Commentary: Brunswick just didn't have it in loss to Elyria

Veteran Brunswick boys basketball coach Joe Mackey played the "what if" game Wednesday night, but not in the way many people would expect.Even without four-year starting point guard Trey Drexler due to a broken wrist, the 30th-year coach firmly believed his Blue Devils were good enough to beat Elyria in a Division I, Region 1 semifinal at the University of Akron's James A. Rhodes Arena.It didn't materialize, as poor first-half rebounding and poor 3-point shooting throughout led to a season-ending 54-39 loss to the Pioneers."The loss is one thing," Mackey said. "We get it. We just didn't play very well. To play the way we did is very disappointing. I really thought we were going to win that game."Had the Blue Devils (21-4) not gotten outrebounded 15-8 in the first half and shot 4-for-24 from deep for the game — players not named Sean Barnett were 1-for-15 — they might have.A decent part of the 3-point struggle was due to great defense by Elyria (19-6), which played stingy man-to-man throughout and doubled Barnett (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) on any high screen, holding even him to 1-for-7 from behind the arc after he made his first two attempts.The other part was Brunswick, which missed its last 13 3-point attempts, simply couldn't connect from distance, even on wide-open attempts inside a fairly lifeless James A. Rhodes Arena, due in part to an awkward 5 p.m. start that prevented some people from arriving in time for the opening tip.In addition to Elyria's defense and great scouting report, part of the Blue Devils' 3-point struggles might have been due to the pressure of the moment.Part of it — especially if you're really looking for excuses — could be attributed to playing in a bigger arena with a ton more open space behind the baselines.Part of it, certainly, was not having the confident and competitive Drexler, who has never met a 3-pointer he didn't think he could make."There's most valuable players and then there's Trey," Mackey said. "He does so much for us."The loss not only ended the high school careers of Drexler (Indiana University-Indianapolis) and starters Barnett (Flagler College in Florida) and Luke Stella, it ended a string of three great tournament runs by the Blue Devils.A year ago, Brunswick lost 64-62 to Toledo Whitmer in the district finals, but would have almost certainly forced overtime had it hit two free throws with 0.4 seconds left. Two years ago, the Blue Devils lost a lead and fell 46-43 to eventual state champion St. Ignatius in a regional final where they did not get a rebound in the fourth quarter.This one was over much earlier, but it still hurt.The Blue Devils had beaten Elyria nine straight times and won 18 of their last 19 meetings dating to 2009, but that dominance meant next to nothing — if not nothing — without Drexler.All the 6-foot point guard did this season was average a program-record 26.5 points, help Brunswick win the rugged Greater Cleveland Conference to record back-to-back league titles for the first time in program history and repeat as Northeast Inland District Division I Player of the Year and as a Mr. Basketball finalist.Drexler finished his illustrious career second in Medina County history with 1,754 points, but with his left (shooting) hand in a cast, all he could do Wednesday was cheer on his teammates and offer suggestions from the bench."It's sad to go out like that and not have an impact," he said. "It's a lot more impactful being on the floor. It's not saying goodbye, but ending this chapter is super sad."You want to be out there more than anything. You want to help out anyway you can. Obviously, being on the bench you can't really do that."The Blue Devils led this one only at 3-2 following a Barnett 3-pointer with 6:59 to go in the opening quarter, with their only ties coming at 6 on another Barnett three and at 11 on a Stella trifecta. Brunswick's only other 3-pointer was by Barnett with 7:32 to play in the third period.For a team that lives and dies by the three, going the last 15:32 of the game without one eliminates any chance at victory, but the Blue Devils made one last run.Down 36-22 following an 11-0 Elyria spurt in the third, Brunswick answered with 10 straight points but went cold again as the Pioneers regrouped and steadily pulled away.Barnett, center Adin Evert (7 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists), shooting guard turned point guard Drew Matus (10 points) and small forward Stella (5 points) played all but the last 32.8 seconds, with only six Brunswick players seeing action until Mackey cleared his bench.What if the Blue Devils had rebounded better in the first half, when Elyria attempted 10 more shots than Brunswick?What if more threes would have fallen?Finally, what if Drexler had played?It doesn't matter now."We can make all the excuses we want," Barnett said. "It's part of the game. He came down with a bad injury, but we tried to put that out of our minds. Sometimes I do say 'what if,' but at the end of the day, the season's over." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.