Sirochman keys Warriors over East High

January 7, 2012 at 12:06a.m.

BROOKFIELD

The Youngstown East High boys basketball squad led early, but Brookfield stormed back to capture a convincing 62-53 victory.

Brookfield (7-3) was led by Preston Sirochman, a 6-foot, 7-inch senior who played a dominant role at both ends of the floor, striking for a game-high 26 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.

Ryan Mosara, a junior, contributed 16 points to the Warriors offensive efforts, while junior Jeremy Quinlan had 11 rebounds.

East (4-4) was led by 6-3 junior Deontay Scott and 6-4 sophomore Terrell McClain, who each scored 11 points. Scott also led the Panthers with 11 rebounds.

Tallying seven points each for the Panthers were junior Taylor Johnson and senior Mike Hornbuckle, while junior Jamir Humphrey contributed six points.

“Our guards are very unselfish. As a team, we really depend on playing together and moving the ball,” said Brookfield coach Chris Fahndrich.

“We rely on our defense, and our defense was there, especially in the second half,” he added.

Sirochman scored the game’s first field goal, but the Panthers took the lead midway through the first quarter, leading13-8 after Taylor Johnson stole the ball and drove in for a lay-up.

Scott scored five points in the first quarter for the Panthers, who led 15-12 at the end of the first period. But Sirochman scored eight points in the quarter to keep the Warriors close.

Sirochman scored three consecutive field goals early in the second quarter to put Brookfield in front 19-15. East came back and briefly took the lead, 23-21, when junior Jaylan Marrow connected for a field goal.

The lead changed hands a few times, until Collin Haskulich swished a field goal to give Brookfield a 29-27 lead. After Scott swished a free throw for East, Brookfield led 29-28 at half.

The Warriors out-scored the Panthers 9-2 to start the third quarter, and took their first double-digit lead, 46-35, when Mosara sank a 3-pointer late in the third quarter.

Brookfield led 46-38 after three quarters and out-scored East 16-15 in the game’s final stanza.

The key to the Warriors’ game is Sirochman, who “is a quiet leader,” said Fahndrich.

“He’s a post player for us, but he’s really developed as a shooter. We do a nice job as a team looking for him.”

“They’re very athletic,” Fahndrich said, referring to the East players.

After halftime, Fahndrich added, the Brookfield players “were able to handle the pressure and rebound the ball.”

“Brookfield hit the boards hard and really moved the ball well against us,” said East coach Mark Cherol.

“They handled our pressure, they out-hustled and out-scrapped us.”