Boys basketball: Sean Barnett gets hot hand to lead Brunswick over Shaker Heights

BRUNSWICK — Tuesday night couldn't come soon enough for Sean Barnett.After suffering through the worst shooting performance of his high school career Saturday against Glenville, the 6-foot-5 power forward caught fire as the Brunswick boys basketball team drilled Shaker Heights 85-54 in a Greater Cleveland Conference mismatch that was played with a running clock for the final 5:47.Barnett, who was 4-for-17 from the field and 1-for-11 on 3-pointers in a 74-58 non-league loss to Glenville, led the Blue Devils (13-3, 8-0) with 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting against the Raiders (5-8, 2-6). The senior made 8-of-12 3-pointers, including six in a row and 8-of-9 from late in the second quarter until early in the fourth."I was very eager to get back on the court," Barnett said. "I had a poor performance against Glenville. Right after the game, I came in here (to the locker room) and sat in silence."When he finally left the Brunswick gym Saturday, Barnett went straight to the apartment of older brother Marquis, who last season concluded his Division I college career at Kent State."Normally after a game, you go out and eat, but I didn't eat anything," he said. "I went straight to my brother's apartment and he got on me a little bit. He told me I had to move without the ball and do other things. He said, 'If you're just focused on shooting, that isn't going to help.' This game I started down low and that's what got me going."All the Blue Devils got it going against Shaker Heights as Brunswick led 20-10, 43-23 and 67-40 at the quarter breaks. The only reasons the Blue Devils didn't score 90-plus points were the running clock and an early clearing of the bench by coach Joe Mackey, who sat in his office until 12:45 a.m. Sunday after the loss to Glenville.Point guard Trey Drexler had 27 points and went 6-for-8 from deep while adding four rebounds and two assists as Brunswick made 17 3-pointers in 28 attempts (.607), with blue-collar center Adin Evert adding nine points, 10 boards and four assists.Small forward Luke Stella had just two points, but he contributed three rebounds and a game-high five assists for the Blue Devils, who got a big lift from freshman Blayke Hamilton.Hamilton, the younger brother of 2022 Gazette MVP Brayden Hamilton, had eight second-quarter points after starting shooting guard Drew Matus went down with a sprained ankle with 5:27 left in the period.Blayke Hamilton, whose parents spelled his first name the way they did so it would match the "Y" in Brayden, scored on a drive and hit a pair of 3-pointers as Brunswick went on a 15-4 run to go up 37-18 with 1:54 to go in the first half. He missed his only two shots of the second half after scoring 17 points in the junior varsity game, but also finished with five rebounds and an assist in the varsity contest."It felt good," Hamilton said. "My teammates were proud of me. They put me in the best positions to succeed."Overall, Brunswick went 27-for-47 from the field (.575), while Jacire Eaddy was a one-man show for Shaker Heights with 31 points. The small forward didn't attempt a shot in the second quarter, sitting most of it with two fouls, but with 10 points he was the only Raider to score over the first 8:36 of the game. He added nine points in the third period and 12 in the fourth, repeatedly bulling his was to the hoop while going 13-for-22 from the floor.The rest of the Raiders combined to go 9-for-32 from the field (.281), with no one scoring more than five points.Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.Brunswick 85, Shaker Heights 54SHAKER HEIGHTS 10 13 17 14 — 54BRUNSWICK 20 23 24 18 — 85Shaker Heights — Jacire Eaddy 13-3-31, Dillon Slaughter 1-1-4, Max Resnick 1-0-2, Ezra Epstein 1-0-3, Chris Cunningham 1-0-2, Kevin Lowery 2-1-5, Dejuan Fuentes 2-0-5, Lyric Bryant 0-0-0, Aria Carcelles 1-0-2, Shane Karlowicz 0-0-0, Bryce Twyman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-5-54.Brunswick — Luke Stella 1-0-2, Sean Barnett 10-4-32, Adin Evert 3-2-9, Drew Matus 2-0-4, Trey Drexler 7-7-27, Blayke Hamilton 3-0-8, Prince Abi 0-0-0, Brandt Almady 0-0-0, Dom Fenton 1-0-2, Aaden Lombardo 0-1-1, Sam Watkins 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-14-85.3-point goals — Eaddy 2, Fuentes, Slaughter, Epstein, Barnett 8, Drexler 6, Hamilton 2, Evert. Rebounds — Shaker Heights 28 (Slaughter, Fuentes 6), Brunswick 29 (Evert 10). Assists — Shaker Heights 6 (Cunningham 4), Brunswick 14 (Stella 5). Records — Shaker Heights (5-8, 2-6), Brunswick (13-3, 8-0). Junior varsity — Brunswick 63, Shaker Heights 40 (B: Hamilton 17, Watkins 12, Fenton 10).