GRANITE CITY – Evan Brewer led Granite City with 22 points, while Antonio Dean added 19 points, and Javier Cass came up with 13 points, as the Warriors used a 12-0 first-quarter run to help defeat Highland 64-41 in a boys basketball game played Tuesday night at Granite City Memorial Gym.
The Warriors are now 10-7, bouncing back nicely from a four-game losing skid at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, and played well in the win over the Bulldogs.
“It was important for us to come out, and get at them so early,” said Granite head coach Gerard Moore, “because Highland is a good team. When they get going, they’re really hard to stop, and you kind of get a sense of it getting away early, when (Trent Kronk) got some easy lay-ins. He got going early, and he was kind of hard to contain.
“So, we have to figure that out, and once we figure that out in the second half, I think the floor will be a lot better. The coach (Daryl Cunningham) does a good job coaching those guys up, and they played extremely hard, so we had to be ready to play tonight.”
Both Brewer and Dean played well, with Dean hitting threes consistently in the first half, and Brewer providing an inside scoring punch when the Warriors needed it.
“It’s always good when your seniors step up and lead your team,” Moore said. “The senior leadership is the best, because they’ve been here for three or four years, the kids look up to them to carry them, and Evan Brewer has been our best player all year, Antonio Dean has been our best shooter the entire year, and he’s playing well and shooting the ball really well.
“Obviously, we all know about Brewer. He’s a man-child down there, and once he gets going, he’s just a tough cover. Highland just didn’t have the size and athleticism to contain him. He’s just too big and too strong.” 
Granite is doing a good job bouncing back from the Collinsville tournament, and getting players back from the injured list has helped greatly.
“During the Collinsville tournament, we weren’t at full strength,” Moore said. “And we weren’t at full strength tonight. We’re missing Jaylen Hall, our second-leading scorer on the team, but when everyone is here, and we’re flowing, I think we’re tough. I think what we have to do is continue to get better, our coaching staff and I, we just need to continue to find ways to get the kids confident and motivated, put them in the best position to be successful. So, if we can do that, I think we’ll be fine.”
Cass scored the game’s first four points on a basket and two free throws, then Highland got a basket from Powell and a free throw from Macklin Belim to cut the lead to 4-5. That was when the Warriors went on their 12-0 run, getting a pair of threes from Dean, two baskets from Brewer, and a basket from Cass during the run to up the lead to 16-3. Belim scored to end the run and make it 16-5, after which the Bulldogs cut the lead to 16-9, but the Warriors got a three from Dean to give Granite a 19-12 lead after the first quarter.
In the second term, an up-top three from Powell cut the lead to 19-15, but the Warriors got a basket from Brewer and another pair of threes from Dean to up the Granite lead to 27-17. An exchange of baskets followed, after which a three from Kronk made it 29-22 for the Warriors. Brewer took charge after that, scoring three times in a row to give Granite City a 35=26 halftime lead.
The Warriors, behind Brewer’s strong play, upped the lead during the third quarter, which ended 43-29 for Granite, and in the fourth, baskets from both Brewer and Dean gave Granite a 51-31 lead. Kronk showed strong play in an effort to get Highland back in the game throughout, but in the end, the Warriors took the win 64-41.
To go along with Brewer’s 22 points, Dean’s 19 points, and Cass’ 13 points. Johnnie Coleman came up with eight points for the Warriors, while Kendall Cass, Carter Williams, and Bobby Anderson all had two points each. Kronk led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Cameron Coziar had eight points, Powell and Jackson Duff had three points each, Trey Kronk scored two points, and Dominik Thomas had a single point.
Granite City goes to 10-7, and plays at Salem Friday night at 7:30 p.m., renews its rivalry with Madison in a shootout at Belleville Althoff Catholic Saturday morning at 11 a.m., then plays next week at the Jersey Mid-Winter Classic at Havens Gym, meeting Cahokia Jan 19 at 6 p.m., the host Panthers Jan 21 at 7:30 p.m., and Jacksonville Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
