Brush holds on for 68-67 win vs. Cleveland Heights, sets up Saturday's district title showdown vs. Mentor

EUCLID, Ohio — John Hugley watched the last 2:09. The 6-foot-9 junior center gave Brush one of his best high school basketball games to date. He helped build a seven-point lead at the time of his departure Thursday night in a Division I district semifinal vs. Cleveland Heights.

That lead nearly evaporated.

It took a gritty final two minutes from his teammates, including victory sealing block from Trent Harper, rebound by Andree Franks and clinching free throw from D.J. Dial. The effort gave Brush a 68-67 win at Euclid High School, advancing the second-seeded Arcs to Saturday night's district championship vs. top-seeded Mentor.

Hugley provided a team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.

He gave Brush (21-3) the lead for good on a putback of a missed free throw, then followed that up by pulling down his own missed shot in the paint for another second-chance basket. A comeback that gave third-seeded Cleveland Heights (13-11) its first lead moments earlier was gone.

Once Hugley left, he stoically took a seat.

"I wasn't worried at all," he said. "We've been hearing about this all week. We just stayed patient, stayed quiet. We just showed everybody what we can do."

Brush jumped out to a 25-12 lead before the Tigers pulled within three points in the second quarter. The difference remained single digits, but with Brush ahead until the fourth quarter's midway point.

Hugley picked up his third foul late in the first half while tangled with Heights senior Jae'Lyn Withers. Both were assessed their third fouls. Withers picked up his fourth with 5:56 to go in the third quarter.

Hugley's fourth foul didn't come until much later, and Brush took advantage.

"Both are going to play big time college basketball," Brush coach Chet Mason said. "So they've got to learn it now. You have to learn if you're in foul trouble, how to wall up. With Withers on the wing, you have to learn you can't reach."

Hugley learned how to "wall up."

"I was trying to not be too aggressive, but be aggressive at the same time," he said.

The Arcs hauled in 41 rebounds to Cleveland Heights' 35, but had seven more offensive rebounds (20 total) thanks in large part to Hugley.

"That was killer," Cleveland Heights coach Michael Cruz said. "With Jae'Lyn being in foul trouble, not having 6-9 and athletic on the floor it certainly changes the way you rebound."

Withers, a Louisville recruit, fouled out just 44 seconds into the fourth quarter. He finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Fellow senior Nigel Martin scored a game-high 32 points with 10 rebounds. He added a last-second 3-pointer that set the final score, ending a topsy-turvy conclusion to their season.

Cleveland Heights struggled late, but avenged a last-second loss to East Tech by blowing out the Cleveland Senate League champs last week to reach this game.

"We certainly had our ups and had our downs, but through it all the guys never gave in," Cruz said. "As a coach, that's all you can ask for. It's really unfortunate that our season ended tonight. I don't know how many teams are left, but I can assure you many of them aren't as good as us. We have a tough district."

The two remaining teams are proof.

Mentor and Brush finished in the top four of the cleveland.com rankings and received statewide billing. Mentor advanced to the district finals by beating Solon, 60-58, in Wednesday's other semifinal. Mentor is in its 11th district final in 12 years. Brush is in its first title game under Mason's four seasons as coach. The school last made this game in 2012, losing to — who else? — Mentor.

"It's big. We never been past this before," said junior Corey Floyd, who provided 12 points and physical play when fouls racked up for others. "The work we put in this summer, nobody knows the work we put in."

Added Mason, "The goal is to practice the next day. If you practice the next day, it means you won the game."

And maybe prove something else. Mentor ended Brush's season last year in this district semifinal, 65-61.

"We play Mentor once again, and we never beat Mentor," Hugley said. "It's another time to show what we can do."

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.