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Brookfield earns Div. III rematch vs. Newon Falls
BROOKFIELD
He left the building with about 26.seconds left when Nate Johnson was at the foul line for Brookfield.
No, not Elvis, but Roy Sembach, the Newton Falls coach who was scouting the Warriors, who defeated Garrettsville Garfield, 68-57, in a Division III sectional tournament opener Tuesday night.
Brookfield (13-9) earned the right to play at Newton Falls on Friday.
“We played them two weeks ago and didn’t have a good experience there,” Brookfield coach Bill Kovach said of a 69-49 loss to Newton Falls on Feb. 15. “We’re familiar with their offense, so we know who we have to stop. They’re a very well-coached team and they execute their offense very well. Hopefully, our kids have them figured out by this time.”
On Tuesday, it wasn’t senior night, but it was the senior’s night as Jamar Tarver had five goals in the fourth period after Garfield (8-15) pulled within 48-44 with 5:51 remaining.
Tarver finished with 14 points, behind Johnson’s 17 and Seth Wallace’s 15. But Tarver, Brookfield’s only senior, was instrumental during a turnover-fueled flurry in the Warriors’ favor in the final five minutes of a 23-point quarter.
Kovach acknowledged Tarver’s offensive explosion and the play of Derrick Dickson when Garfield closed the gap that was as wide as 16 before halftime.
“Jamar gave us a spark, defensively, and got to the hole and finished with a nice dunk and just played with effort,” Kovach said. “That’s something we’ve lacked at certain times during the season in a young team. But, defensive intensity [with Tarver and Dickson] gave us a spark with a few steals there. It really helped us pull through when we were struggling to execute on offense.”
Wallace’s scoring and steady rebounding was another factor for Brookfield, whose 35-21 lead seemed safe at halftime.
“We got the ball into him early on offense and he scored real well, then they [G-Men] switched to a 2-3 zone,” Kovach said of the 6-4 Wallace, who only had two free throws in the second half after scoring six buckets and a free throw in the first 16 minutes.
The Warriors’ coach was a little concerned when Garfield went to a trapping defense in the third quarter.
“They ran a 1-3-1 and we wanted to get behind it, but we didn’t do that,” Kovach said. “We thought that if they were up really high that we could get behind it, attack and score. Instead, we ended up taking shots we didn’t want to take and that’s a credit to them.”
Tarver doesn’t see his distinction as Brookfield’s lone senior as anything special.
“I’m just helping my team get better and win,” said the 6-3 player who had what he considered one of his best games this season. “Whatever they need from me I’ll give. We needed effort because that’s what we feed off of.”
Tarver is looking forward to the second meeting with Newton Falls.
“The first time we played them they beat us pretty good, but I think this time is going to be different because we’re going to be ready for them.”
Chase Chapman had 16 points, Nick Jurcevic 12 and Anthony Workman 11 for Garfield, whose coach, Andrew Olesky, liked the strides made by his team when the G-Men got within 48-44.
“We made an adjustment at halftime and came out in a halfcourt trap [defense] and that seemed to gives us some momentum and positive energy,” Olesky said. “Some things just caught up with us — the same things that caught up with us all season: turnovers, not rebounding the basketball, not finishing shots — the things that have plagued us all season. For the most part, the kids played hard in the second half.”
Workman came off the court early in the fourth quarter after sustaining an injury on the side of his nose when he was hit with an elbow from Wallace.