= Brookhaven 57Dublin Scioto 49 <= /b>

= Bea= rcats adapt their game, log impressive win

= Wed= nesday, February 6, 2008 3:36 AM

= By Steve Blackledge=

= THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

=

Ben Ashwill of Dublin Scioto gets

to the hoop against Brookhaven's

defense in the first quarter. <= /span>

Ashwill scored 19 points.

Tho= se who expected to see a contrast in styles when Dublin Scioto played Brookhav= en last night probably went home scratching their heads.

Brookhaven, of the City League, played a stifling matchup zone and deliberately slowed the tempo against Scioto, an = Ohio Capital Conference team that stayed in the game with a full-court press.

So much for stereotypes. The irony in the Bearcats' 57-49 nonleague road victory wasn't lost on a group of coaches scouting the game in preparation for the Division I district tournament.

"We were playing a lot slower game th= an we usually do, but Coach explained that these are of types of games where y= ou just have to do what it takes to come away with a 'W,' " Brookhaven se= nior forward Chris Johnson said.

"We knew coming in this was going to = be a real tough game on their home court, and we wanted to get some experience facing a quality team that plays a different style because you have to be r= eady for all kinds of teams in the tournament."

Brookhaven has long been known for playing= tough defense, but its unexpected switch to a zone handcuffed Scioto, which scored just six points in the first 13:40 of the second half.

"Chris got in some foul trouble and s= pent much of the second quarter on the bench, so we felt we had a provide a safe= ty net for him and the most effective way was with a matchup zone," Brookhaven coach Hali Robinson said.

Johnson, who scored 13 points in the first= 10 minutes before being benched with a second foul, finished with 25 points an= d 16 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 Dayton recruit was a force on both ends of the floor= .

Scioto (18-1), which prefers to use the fa= st break selectively, might have been content trading baskets in a shootout wi= th Brookhaven (16-3) but never got in that position.

"We definitely wanted to push it, but= it seemed like Brookhaven was content to be patient in the half-court and rely= on their defense," Irish coach Tony Bisutti said.

"We weren't ourselves tonight. … Our inability to do anything against their zone was turning point of the ga= me. … They've got a 6-5 guy with those long arms in the lane. That's difficult to solve."

Scioto point guard Ben Ashwill still manag= ed 19 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter.

Brookhaven sophomore Craig Sealey had nine= of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Scioto and Brookhaven, seeded No. 2 and 5 respectively, are in the same tournament bracket and could meet again in a district final.

"We approached this kind of like a tournament game in that you just want to play and move on," Robinson s= aid. "Well before I got here, the legacy of Brookhaven has been the ability= to play different styles and play within the moment, and I'm proud of the way = the guys responded tonight in a wonderful atmosphere."
sblackledg= e@dispatch.com