Brewer has movie-like finish in win over Indians

1/22/2022

by Michael Smith

In a boys basketball game that was a see-saw battle, Grain Valley needed someone to come up big down the stretch.
Enter senior guard Cylas Brewer.
After Suburban White Conference rival Fort Osage tied the game at 41-all with 2:19 left, the team traded a pair of empty possessions each, before the senior had his big moment.
Junior Rhylan Alcanter passed out of a double team in the paint and found Brewer open in the left corner. Brewer buried a 3-pointer to give the Eagles the lead for good with 40 seconds left. He also hit key free throws down the stretch to help Grain Valley take a 48-45 victory Friday at home on Senior Night.
“That’s something you dream about,” Grain Valley junior Nick Hooper said of Brewer’s big moments. “It was like a movie.”
Brewer connected on four free throws in the final 21 seconds to help hold off Fort Osage as he scored a game-high 14 points.
“Something just clicked,” said Brewer, who had a game-high 14 points. “I haven’t had a high points game in awhile. This was Senior Night, so I wanted to do that in front of my family and fans.”
His contribution was huge, especially since the Eagles (8-7) were missing their leading scorer in Avery Garmon to a leg injury. Starting forward Alex Snyder was also out with an ankle injury.
“Avery was our leading scorer. It’s never easy not having a guy like him,” Hooper said. “That’s when everyone has to be a part of the scoring. Everyone had a role.”
Junior Chase Stumfoll hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 21.2 seconds left to narrow the gap to one point for Fort Osage (4-11). Brewer was fouled on the next possession and hit two free throws with 13.7 seconds left.
After a Fort Osage turnover on a throw out of bounds, Grain Valley junior Keagan Hart missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2.7 seconds left. Stumfoll got the rebound and heaved a full court shot that fell short.
Both teams struggled on offense in the first half. The Eagles (8-7) led 9-8 after the first period and Fort Osage came back to tie the game at 13-all going into halftime.
In the third period, Grain Valley led for most of it as Alcanter scored eight of his 10 points in those eight minutes to help the Eagles take a 34-31 lead into the fourth. Alcanter’s presence in the post helped open up the offense for the Eagles and players like Hart, Hooper and Brewer benefitted as each hit an open 3-pointer.
“He has had four double-doubles in a row,” Grain Valley head coach Andy Herbert said of Alcanter. “He had 27 (points) and 18 (rebounds) the other day against Central (Kansas City). He’s been playing really well."
“When you have someone like that in the middle of the floor, that helps remedy some of the traps. He’s become a focal point around the basket and teams have to adjust to that.”