Brentwood Boys Season Ends Against John Burroughs, Ezekiel Elliot

Just like the first time the Brentwood boys played John Burroughs, in Dec., it was Burroughs’ transition game that beat Brentwood.

John Burroughs defeated Brentwood in the Class 3 District 4 semifinal game 56-74, at host, Lutheran St. Charles.

“They’re one of the better transition teams we’ve seen,” Brentwood coach Brad Kern said.

See more game photos at Maplewood-Brentwood Patch Facebook.

The Brentwood coaches thought this game could be different, but in the middle quarters of the game, senior Ezekiel Elliot broke free to score on six layups, at times going the length of the court.

“I thought Zek went to work in the middle of the game, and finally took it over,” John Burroughs coach Steve Willcutt said.  “He’s hard to play against if he goes to work.”

Brentwood coach Brad Kern said they thought they could control the Bombers’ game, but were forced into taking 3-point attempts, which turned into long rebounds that the Bombers turned into baskets at the other end.

Brentwood junior Melvin Erby was team-high with 15, including two 3-pointers, junior Marc Powells had 13, and senior Rekardo Owens sunk 12, all 3-pointers, and three of those were in the last minutes of the game.

John Burroughs now faces Maplewood Richmond Heights in the final, Friday night at 8:00, at Lutheran St. Charles.

MRH beat Lutheran St. Charles in the other semifinal of the night, 71-42.

“They’re scary,” Willcutt said. He said three things are needed to beat MRH.

“First thing you have to handle the pressure, which I think we can do better than most teams,” Willcutt said.

“Secondly, you have to keep them off the boards, which is almost impossible,” he said. “The third thing you have to do is make free throws, because they’re going to fly.”

“It’s not like it’s rocket science,” he said. “If you do two out of three you’re going to get beat by 20. If you do one out of thee you’ll get beat by 40.”