By BRIAN DULIK

Staff Writer

EATON TWP. — “The Streak’’ is over. So is Brunswick’s brief stay in the OHSAA boys basketball tournament.

Lorain Southview played near-flawless hoops from start to finish Friday, building a 20-point lead en route to a 56-47 win over the Blue Devils in a Grafton Midview Division I Sectional final.

The loss not only knocked Brunswick (14-7) out of the postseason in its opener, it brought an end to its Medina County-record run of nine straight seasons with at least 15 victories.

“Obviously, we didn’t play one of our better games tonight, but you have to give Southview a lot of credit,’’ said Blue Devils coach Joe Mackey, whose club was the No. 2 seed. “Their pressure took us out of everything we wanted to do.

“It was one of those games where their biggest strength was our weakness all year: protecting the basketball.’’

The Saints’ suffocating full-court defense stymied Brunswick all evening, leading to 24 turnovers and a dozen easy baskets in transition.

Senior guard Montrell Elliott (16 points, 5 rebounds) was the primary finisher, though twin forwards Quincy Ezell (9 points) and Quinton Ezell (9 points) also inflicted major pain.

“We caused more problems today pressuring the basketball than we have against any team all year,’’ Southview coach Andrew Bastock said. “And Montrell really stepped up for us, as he has the last 4-5 games. Talk about coming through at the right time.’’

When the seventh-seeded Saints (14-8) weren’t picking off passes in the backcourt or forcing five-second counts, they were doing imposing their will in the paint.

Senior center Josh Biber (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals) was efficient in half-court offensive sets and downright dominant on the defensive end. The 1,081-point career scorer blanketed Blue Devils counterpart Tyler Ferrell, who only received one crisp entry pass in four quarters.

Biber never stopped working, which wound up haunting him with 23 seconds left when he fouled Ferrell away from the basket. Both players wound up on the floor — as did two of Biber’s front teeth, which were broken off jaggedly.

“Stopping Tyler was definitely our main focus tonight, and Josh did a great job,’’ Bastock said.

Ferrell finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed a game-best eight rebounds, but was forced to create his own shots off his teammates’ misses.

The junior’s persistence paid off as time wound down as he took over the county scoring lead from Black River’s David Gentry on an offensive rebound, but that meant little to him after the game.

“We didn’t show up tonight,’’ Ferrell said. “We weren’t ready to play. I don’t know what happened.’’

The lone other bright spot for Brunswick was sophomore forward Matt Dunning, who scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. He made three 3-pointers off the bench and briefly had the Blue Devils thinking comeback.

Brunswick fell behind 49-29 to start the final period, but used a 14-3 run to pull within nine at the 1:40 mark. Southview, though, promptly slammed the door as Angel Gomez made two free throws and Quincy Ezell scored a fast-break deuce.

It marked the Blue Devils’ first opening-round tournament loss since 2003, which also came at the hands of the Saints.

“To go one-and-out in the tournament is extremely frustrating,’’ Mackey said. “We knew if we turned the ball over and we didn’t shoot well, we’d be in trouble. We were.’’

Juniors Kyle Payne (5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Jeremy Salmonski (7 points), and seniors Bill Slattery (8 points) and Brian Griffey (7 assists) also provided some production for Brunswick, which led 9-4 before being outscored 45-20 over the next 20 minutes.

Southview, meanwhile, advances to the district level for just the ninth time in school history. It will play Amherst Steele, which upset No. 3 seed Strongsville 56-55 earlier in the evening.

“The kids are excited to play another Lorain County team in Amherst,’’ said Bastock, who played on the Saints’ 1986 district qualifier. “Coach (John) Srnis is very smart and knows how to spread out a defense and take advantage.

“We know we’re not just going to show up and win because they’re a good team, but we are very happy to be playing at least one more game.’’

 

Dulik may be reached at brisports@hotmail.com

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