Brunswick vs. Avon boys basketball: Eagles fall behind early, drop nonconference game

It’s difficult to play catch-up, especially against a good team. Avon found that out the hard way, trailing wire to wire and falling to Brunswick, 70-55, in a home nonconference game on Feb. 4.

The Eagles (12-6) were down from the beginning of the game, and couldn’t come back against the Blue Devils’ 3-point barrage. Brunswick knocked down seven triples in the first quarter, accounting for 21 of its 23 points. Avon trailed by 10 at the end of the first, and the deficit stayed between eight and 17 points for the rest of the game.

“They have a lot of threats,” said Avon coach Mike Fitch. “You can stop one guy, they kick it, and the next guy’s going to knock it down. They hit 11 3’s in the first half, once we got down double digits, it stayed there. We played consistent after that, but it’s a good basketball team.”

Quinn Barnett made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Maxx Dickinson and Tommy Morgan made two each. Morgan made another in the second quarter, but Avon couldn’t stop Dickinson.

PHOTOS: Avon vs. Brunswick boys basketball, Feb. 4, 2023

The Eagles switched to their 1-2-2 zone that worked so well against Rocky River on Jan. 31, but Dickinson was running corner to corner and burying open looks. He made three more 3-pointers in the second quarter, including two in a row to put Brunswick up 43-28 late in the second quarter. Nolan Good made a layup in the final seconds for Avon to cut the deficit to 13 at the break.

"I think they missed one or two 3's in the first half, I'm not even sure if any of them hit the rim," said Good. "Against a team like that, you have to expect that they're going to make shots, contested shots. You have to keep pushing through."

Avon had a good offensive game with its typical balanced scoring, but the Blue Devils had an answer each time. Good and Zane Austin combined for nine of the Eagles' 13 points in the third, both trying to get their team back in the game. Trey Drexler hit a stepback triple for his only 3-pointer of the game to extend the Brunswick lead to 14, but Avon fought back with its only real momentum of the game.

A 7-2 run led by Good and Austin cut the deficit back down to single digits for first time since the early second quarter. Good made a tough layup and knocked down a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound by Austin. On the following possession, Austin got a steal and made a floater to cut it to 52-43.

The Blue Devils were starting to cool down and Avon was finally getting consistent stops. However, the next few possessions were wasted by the Eagles. Three forced shots in a row halted the momentum, and Brunswick ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to go up by 16 and basically put the game away.

Morgan scored a layup after a patient possession, and Barnett knocked down another 3-pointer to extend the lead back up to 14. On the move with the clock running down, Caid Som made his only field goal of the game at the buzzer to make it 59-43.

"The last minute or so in the third quarter, we played selfish basketball, or hero ball as we call it," said Fitch. "We didn't play team basketball, and they took advantage. We have to clean that up."

Avon got it down to 13 twice in the fourth, but Brunswick answered both times. With this game not having any tournament or conference implications, this loss serves as a learning lesson to help the Eagles get better down the home stretch.

"I think we learn from this game, we battled," said Fitch. "I know we were down double digits for most of the game, and I think we learned from this one."

Dickinson led Brunswick with 19 points, while Morgan had 18. Barnett chipped in with 14 and Drexler had 12. Good paced Avon with 12 points, with Austin and Nate Farley each scoring 10.