Five takeaways from an epic Shaker Heights OT win over Brush
There was some high-level hooping going on Jan. 23 in a steamy and packed Brush High gym as Shaker Heights went on the road and came away with an 82-72 overtime win over the Arcs in a battle of teams ranked No. 3 and No. 8 in the Cleveland.com Top 25.
Shaker Heights guard Dale Bonner (2018), a Fairmont State commit, scored 26 points while putting on a show. His backcourt mate Christian Guess (2018), who is being recruited by the likes of West Virginia, scored 22, including 8 in overtime, to lead the Red Raiders to the win.
The game was a highlight fest featuring all kinds of dunks, attempted dunks, block shots and ankle-breaking ball-handling moves.
Shaker is 8-3 and Brush is 10-4.
Here are my five observations:
Bonner’s the best I’ve seen this year
I haven’t seen nearly every player in the Cleveland-area, but I believe I would be hard-pressed to find a player who is playing better than the Shaker Heights guard. He was all over the court in the win against high-level comp. He left the game early to have his head looked at after he banged it against THE BACKBOARD while blocking a shot; In addition, he had one play where he took the inbound pass and went right down the middle of the floor before throwing down a vicious one-hand dunk. He also did some killer crossover move that put a Brush defender on the floor and allowed Bonner to blow by him for an easy bucket. If that wasn’t enough he displayed an ability to hit the mid-range jumper and rebound the from a backcourt spot.
Andre Harris’ stock goes higher
Brush’s 6-3 athletic junior did not back down in his performance against the 6’6” Guess. He got going early scoring on an alley-oop dunk off a beautiful feed from Brush point guard D.J. Dial (2019) to get the game going and then time after time was able to get down the lane off the dribble and either finish or get to the line. He finished the game with 17 points.
Dial, for his part, played like a warrior of a point guard in scoring 21 points and playing the role of emotional leader. He can get into the lane with this crafty ball-handling and is developing an unstoppable running teardrop that he unleashes after getting in the paint.
Hugley continues to develop
The 6’9” Brush sophomore is quickly developing into an offensive force. He scored 12 points before fouling out but displayed a jump hook that is becoming unstoppable. His footwork is stellar as is his ability to read angles to set big picks; strong rebounder; didn’t get baited into talking match with a rather chatty and chippy Shaker bunch.
Super soph
Shaker sophomore Dakota Cochran (2019) continues to make an impact. He gained notice when he scored 30 in an early-season game and scored 10 in the win over Brush. A stout 6’3” (he also plays football) he played a gritty game, scoring on a dunk in transition during on sequence. Coach Danny Young calls him a great shooter.
Under-the-radar
The Brush roster is sprinkled with some under-the-radar guys that could be worth a look in guard Tahj Benton 5’10” and Tyler Williams, a 6’5” forward. Both are seniors.
Benton can shoot the ball. He hit two 3’s early as Brush jumped out to a 7-0 lead; Williams only scored one point but has a nice build some athleticism and always seems to be around the ball. Andre Franks, a 5’11”, junior, came off the bench and provided energy, but his better sport is football and he’ll receive attention from colleges in that sport.
Shaker guard Justin Phillips (2018) scored 13 points and sank four consecutive free throws in OT. The 6’0″ guard always seems to be around the ball, too.