Brush vs. Walsh Jesuit boys basketball: Arcs unable to rally from slow start, fall to Warriors, 46-39

Nov. 27—Without a field goal in the first three minutes of the first quarter, Brush had to fight from behind early against Walsh Jesuit at Cleveland Heights in the Great Lakes Classic on Nov. 27.

The Arcs (0-1) were down double digits at the half, but a biradge of three pointers in the third and fourth quarters made it a two-possession game. But the Warriors' control of the glass proved to be Brush's undoing as they fell, 46-39.

Brush's shots weren't falling, and they needed to find second and third chances.

But the Warriors grabbed 37 rebounds to Brush's 14. That was the emphasis of Coach Chet Mason's talks with the team in timeouts and the half.

"We schedule these teams for a reason," Mason said. "Walsh is a good team and we want to start the season against one of the best teams possible. We started slow with 11 points and we knew that things like that can happen. We didn't box out and that is what killed us on the glass."

While the rebounds were an issue, it was also a challenge for the two returning starters from a season ago. Marlon Barnes and Tyler Williams were scoreless at the half and finished with eight points and one, respectively.

Needing players to step up, the pair of Alijah Murray and Yahir Hill did just that. Murray had 11 points to lead the Arcs, while Hill had 10 off the bench.

"We need guys to step up because we know that Tyler and Marlon are going to be targeted," Mason said. "We need guys like that to contribute. We tell all our guys that come off the bench and didn't play key roles a season ago that they need to step up. If we can get a lot of guys to contribute, that will be a help for us come playoff time."

Murray and Barnes' sharp shooting paved the way for the Arcs to start their rally and slowly reel in the Warriors. Twice the Arcs trimmed the lead to six as the duo combined for the six 3s Brush had in the second half.

But their rally fell short as they were unable to force any turnovers late. But throughout the game, the Arcs forced 14 turnovers and were able to get the ball in transition.

One of the big keys for Mason has always been defense, and while they didn't have the best offensive showing, he was pleased with what he saw on the opposite end of the floor.

"Defense is our identity," Mason said. "Last year, we kept teams on average to 43 points a game. While we would rather have been on the other end of the result, we're taking that positive part going forward. We were able to play really good defense and that was a big positive out of the result."

Walsh was led by Zach Halligan with his 14-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Warriors also saw Ruel Tomlinson haul in 10 boards to go with his eight points.

Brush looks to get in the win column when it hosts International Sports Academy on Dec. 2.