Brush and Benedictine had issues with ball control in their season-opening contest Nov. 30 at the Great Lakes Classic. They combined for 27 turnovers in the first half.

But a clean sheet from Brush in the third quarter was the difference-maker as the Arcs took a double-figure lead and held on for a 46-43 victory.

The Arcs had ball-handling issues in the first quarter, and Benedictine led, 11-3, late in the frame. A Damari Dammons 3-pointer before the buzzer made it a five-point deficit.

While both teams had turnover issues early, the Bengals found ways for it to translate to points in transition. Brush coach Chet Mason said they needed to limit mistakes.

“That was one of our halftime adjustments,” Mason said. “Benedictine runs a run and jump where they have two guys. We went up there and drew up something different which was the difference maker in this game. We were on pace for 28 turnovers and you can’t win a game like that. We had just two scrimmages because of injuries and we knew there was going to be gritty basketball to start.”

Brush’s offense found a rhythm in the second quarter, working on the drive and getting looks to Dammons and Dekhi Owens.

Brush took its first in the middle of the second quarter. Dekhi Owens attempted to throw a lob for Damai Dammons but misjudged it and made the floater.

Dammons also drew an off-ball foul and made both free throws.

The two had 14 of Brush’s 20 points at the half in a one-point deficit.

“I feel like we have a lot of young guys coming in,” Dammons said. “There’s a lot of first-year varsity players, still working on the confidence and adjusting to the speed of the game. We have to keep working with them and having some reps.”

In the second half, Brush’s Isaiah and Jerell Carter grew confident in their shots and took the lead at the start of the third.

After Tyree Williamson made a circus-style over-the-back layup for Benedictine, Bryce Maeitin missed a 3-pointer for the lead. After Owens missed a bucket for the Arcs, Parker had the offensive board and the ball was worked back to him for a layup plus the foul.

The Arcs’ press defense in the third quarter led to three Bengals turnovers and they made sure to capitalize in transition.

“Coach has his main thing as defense,” Dammons said. “He feels like when we have everyone loud, scrambling and getting tips, steals, the offense will come. Everyone just needs to keep working and we’ll be at that part of the game.”

The lead was never out of reach for Benedictine but Brush had an answer for every try the Bengals had at flipping the result.

Williamson had a layup fall through contact that made it a 38-37 deficit, but then Brush went on an 8-0 run.

Dammons drew a foul with 41 seconds left but split the free throws, making the first. But Parker grabbed the ball before it went out of bounds and found Prince Ryleigh-Johnson for a layup that made it 45-37.

“Prince came in and gave us some great minutes,” Mason said. “Jelahni Carr gave us some great minutes. I know that they can do that but that came when it was much needed. That’s going to add some depth. This team now isn’t going to be the same as we are in March. This team can be good at what we want to be good at, which is being scrappy, flying around and being fast.”

Williamson had two 3-pointers with less than 30 seconds left but the clock hit zero before Brush inbounded off of the second make.

Despite the loss, Bengals coach Chris Salata was happy with how his team looked. While Meitin and Damone Darmond are back from last year, a lot of players have increased roles this year.

He views the game with Brush as a good building block for the rest of the season.

“It was really important,” Salata said. “Playing a really athletic and well-coached team game one tells you a lot about your guys. Turnovers were our Achilles heel. Getting that experience today is going to be really important and I’m happy with how we competed.”

Williamson finished as the leading scorer with 12 points while Meitin had 10. Noah Whisler and Gio Ramos combined for 15 rebounds.

Benedictine looks to get in the win column when it travels to McDowell on Dec. 6. Brush has its home opener on Dec. 7 when Firestone visits.

The score

Brush 46, Benedictine 43