GRANGER TWP. — The best-players-on-the-court effect saved Brunswick’s boys basketball team.
Behind another mistake-free performance from All-Gazette point guard Michael Quiring and a huge second quarter from left-hander Kevin Simmons, the Blue Devils did just enough to put away scrappy, inexperienced Highland 48-38 in non-league play Tuesday.
Brunswick’s Michael Quiring drives past Highland’s Collin Levandowski during the second quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Outside of a 22-6 advantage in the second quarter, Brunswick (1-0) looked out of sync and had defensive breakdowns that allowed the Hornets (1-1) to claw back into a game that teetered on the brink of blowout status.
The Blue Devils were not happy whatsoever, especially since they open Greater Cleveland Conference play Friday at high-octane Mentor.
“Sloppy,” Quiring said. “We expected to execute a little bit better. We didn’t come out and do that. We missed a lot of shots — a lot of easy ones down low — and we didn’t play well defensively.
“We were really lazy defensively. If we do that Friday, it will show on the scoreboard. We know if we do that against Mentor, they’re going to light us up. We need to be more active.”
Quiring was the most consistent player on the court with 16 points, three rebounds and a team-high three assists while not committing a turnover. Simmons was brilliant in spurts and added a solid all-around line of 17 points, seven boards and four steals. He had 10 points in the second quarter.
Brunswick committed just seven turnovers overall and was 7-for-14 from the floor while nailing five 3-pointers in the deciding second quarter, but was 8-for-33 (.242) otherwise. Ball movement was inconsistent and inside scoring was non-existent outside of drives to the rim.
The Blue Devils were more disappointed with their defense after watching a comfortable lead slip to 38-31 with 3:45 left. Highland had a bunch of good looks, but was 11-for-37 over the final three quarters.
“We struggled defensively,” Simmons said. “We just weren’t playing hard enough, but we fought through it and got a couple buckets late.”
“(Highland) just kept coming back on us,” Quiring added, “but that’s a testament to their team. We just need to learn from it.”
The Hornets looked to be on the brink of collapse down 32-17 at halftime and looked all but dead after shooting 3-for-12 in a seven-point third quarter. But forward Brandon Shaw (16 points, 4 3-pointers) got hot, Brunswick took ill-advised shots and Highland rallied before reigning Medina County 3-point champion Zach Cebula nailed 4-of-4 free throws for the Blue Devils.
Outside of Shaw, the Hornets got six points and nine rebounds from center Joe Wiencek and six points, six boards and two assists from and sophomore two-guard Collin Rittman.
Highland’s biggest problem was failing to establish the 6-foot-6 Wiencek inside and instead fell in love with 3-pointers. As a result, the Hornets didn’t make a free throw until 3:45 remained.
“Our offense is behind right now, obviously,” first-year coach Adam Cestaro said. “Defensively I think we’re pretty sound in what we want to do, but offensively we’re not there yet. We’re not flowing nice and we’re not playing together enough. That was the difference.”
Brunswick struggled early, missing 15 of its first 19 shots. It finally got a spark from a player making his varsity debut, as freshman guard Kyle Goessler nailed a pair of 3-pointers from the top of the arc to put Brunswick ahead for good.
The big shots that led to “He’s a fresh-man” sing-song chants from the student section kick-started a 22-4 run that featured 10 points, three steals and an assist from Simmons.
Highland never recovered.
“(Goessler) stepped up big in that spurt for us,” Quiring said. “It showed us that we needed to pick it up as seniors because he’s coming in here ready to play. We needed to do the same thing.”
Notes
The first foul of the game was called with 7:08 left in the second quarter.
l Cameron Sasala had 14 points as Brunswick’s junior varsity won 53-39. Devin Myers had 15 points for the Hornets.
Brunswick 48, Highland 38
BRUNSWICK 10 22 6 10 — 48
HIGHLAND 11 6 7 14 — 38
Brunswick — Kevin Simmons 6-4-17, Zach Cebula 1-4-6, Aaron Badowski 0-0-0, Kyle Goessler 2-0-6, Michael Quiring 5-3-16, Zak Zografos 1-0-3, Austin Mick 0-0-0, Tyler Williams 0-0-0, Ryan Flynn 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-11-48.
Highland — Isaac Matejin 0-0-0, Brandon Shaw 5-2-16, Joe Wiencek 3-0-6, Collin Rittman 3-0-6, Collin Levandowski 1-0-2, Jake Mall 3-0-6, Tyler Frederick 0-0-0, Ethan Yerian 1-0-2. TOTALS: 16-2-38.
3-point goals — Quiring 3, Goessler 2, Zografos, Simmons, Shaw 4. Rebounds — Brunswick 26 (Simmons 7), Highland 33 (Wiencek 9). Assists — Brunswick 7 (Quiring 3), Highland 7 (Levandowski 3). Records — Brunswick (1-0), Highland (1-1). Junior varsity — Brunswick 53, Highland 39.