Brewster Unable to Slow Roosevelt

Left: Brewster’s Jordan Cirocco contorts his body on way to the basket - and runs into Roosevelt’s Darnell Glover. Photo by SKIP PEARLMAN. When the No. 5 seed Brewster boys hosted 12th-seeded Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class A tournament last Friday night, it quickly became apparent that the Bears were in for a battle.

It didn’t take long to see that the Indians, whose losses have come against some of the top teams in the section, were not your average 12 seed. They were taller, faster and more athletic at both ends of the court.

Still, Brewster nearly pulled off what would have been a genuine upset – despite the seeds. The Bears stayed close the whole game, but were never able to put this one away, ending their season with a 63-58 loss.

Brewster (14-5) closed what had been a 10-point deficit to within six a few times in the final quarter. The Bears made it a 56-50 game when Jack Dignan buried a three-pointer with 1:54 left, and moments later Brewster had a chance to make it a three-point game.

Brewster’s Marc Delzio attempted a three – which could have cut the deficit to 56-53 – but instead it was blocked, and Roosevelt’s Eddie Fenton drained a basket at the other end to make it a 58- 50 lead with 1:22 showing. Roosevelt’s lead was never in jeopardy again.

From the outset it was clear Brewster was going to have a difficult time. Roosevelt’s height resulted in the Indians regularly getting second and third opportunities at the offensive end, and all that contact also put the Indians at the line a lot. Roosevelt converted on 19-of-23 foul shots. Brewster finished at 14-for-19 from the stripe.

“It was probably as difficult a firstround matchup as there were in any of the draws,” Bears coach John Martino said. “I think our players accounted for themselves very well. We played well… hard and smart, and Roosevelt did a lot of the same things. Their ability to get to the free throw line was big.

Andrew Sniffen goes to the basket in loss to TZ. SKIP PEARLMAN “We expected to have a difficult time under the boards,” Martino added, “but we did a very good job handling their pressure. Nick Blumberg and Jordan Cirocco did an outstanding job of penetrating their defense. We moved the ball very effectively.”

Cirocco led Brewster with 21 points, with most of those coming on strong drives to the basket. Dignan finished with 15 points (3-of-6 from threepoint range) and three rebounds, Sean Trainor had eight points, Blumberg had a strong all-around game with six points, six rebounds, three steals, three blocks and four assists, and Andrew Sniffen had eight rebounds to go with three points.

Brewster’s Nick Blumberg had a strong all-around game in loss to TZ. SKIP PEARLMAN Shayvaughn King led the Indians (12-7) with 26 points, and Fenton had 17.

Martino had no regrets about the way the Bears played the game.

““We faced a team that ran a patient offense, got to the rim, and cashed in on offensive rebounds,” he said. “I thought we played the game right. They trapped the entire game, and the speed they presented to us… there’s no way to practice for that. But we had an outstanding season. No one would have predicted we’d win the league title.”

The Bears closed out the regular season with a 60-46 win over Lakeland the prior Tuesday.

Trainor led Brewster with 16 points, Cirocco had 13 and Blumberg had 10.