Brentwood boys hoops enjoys bounce-back season

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 9, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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The “playoff run” actually started in the consolation round of the Brentwood High Athletic Boosters tip-off tournament.

Brentwood's boys basketball team defeated Northgate, 63-44, then followed with a 57-49 nonsection win at Riverview.

A 68-55 victory at Sto-Rox was another confidence builder, eventually leading to a four-game winning streak in January and a fourth-place finish in Section 2-3A.

After a three-seasons playoff run from 2011-14, the Spartans sat out the postseason in each of the next three years. They are back in the tournament this winter.

“At the beginning of the season, we were hoping to make the playoffs,” Brentwood coach Dan Thayer said. “We weren't sure if that was possible coming off a 4-16 season, but that was our goal. I think the team has come a long way. We are starting to see things carrying over from practice. We have been working hard on making basic fundamental plays at full speed.

“As the season progressed, we began to see this happening, and with it our negative plays drastically decreased.”

The WPIAL basketball pairings meeting took place Feb. 13 at the Doubletree Hotel in Green Tree. Results were unavailable for this edition. The top four teams in each Class 3A section qualified, including the Spartans (7-12 overall with one game remaining).

“This season has been a lot of fun,” said Thayer, who formerly coached the girls teams at Brentwood and Baldwin. “All basketball seasons are a grind and can wear you down, but the players on this team have made it enjoyable. They come to practice every day ready to learn and are excited about getting better.

“Going to the playoffs is a great learning experience for the players. It will give us some extra practice time, make us prepare for a high-pressure game and expose us to tournament play. This kind of experience is a great reward for the seniors and invaluable for the players that will be returning.”

Brentwood is an experienced squad with eight seniors, led by DeAngelo Brisco, an athletic 6-foot forward who leads the team in scoring and rebounding.

Brisco scored 36 points and pulled down 27 rebounds in the team's playoff-clinching 87-71 section win at home against Freedom.

The 87 points represented Brentwood's highest offensive production this season and the most points scored in a game by the Spartans in more than 15 years.

Senior leadership this season also has been provided by forwards Steph Mavroides and Tanner Wells, guard/forward Michael Trent and guards Evan Vickless and Austin Veatch.

“It's an awesome accomplishment (making the playoffs),” Mavroides said. “We worked hard as a team to get to this spot. We are a hard-working group, and I know we can make a deep run this year in the playoffs. Our expectations are to keep playing good basketball and make a deep run.”

Mavroides, who began playing basketball at age 8, is a two-year letterman for the Spartans.

“My season has been going great,” he said. “I've made a lot of strides since last season.”

Brentwood's starting lineup consists of Brisco, C.J. Ziegler, a 5-3 sophomore guard; Zach Kieb, a 5-6 sophomore guard; Movroides and Trent, who stand 6-4 and 6-2, respectively.

Brisco was averaging 11.4 points late in the season, and Ziegler was at 10.9 points per game.

Wells, Vickless, Veatch, and sophomores Jayneil Latham (G/F) and John Milcic (F) are the Spartans' leading reserves.

“We are excited about the future of Brentwood basketball,” Thayer said. “We feel we have a nice core group of players returning and a large number of players in the middle school.

“We are going to have to make important improvements with all of the players to get them to a level where we can compete for a playoff spot each and every year. Hopefully, we can have a tremendous offseason, and that can lead to a great start next season.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Brentwood