LYNDHURST, Ohio — After every home game at Brush, D.J. Dial stays and puts up shots with one of his coaches.
Just one problem Sunday. One more game followed Brush's 70-65 loss to Pennsylvania power Kennedy Catholic at the Chet Mason Invitational.
This is a first-year event, organized by Brush coach Chet Mason, the former Ohio Mr. Basketball winner from Cleveland South High School. It attracted scouts, college coaches and marquee programs, including Huntington Prep from West Virginia and SPIRE with its roster full of Division I college recruits and LaMelo Ball.
Mason estimated more than 40 college coaches, including at least 20 from Division I programs such as West Virginia and Xavier came to watch the six-game event.
They saw Brush struggle early in the fifth game until a late comeback by Dial and his teammates. Mason spent all day doubling as event organizer until his team played. Afterward, he lamented a slow start by the Arcs (12-2), who are third in the cleveland.com Top 25.
Then his point guard's play reminded him of the benefit from all that running around: so many college coaches saw the effort put on by the 5-foot-9 senior — and smallest player on the court — who is still looking for a school next year.
"He's everything you could want in a point guard," Mason said. "If I could shoot like D.J. shoots, I would have been in the (NBA) for 10 years."
Dial scored 29 points in front of those scouts and college coaches, including one from Clarion in Pennsylvania who approached him afterward for a conversation.
Brush's matchup with Kennedy Catholic, a three-time defending PIAA state champion, included plenty of star power. West Virginia-bound center Oscar Tshiebwe scored a game-high 30 points with 20 rebounds and two blocks. Duquesne recruit Maceo Austin added 21 points for Kennedy Catholic, which jumped out to a 32-20 halftime lead.
Dial scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half to spur the comeback, which fell short as his steals turned into potential three-point plays at the basket until the ball rolled off the rim. It happened a few times to him and Brush, which also got 22 points from Wright State recruit Andre Harris.
"We tried to will our way back into the game," Dial said. "We know we can't have those late starts, but adversity strikes."
He wanted to get back on the floor and put up shots with one of Brush's assistant coaches, just like he does every other home game. Problem was, SPIRE and Lutheran East were beginning their game.
SPIRE 118, No. 9 Lutheran East 96: Dial couldn't get in his post-game shots, but LaMelo Ball and SPIRE's trio of Michigan transfers wooed the crowd in their comfortable win vs. area Division III powerhouse Lutheran East.
Ball scored 19 points with nine assists and five rebounds. Both of his parents, including father Lavar Ball, were in attendance. So was teammate Rocket Watts, a Michigan State recruit who scored a career-high 64 points a night earlier at St. Edward.
Watts had 29 on Sunday with five 3-pointers. Myron Gardner added 23 points and 10 rebounds, while junior forward Isaiah Jackson added 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks among SPIRE's talented Michigan trio.
What did Lutheran East (9-4) get out of it?
Sophomore guard E.J. Farmer put up a game-high 37 points, while fellow sophomore Jay Billingsley added 16 points and two blocks in his second game because of OHSAA transfer rules.
"I feel like we learned a lot from this game going into (Cleveland) Heights on Tuesday," said Farmer, a 6-4 guard.
A big week is ahead for Lutheran East and Brush. The Falcons play one of the Lake Erie League rivals, while Brush is at No. 1 St. Vincent-St. Mary on Wednesday after facing Western Reserve Conference-foe Chardon a day earlier.
Huntington Prep 94, ISA 58: The prep school from West Virginia gave the crowd at Brush a matinee of lob passes and a slew of slam dunks in their rout of the first-year International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne.
J.T. Thor, a 6-9 freshman, served up plenty of those slams and finished with 24 points and five blocks for Huntington Prep.
Sophomore Charles Bediako and freshman Jaden Clayton led a young ISA team. Bediako, a 6-11 center, scored 23 points with 15 rebounds. Clayton added 11 points.
No. 12 Willoughby South 72, Beachwood 68: Out to rid itself the taste of two losses in the last 10 days, Willoughby South used its size inside to outlast Beachwood.
South's win came despite Jayson Woodrich's 36-point effort, which included eight 3-pointers.
"We made him work and he had 36," Willoughby South coach Doug Barber said. "We had to double this kid every time he touched it. He is a legit scorer. I haven't seen anyone score like him in a while."
Beachwood (10-5) rallied from a 12-point deficit, but South (11-4) was too strong inside with 6-6 senior forward Damion Williams and versatile 6-5 senior Xavier Hopps.
Hopps scored a team-high 22 points. Williams added 20 and took home team MVP honors. Their effort led to a second straight win after consecutive losses to Brush and Euclid.
"We were pretty down, but in practice we had to pick it up," Williams said. "We started working on our free throws and defense some more. In the game, it paid off."
Maple Heights 61, No. 8 East Tech 58: A 12-point run to begin the fourth quarter spurred the Mustangs in the opening matchup of the CMI. Sophomore Davon Smith-Johnson scored 20 points and led Maple Heights (7-6), which handed Senate League frontrunner East Tech its first loss.
Senior guard Johnny Bigsby led the Scarabs (15-1) with 21 points.
"I think the most important thing it does for us is gives us confidence," Maple Heights coach Eric Schmidt said. "With the league we're in and who we play … it's one of the best leagues in the state, if not the best league in the state."
Maple has another non-league game Tuesday against Highland before resuming its Lake Erie League schedule Friday vs. Cleveland Heights, followed by a visit four days later from Lorain.
Also on Sunday, the Toronto Basketball Academy beat Oakville Prep, 90-58.
Click here for Sunday's results and box scores.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.
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