Boys Basketball: Lorain can't sustain solid start in loss to Brunswick

LORAIN — For a quarter and a half Lorain appeared to have everything going its way. Then Brunswick flipped the switch and the tables quickly turned. The Titans led by as many as eight points in the first half before the Blue Devils pulled away for a 69-53 Greater Cleveland Conference road win. The turning point was Brunswick's 18-3 run to end the first half and give it a 41-34 halftime lead. "We kinda went away from the game plan a little bit in the second quarter," Lorain coach Matt Kielian said. "It's tough, they're high school kids and they get a little anxious and a little confident in what they can do and they forget the other team is pretty good, too." Lorain (1-4, 0-2 GCC) was led by junior Kane Taliano, who had 17 points. Jaylen Jackson had 12 for the Titans but only scored a point after hitting a 3-pointer with 3:35 left in the first half that gave the Titans a 31-24 lead. Despite allowing the Blue Devils (3-0, 2-0 GCC) to shoot 55 percent from the field, Lorain hung within six points, 53-47, at the end of the third quarter. Brunswick started the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 63-49 and take total control. "We're just trying to do some things to fit our personnel," Kielian said. "We've obviously had some tough games this season. If we keep practicing with a purpose and understanding of what we're going to need to do to be competitive, we've been tough to beat at some points in time this season." Brunswick had three players in double figures, led by guard Trey Drexler with 18 and forward Sean Barnett with 17. "(Lorain) had a pretty good game plan coming into the game, they face-guarded me and they defended well," Barnett said. "In the second half we had to handle business. We knew we were the better team and we came out and did it." The Titans didn't score their first points of the fourth quarter until a basket by sophomore Javell Morris made it 61-49 with 5:01 remaining. Lorain then went another 3 1/2 minutes without a score until a Taliano putback with 1:23 to play. "Brunswick is a very solid and fundamental team. We made a couple of hiccups and they took advantage of them," Kielian said. "They have some really talented players over there. I've known Drexler and Barnett since they were younger and they just keep getting better." Lorain made four 3-pointers in the second period, getting one each from Taliano, Jackson, Morris and Jah'Meir Booker, but only made one shot from beyond the arc in the second half. Lorain finished the night 20-for-43 shooting (47 percent) and was over 50 percent from the field for the first three quarters before a 3-for-11 fourth quarter. Daniels and Morris each had seven points for Lorain. Drew Matus also put in 16 for Brunswick. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Brunswick 69, Lorain 53 Brunswick (69): Sean Barnett 6-2-17, Drew Matus 6-0-16, Luke Stella 4-0-9, Trey Drexler 8-1-18, Dom Fenton 0-0-0, Blayke Hamilton 0-0-0, Adin Evert 4-0-9. Totals 28-3-69. Lorain (53): Nehemiah Gardner 1-0-2, Kane Taliano 6-3-17, Jeremiah Daniels 3-1-7, Brandon Serrano 1-1-3, Jah'Meir Booker 1-0-3, Jaylen Jackson 4-3-12, Isaiah Maldonado 0-0-0, Javell Morris 3-0-7, Dominic Andulics-Valentine 1-0-2. Totals 20-8-53. Brunswick&emsp;16&emsp;25&emsp;12&emsp;16&emsp;—&emsp;69 Lorain&emsp;18&emsp;16&emsp;13&emsp;6&emsp;—&emsp;53 Three-point goals: Brunswick (Matus 4, Barnett 3, Stella, Drexler, Evert), Lorain (Taliano 2, Booker, Jackson, Morris). Field goals: Brunswick 28-51 (55 percent), Lorain 20-43 (47 percent). Free throws: Brunswick 3-6 (50 percent), Lorain 8-12 (67 percent). Rebounds: Brunswick 27, Lorain 22. Turnovers: Brunswick 13, Lorain 16. Team fouls: Brunswick 15, Lorain 11. Junior varsity: Brunswick, 52-23.