Boys basketball: Brookside wakes up in third quarter, blasts Black River to clinch a share of third straight Lorain County League title

SULLIVAN TWP. — There are many ways to clinch a conference title. Brookside may have found a new one Friday. The Cardinals went from being behind to playing with a running clock in the matter of 11 minutes. Brookside trailed most of the first half but used a 41-point third quarter to pull away for a 101-64 win over Black River and clinch a share of its third consecutive Lorain County League title. The night ended with the Cardinals (14-7, 13-1 LCL) posing for photos with a championship banner while wearing T-shirts to celebrate their three-peat. However, the night couldn't have started much worse for Brookside, which was trailing 26-14 after the opening quarter. The Cardinals didn't take their first lead until an Alex Arra 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining in the half gave them a 35-34 lead. On most nights the Cardinals rely on their 3-point shooting but against the Pirates (4-18, 1-13) they did their best work around the rim. Sophomore Marquis Capers led the way with 30 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Jack Holman added 24 points. "When we went in the locker room (at halftime) we knew we had to change this game up and we had to do it quick," Holman said. "We had an hour bus ride here. We came in tired and drowsy and moping through the door. In the second half we finally found our energy." Did they ever, The Cardinals opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run that included back-to-back baskets by Nolan Waechter. Lorain County's leading scorer was held to 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half. All that mattered to him though, was another championship. "It's amazing," Waechter said. "It's everything we've talked about since coach (Larry Babics) came here. This is the standard. This is a special team. I'd argue we're not just the best team since coach has been here but in history. We showed our heart and the love for the game that we have." It wasn't an easy road to the title for Brookside, which lost its first LCL opener against Keystone and had to win 13 league games in a row to ensure at least a co-championship. Keystone is 12-1 in the LCL with a game left to play against Wellington on Monday. "Our main goal every year is to win conference, so this means everything," Babics said. "Everyone on this team is special and they're all a little different and each brings something different. This is such a talented group it would have sucked not to win with these guys." The Cardinals outscored Black River 41-14 in the third quarter to take 78-51 lead. "There were no coaching adjustments in the second half," Babics said. "It was either figure it our or you're going to lose." Capers scored a basket with 5:11 remaining in the game to extend Brookside's lead to 90-55 and start the running clock. "Marquis was unreal all game, he's such a hard worker," Babics said. "He rebounded and guarded everyone at the rim. He was phenomenal, and Jack was phenomenal." Babics said at the end of Thursday's film session he pulled Arra aside and told him he would score 20 points against the Pirates. Arra made his coach look like a prophet with a 21-point effort that included 12 third-quarter points. Black River sophomore Zane Kristophel nearly single-handedly derailed the Cardinals' championship dreams with 27 points and 22 rebounds. Parker Broadsword and Hunter Varney were also in double figures for the Pirates with 11 and 10 points. "It feels fantastic to join a winning team and winning program," said Capers, who transferred to Brookside from Lutheran West. "I know how much this means to my seniors. I'm ready to get back to work and get a four-peat next year." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7235 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Brookside 101, Black River 64 BROOKSIDE (101): Nolan Waechter 6-1-16, Alex Arra 6-6-21, Anthony Robinson 0-1-1, Mason Waechter 2-0-4, Marquis Capers 13-4-30, Jack Holman 10-4-24, Jayden Nazario 1-0-2, Tyler Kitzberger 1-0-3. Totals 39-16-101. BLACK RIVER (64): Austin Pamer 3-2-9, Zane Kristophel 12-3-27, Parker Broadsword 3-4-11, Hunter Varney 3-2-10, Zyan Griffin 3-1-7. Totals 24-12-64. Brookside&emsp; 14&emsp;23&emsp;41&emsp;23&emsp;—&emsp;101Black River&emsp;26&emsp;11&emsp;14&emsp;13&emsp;—&emsp;64 Three-point goals: Brookside (N. Waechter 3, Arra 3, Kitzberger), Black River (Varney 2, Broadsword, Pamer). Field goals: Brookside 39-73 (54 percent), Black River 24-61 (39 percent). Free throws: Brookside 16-26 (62 percent), Black River 12-19 (63 percent). Rebounds: Brookside 44, Black River 46. Turnovers: Brookside 11, Black River 18. Team fouls: Brookside 19, Black River 19. Fouled out: Pamer Junior varsity: Brookside, 70-41