The No. 1 seed in the FAA Tournament and the league regular season championship was at stake when Brunswick School and Greenwich Country Day School renewed their growing basketball rivalry Wednesday before a jam-packed house at Dann Gymnasium.

In a rematch of the 2023 FAA Tournament final, the Bruins and Tigers battled hard at both ends of the court in a physical, intense matchup in which points were tough to come by.

The host Bruins made several more shots on this day however and that coupled with a tenacious defensive effort, gave them the No. 1 seed in the upcoming FAA Tournament.

Junior guard Ethan Long scored all 17 of his points in the second half and junior center Matty Augustine grabbed offensive and defensive rebounds throughout in Brunswick’s 52-44 victory over visiting Greenwich Country Day School.

The win in the FAA regular season finale gave the Bruins a 7-1 league record and the top seed in the FAA Tournament, which begins on Tuesday. Greenwich Country Day entered Wednesday’s game with a 7-0 FAA mark and is now 7-1. However, the Tigers’ loss to the Bruins gave the Bruins the tiebreaker and the top seed. GCDS will be seeded second in the tournament. The 2023 FAA Tournament final saw Brunswick beat Greenwich Country Day, 62-41 at Dann Gymnasium.

Junior 6-foot-7 power forward Jaylen Pray had 10 points, while the 6-7 Augustine added seven points for the Bruins (10-10 record overall), who head into the postseason tournament winners of four straight games.

Both the Bruins and Tigers played strong man-to-man defense throughout, making it challenging to get open looks at the basket.

“Defense was definitely key and they’re defense held us to 52, so it was definitely a defensive game,” Brunswick coach Steve Juricek said. “Both teams played really tough.”

Coached by Patrick Scanlon, Greenwich Country Day (12-4 record overall) was paced by 6-foot-5 junior guard Taj Walters, who totaled 16 points. Mekai Brown, a 6-7 freshman forward, posted 10 points, including two 3-pointers for the Tigers, who trailed the Bruins, 21-17 at halftime.

“We started off pretty slowly this season, so to be back in this position where we can fight for the home court advantage against a good team like GCDS and take that win is a great feeling,” said the 6-foot-7 Augustine, who will announce the Division I football school of his choice next week.

Walters drove baseline and scored on a layup, tying the score at 6-6 with 11:25 remaining in the first half, then Prey made a basket from the low post, putting the Bruins ahead, 8-6. A layup off a steal from Jean made it 10-6 in favor of the hosts.

Sophomore forward Rowan Introzzi spun nicely to the basket and converted a layup, bringing GCDS to with 13-12 at the 7:17 mark of the opening half, before baskets from Jean and sophomore forward Connor Robinson gave the home team a 17-12 edge.

A basket in the paint from Walters, followed by a 3-pointer by Brown pulled the Tigers even at 17-17 with 3:50 to go in the first half. Brunswick scored the half’s final points to enter halftime with a 21-17 advantage.

“The first half was good, it was nip-tuck,” Juricek said. “We didn’t think we played that great, so to be up four in that situation was definitely great.”

The Bruins began the second half with a pivotal 16-4 run to seize a 37-21 lead with 11:10 left to play. Long sparked ‘Wick’s spurt scoring off layups twice in transition, then hitting four foul shots. Augustine and Pray also had baskets in the low post, enabling the Bruins to build their double-digit lead.

Stellar defensive play also helped the Bruins force Tigers turnovers, which they converted into points.

“We knew that GCDS was a very good offensive team, so we had to lock down,” Long said of Brunswick’s defensive play. “We’ve been practicing all week on communicating, switching and really working our butts off in practice. You could see it showed on the court.”

Over a span of 7:06, Greenwich Country Day limited Brunswick to just four points, while scoring 14 to cut its deficit to 39-35 with 4:04 remaining. Introzzi’s runner in the lane capped a 14-4 run, making it 39-35. He registered nine points for the visitors.

“All the credit to them, good teams always make runs,” Juricek noted. “Even up 16, we didn’t think they were going away. They made a run and cut it to four.”

Clutch plays on both ends of the floor helped the Bruins put the finishing touches on the triumph. Pray made a jump hook in the lane, extending the Bruins’ edge to 39-30 with six minutes to go and at the 2:21 mark, Long ended a fastbreak by throwing down a dunk, drawing a huge cheer from the Brunswick student section. His dunk put ‘Wick up, 43-36 with 2:21 left. Long shot 9 for 10 from the foul line on his way to pouring in 17 second-half points.

“We were still confident, we were still going to attack and we knew we had to close out the game,” Long said. “We had a great crowd, which is always good to have and we were really excited. I knew I had to stick to my game and make my free throws.”

Sophomore point guard Jack Stevens scored six points with a 3-pointer, Jean had six points and senior forward Will Schmitz added four points for the victors.

Augustine led the Bruins in the rebounding department, while playing tough defense before fouling out.

“We’re not in this game without Matty,” Juricek said. “He gets every single rebound – he’s a machine.”

Senior guard John Berbano and junior Griffyn Flood scored three points apiece for the Tigers. The FAA Tournament begins on Tuesday with the quarterfinal-round.

“It was a huge game and the atmosphere was great,” Augustine said. “It’s good to play in these sorts of physical games.”

“Now it’s back in our home court advantage, so hopefully we can go all the way again,” Long noted.