Boys Basketball: Brookside loses thriller to Berea-Midpark

SHEFFIELD — Brookside almost knocked off one of the best teams in the Southwestern Conference. The Cardinals put together a frantic rally to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter, but SWC-leading Berea-Midpark held on for a high-flying 94-91 non-conference win Tuesday evening. "We put up a fight, but it's the little things that matter earlier in the game and then executing when the time gets like this," said Brookside's Marquis Capers, who finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals, including one in the final minute to keep Brookside's hopes alive. "But it was a fantastic game. They're the best in their league and we're the best in our league. Nobody expected this to happen. We're in a great position right now if we can keep up with teams like this." Brookside (13-7) did not want Berea-Midpark's shooters to get going, electing to live with Dylan Maddox taking 3-point shots. The junior entered the game shooting just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc but exploded for a career-high 23 points and connected on 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Tyson Clay and Nick Reece also eclipsed the 20-point mark for the Titans, finishing with 29 and 24, respectively. Berea-Midpark (13-6) had a similar approach with the Cardinals, as they made it difficult for sharpshooters Nolan and Mason Waechter to get open looks. The pair combined to shoot 5-of-17 from 3-point range, with Nolan finishing with 15 points and Mason nine. "I told everybody we're going to give up layups," Brookside coach Larry Babics said. "I don't want to give up threes to these guys because it's what they do. We just tried to match them with some threes and just down the stretch they made a few more plays to get the win. How they play is how we try to play. Honestly, they just do it better because they shoot at a better percentage. And that guard (Clay) is phenomenal. He does everything and gets them in the right spots." Neither team led by more than six in the first half, but Berea-Midpark changed that with a 21-9 run to open the third quarter, taking a 70-57 lead with 2:05 to play. Maddox was virtually unstoppable during this stretch, scoring all 12 of his third-quarter points during the run. Capers and senior Jack Holman, who led Brookside with 28 points, helped the Cardinals get back into the game with a 22-5 run, and they took a 79-75 lead with 5:20 to play. The pair combined for 13 points during that stretch. "In the locker room at halftime we had a talk, four minutes into the third quarter that's when we know what the game outcome is going to be," Holman said. "They did start to pull away, we faced some adversity and had to battle back. We all did it. We all had to put in that extra effort. We had guys step up that don't normally step up on defense." The teams changed leads six times during the next four minutes until Reece scored a layup that gave Berea-Midpark a 90-87 lead with 1:05 left. Brookside's Alex Arra, who finished with 11 points, was left wide open on the ensuing possession, but his shot rattled out and the Titans secured the rebound. Capers came up with a steal off the inbounds pass. He converted a layup, cutting the lead to 90-89 with 33 seconds left. Clay hit two free throws, but the second one was waved off because his foot was on the line. Nolan Waechter tried a deep three to give Brookside the lead, but it bounced off the rim and the Titans split another pair of free throws. Arra was given an uncontested lane and cut the deficit back to one, but this time the Titans hit both their free throws, resulting in a desperation heave with 2.5 seconds left to Nolan Waechter, who couldn't connect on a frantic corner three. "Our style of play, averaging 85 points a game, we give up leads pretty quickly," Berea-Midpark coach Kevin Braaten said. "The guys are used to that, it's kind of a normal position for us, so they didn't panic. Our four sophomores have played a ton of varsity basketball. They stayed calm and we made some nice plays." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Berea-Midpark 94, Brookside 91BEREA-MIDPARK (94): Dylan Maddox 8-3-23, Tyson Clay 12-4-29, Reid Braaten 3-0-7, Andre Alexander 2-2-7, Nick Reece 10-1-24, Vincent Weaver 0-0-0, Manny Santiago 1-0-2, Cal Maloney 1-0-2. Totals 37-10-94.BROOKSIDE (91): Nolan Waechter 4-5-15, Mason Waechter 3-0-9, Marquis Capers 8-2-18, Jack Holman 11-5-28, Jayden Nazario 3-1-8, Alex Arra 5-1-11, Dominic Lundberg 0-0-0, Noah Adkins 0-0-0, Anthony Robinson 1-0-2, Noah Muniz 0-0-0. Totals 35-14-91.Berea-Midpark&emsp;&emsp;21&emsp;&emsp;28&emsp;&emsp;23&emsp;&emsp;22&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;94Brookside&emsp;&emsp;25&emsp;&emsp;23&emsp;&emsp;20&emsp;&emsp;23&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;91Three-point goals: Berea-Midpark 10-33 (Maddox 4, Reece 3, Alexander, Braaten, Clay), Brookside 7-25 (Mason Waechter 3, Nolan Waechter 2, Holman, Nazario). Field goals: Berea-Midpark 37-82 (45 percent), Brookside 35-70 (50 percent). Free throws: Berea-Midpark 10-17 (59 percent), Brookside 14-20 (70 percent). Rebounds: Berea-Midpark 41 (Maddox 13, Reece 10), Brookside 28 (Nolan Waechter 7). Total fouls: Berea-Midpark 16, Brookside 14. Turnovers: Berea-Midpark 10, Brookside 9.Junior varsity: Berea-Midpark, 70-57.