The Crestwood Red Devils boys’ basketball team’s joy about capturing their first victory of the season was short-lived as 24 hours later, they were defeated by Fuchs Mizrachi 65-49 last Saturday evening in Beachwood.
“It is a tough loss,” said Coach Andrew Mertz. “The game was extremely physical. Obviously, that is going to benefit Fuchs Mizrachi, they are senior-laden, and we play a lot of young guys who are still mentally and physically maturing.”
Although the calendar has officially turned to 2026, the Red Devils’ (1-5, 0-3) season is still essentially just beginning as Saturday’s game marked only the sixth game of the season for them, as they have had to postpone or cancel several games due to poor weather conditions and other factors.
On Saturday, Crestwood got off to a slow start as the Mayhem opened the game with a fast pace and a physical style of play.
The fast pace disrupted the Red Devils’ offense with Fuchs Mizrachi forcing 12 turnovers in the first period to take a 10-6 lead.
Sophomore guard Colton Mayle acknowledged that the Mayhem’s physical style caught Crestwood by surprise.
“We didn’t play as physical as we needed to and let everything get to our heads,” he added.
Although Fuchs Mizrachi set the tone, the Red Devils were still within striking distance at the end of the first period, thanks to a 3-point shot by Mayle, trimming Fuchs Mizrachi’s lead to 10-6.
The teams traded baskets in the second period and Crestwood pulled even at 13-13 but the tide turned in the Mayhem’s favor after senior guard Evan Rhodes committed a shooting foul and was then assessed a technical foul.
Junior guard Moshe Jacobs made all four free throws, pushing Fuchs Mizrachi ahead 17-13 and the Mayhem pulled away by going on a 12-4 run to take a 29-17 lead. Jacobs ignited the Mayhem’s offense in the second period by scoring 15 points as the Mayhem outscored the Red Devils by a 27-17 margin to take a 37-23 advantage into the half.
Although Crestwood was still plagued with turnovers and struggled to generate offensive consistency, Mayle provided a spark by scoring 14 points in the second quarter, including shooting eight-of-nine from the free throw line.
“I just played my game,” said Mayle, who scored 29 points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished out one assist. “I was upset when I turned it over, but it is going to happen. You just have to play your own game.”
Mertz noted that the Red Devils, although young, had seen plenty of physical teams so far this season, but struggled to match Fuchs Mizrachi’s physicality and fast pace which proved to be a deadly combination that they could not overcome.
“They are a very good shooting team, very good defensively and I think early on we beat ourselves a little bit,” the first-year coach added. “There are some things I can look back on where we did not move the ball as much as I would have liked to.”
After knocking down only one 3-point shot in the first period, the Mayhem started connecting from long range in the second period, making five 3-point baskets, as Jacobs made three 3-point shots while sophomore guard Shaya Maryles made a pair of outside shots to help spur the Mayhem’s big run in the second quarter.
The Mayhem maintained a firm grip on the game in the third period, continuing to push the pace in transition, winning the period by 17-12 margin in the third quarter for Crestwood, extending the lead to 54-35.
As well as the Mayhem shot from outside the arc, their physical style on defense was also effective, as Mayle acknowledged that the Red Devils needed to attack the paint more often.
Fuchs Mizrachi did fall into foul trouble in the final quarter, recording their fifth foul with 3:59 remaining in the game but the Red Devils could not capitalize on the advantage of earning trips to the free throw line and its slow start to the game was too much of a hole for them to overcome.
Although Crestwood is not even halfway into its schedule despite it being nearly at the halfway point of the season, Mertz said that there is plenty of room for more growth in what is still a young season.
“We are still moving in the right direction,” he said. “I told the boys in the locker room after this game that I am proud of the fight and the effort. The last three games we have played prior to this have been really close games.”
Following a home contest against Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division foe Berkshire on Tuesday night, the Red Devils will host league foe Chagrin Falls at Mantua on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
