AKRON — Two more minutes. Maybe 30 seconds.
The time ultimately needed to complete a miracle was debatable. A lifetime of what-ifs is not.
The Brunswick boys basketball team left its collective heart on the James A. Rhodes Arena floor Thursday night against Canton McKinley in the University of Akron Division I Regional semifinals.
Given no chance early in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils embarked on a last-ditch rally that was oh-so-close.
Alas, Brunswick ran out of time and lost 72-65.
The Bullodgs (22-5) advanced to play undefeated Lima (27-0) on Saturday, but only after the Blue Devils (21-5) whittled a 21-point deficit to six and missed a good look at a 3-pointer that would have made it a three-point game.
“I’d give anything to play just 30 more seconds on that court,” Brunswick point guard Michael Quiring said. “It’s a great venue and it’s a great experience.
“You never know. A minute or two more (and maybe we come back), but too bad it doesn’t happen in basketball. It’s too bad.”
Facing full-court pressure all night, Quiring was Brunswick’s top player with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kevin Simmons scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, while Kyle Goessler (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Aaron Badowski (6, 4 rebounds, 2 charges taken) also contributed.
McKinley got 19 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, three steals and seven turnovers from versatile 6-foot-5 senior LePear Toles. Beefy 6-7 Akron recruit Jordan Davis scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter, 5-10 guard Darryl Straughter added eight points, seven boards and four assists and sixth man Kynan Hall (13 points, 11 in second half) scored six key points in crunch time to keep the Blue Devils at bay.
Brunswick trailed 61-40 with 5:01 left and a few fans trickled toward the exits. Simmons then morphed into a high-flying superguard determined to get to the rack — he made 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth — and Badowski made a 3-pointer to pull the Blue Devils to single digits with 2:40 to play.
The game became crazier, as Quiring was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three foul shots to bring the score to 69-63 with 19.5 seconds to go. Goessler got a steal almost immediately, but Quiring’s good look at another three went begging.
Brunswick made the score 70-65 on an acrobatic putback by senior Ryan Flynn with 6.4 seconds left, but Straughter cashed in two free throws to seal the game.
“It kind of shows the heart of this team,” Blue Devils coach Joe Mackey said. “We’ve been down all season long and found ways to get back in games.”
Davis was a manchild inside, teaming with Toles to score 16 of McKinley’s 20 first-period points. The beginning of the second quarter was the unraveling for Brunswick, which gave up a 13-0 run, didn’t score until Zach Cebula hit a 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining before halftime and shot 1-for-9 (1-for-8 threes).
The Bulldogs made 13 of their first 16 shots and 17-of-27 in the half.
Rebounding was an issue, too, as the Blue Devils didn’t grab their first until 2:48 was left in the opening period and their second until 4:39 to go in the half. They were being outrebounded 16-4 at half en route to a 34-21 deficit overall.
“Give credit to them,” Quiring said. “They made a lot of shots (29-for-54 overall). That big guy (Davis), he was killing us down low, so we had to choose one or the other (Toles).”
Brunswick, which made 9-of-37 3-pointers and 8-of-15 two-pointers, also couldn’t take full advantage of McKinley not playing intelligently with a big lead and switching to a 3-2 zone. The Blue Devils were 5-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-8 from 3-point range in the third quarter, which ended with them trailing 50-32.
Though Brunswick scored a whopping 33 points in the fourth — the second most in school history — and proved its character for the umpteenth time, there wasn’t quite enough magic flowing through the 5,500-seat arena.
“We just played a bad first half,” Mackey said. “When you’re playing in the Sweet 16 against Canton McKinley, you really can’t have a bad quarter, little alone a bad half.”
McKinley 72, Brunswick 65
University of Akron Division I Regional Semifinal
BRUNSWICK 15 6 11 33 — 65
MCKINLEY 20 18 12 22 — 72
Brunswick — Kyle Goessler 2-5 0-0 6, Zach Cebula 2-9 0-0 5, Aaron Badowski 2-4 0-0 6, Kevin Simmons 3-13 17-19 23, Michael Quiring 6-16 4-5 19, Keith Simmons 0-1 0-0 0, Zak Zografos 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Mick 1-2 1-2 4, Josh Herron 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Flynn 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Chad Kaiser 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-52 22-26 65.
McKinley — LePear Toles 6-11 3-5 19, Isaiah Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Jordan Davis 8-10 1-2 17, Trajen Wood 0-2 2-2 2, Darryl Straughter 3-9 2-3 8, Kynan Hall 6-9 1-2 13, Javon Stovall 1-1 0-0 2, Josh Ogletree 0-2 0-0 0, Dominique Robinson 1-3 0-0 2, Charles Hall 1-2 0-0 2, Andre Leavell 1-1 0-0 3, Isaiah Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Kwausy Toles 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29-54 9-12 72.
3-point goals — Brunswick 9-37 (Quiring 3-11, Badowski 2-4, Goessler 2-5, Mick 1-2, Cebula 1-7, Kei. Simmons 0-1, Flynn 0-1, Kev. Simmons 0-6), McKinley 5-13 (L. Toles 4-6, Leavell 1-1, Williams 0-1, Wood 0-1, Straughter 0-4). Fouled out — Quiring, Kev. Simmons. Rebounds — Brunswick 21 (Quiring, Badowski 4), McKinley 34 (Straughter, L. Toles 7). Assists — Brunswick 7 (Quiring 3), McKinley 19 (L. Toles 9). Turnovers — Brunswick 10 (Quiring, Goessler, Badowski 3), McKinley 15 (L. Toles 7). Fouls — Brunswick 16, McKinley 23. Records — Brunswick (21-5), McKinley (22-5).