No. 3 Brush shows bite, SPIRE still too much with 82-61 win

LYNDHURST, Ohio — From Brush coach Chet Mason to his players, including senior point guard D.J. Dial, they characterized themselves as "pit bulls" while facing the challenge of SPIRE.

The undefeated basketball academy from Geneva made its way west Tuesday night to the Cleveland suburb in Lyndhurst. It left with an 82-61 win.

On the way out, SPIRE coach Jermaine Jackson had a different way of characterizing his players.

"Chet was talking about pit bulls," Jackson said. "We're gorillas … because they're led by a gorilla."

The former NBA player and his star-studded squad — including LaMelo Ball — did not leave without some bite marks from those pit bulls.

Brush (10-1), the No. 3-ranked team in this week's cleveland.com Top 25, dug itself out from a 7-0 deficit. When one side talked trash, the other responded.

Neither backed down in front of a sold-out crowd, which saw its share of alley-oop dunks, off-balance 3-pointers and even an ejection. It was that ejection of SPIRE's Isaiah Jackson, following a confrontation with Brush center John Hugley — both 6-foot-9 juniors — that the host Arcs chipped away at their deficit.

They remained within striking distance until a problematic third quarter, compounded by turnovers and the talent on the other side.

Senior guards Rocket Watts (a Michigan State recruit) and Myron Gardner each led SPIRE (13-0) with 23 points. Gardner, a 6-6 wing with a slew of Power Five conference offers, added 11 rebounds and four blocks. Ball scored 22, including three 3-pointers. He scored all but three points in the second half, when SPIRE turned a 34-27 halftime lead into a 20-point advantage.

"They're the show. Coach told me that," Mason said of Jackson. "It's a blessing that my young guys can get on the court and compete in that type of atmosphere against that type of caliber players."

Brush did not back down with Wright State commit Andre Harris pouring in a game-high 29 points and senior point guard D.J. Dial adding 15. Dial pulled Brush back early with a tying 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.

That is as close as the Arcs got. They tied the score, but never led, and Ball converted his only first-half field goal on a 3. The touted 6-7 point guard from Chino Hills, Calif., also grabbed nine rebounds with his parents, Lavar and Tina Ball, in the gym.

Brush is the third area high school to play SPIRE, which beat No. 1-ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary and Garfield Heights to open the those teams' seasons. SPIRE also will play St. Edward later this month.

Each area high school team entered as an underdog, but Jackson thought Brush compared well with any team his squad has faced. The Arcs have two future Division I players with Harris and Hugley, who has multiple scholarship offers. Dial is hopeful of receiving that D-I offer, as do a pair of freshmen on Brush.

"This is the stage you've got to step up because over across on the other side, you've got 12 of them," Mason said. "We competed, but we didn't compete the way we usually compete. It's a teachable moment."

The teachable moments begin with the early trash talking between players, which Mason added could have easily ended with an ejection for one of his players. Isaiah Jackson can return in SPIRE's next game. Brush, because it's an OHSAA member, could have lost Hugley for two games.

The Arcs' week continues with a Western Reserve Conference showdown Friday at No. 12 Willoughby South (9-2). Then, they head to Dayton on Sunday for the annual Flyin' to the Hoop showcase against Cincinnati Winton Woods.

"We proved ourselves against the teams around here," Harris said, "but we wanted to let it be known we're not going to tuck our tails against anybody."

Added Dial, "We're trying to prove it to ourselves, too. It's like a mental thing, as well. We've got to train ourselves to be mentally strong."

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