffler. "We didn't handle prosperity really well."
It didn't get much better from there.
With seven seconds remaining, Mayfield was on the wrong side of two missed free throws. Trailing 55-53, the Comets scrambled for a rebound.
Kris Martin, who was fouled on the board, hit his first free throw.
The game-tying foul shot rimmed out, but with 2.4 remaining, Gerald Gaiter tipped in the ball to seal the victory.
"Hopefully that's the one lesson we take from this game, we cannot quit on any plays or games," Leffler said.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/hssports/blog/index.ssf/2011/12/brunswick_beats_shaker_heights.html
Asia Simon Barker Arsenal Blackburn Rovers West Ham United Fifa
No comments:
Post a Comment