The lead changed hands multiple times, the momentum swung back-and-forth, the atmosphere was electric and the intensity reached a fever pitch during the FAA Basketball Tournament semifinal-round game between host Brunswick School and neighborhood rival Greenwich Country Day School, which included a raucous, standing-room only crowd.

The top-seeded Bruins and fifth-seeded Tigers traded baskets and matched each other’s standout play for two halves of basketball, but once the game reached an tense overtime session, it was all Brunswick.

Turning up the intensity even more on defense, while making key plays on offense, Brunswick limited Greenwich Country Day to only three points in overtime and turned away the Tigers, 72-60, to advance to the championship game of the FAA varsity tournament.

Junior guard Brandon Jean scored a game-high 21 points and senior guard Rhaki Lum totaled 15 points for Brunswick, which outscored GCDS, 15-3, in overtime. The Bruins will host second-seeded King School in tomorrow’s (Feb. 28th) 3 p.m. FAA Tournament final. Brunswick held a 33-26 lead at halftime, then Greenwich Country Day went on a 9-0 run to start the second half to go ahead, 35-33. The second half ended in a 57-57 tie and this exciting FAA final went into overtime before a packed house at Dann Gymnasium.

“It was really fun playing in this game,” said Brunswick senior forward/captain Connor Robinson, who scored 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. “We had a great student section, they all showed up. When we faced adversity, we all stuck together. They went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and coach talked about battling adversity and this is what we play for. We all stuck together.”

Bryan Camacho, a junior guard, added 11 points, while sophomore guard Jayden Fisher had seven points for the Bruins, who earned a berth in the FAA Tournament final for the fifth straight season with the win. The Bruins lost to King School in the 2025 FAA Tournament title game and was defeated by Greenwich Country Day in the league tourney final in 2024.

“It’s a real feeling, we lost to them (GCDS) last year in an important game so to come out with this win, a tough win – coming into overtime we got it up to 10 – that shows a lot about us when we put ourselves together and just finish plays,” said Lum, who made six clutch foul shots in the victory.

Greenwich Country Day School received 17 points from senior forward Rowan Introzzi and 14 points from senior guard Noah Williams. Introzzi posted 12 first-half points, while Willians scored 10 in the first half to pace the Tigers’ offense.

GCDS lost to the Bruins at Brunswick, 72-67, on Feb. 18th and finished the season with a record of 5-4 in the FAA. The Tigers will soon compete in the NEPSAC Tournament. Brunswick has a perfect 9-0 record in the FAA going into the tournament’s championship game.

Visiting Greenwich Country Day took a 57-55 lead with 1:18 remaining in the second half when junior forward Mekai Brown, who finished with 12 points, grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a dunk. The Bruins forced overtime with impressive execution just before time expired in the second half.

Spreading the floor, Camacho drove down the left side of the lane and converted a layup with just 2.6 seconds left to play, tying the score at 57-57 and sending this thrilling matchup into overtime.

“When they took a one-point lead and we called a timeout, the whole timeout we talked about adversity, it’s something we talk about all the time,” Brunswick coach Nate Jean Baptiste said. “From there, we stayed the course. For me, there were key plays that happened to end the game. But I think how we finished with the layup at the end. This is what you play for.”

A layup by Chandler Blijen gave the Tigers a 53-52 edge late in the second half. Brunswick evened the score on a foul shot by Lum, then went ahead, 55-53, on a layup by Robinson with less than two minutes to go.

“We drew up a new play this week, because they knew the first action off of it last week when we played them,” Robinson noted. Rhaki and Jaylen got me the ball. Not much that I did, but I was ready.”

Jean, Lum and Robinson were especially clutch throughout for the Bruins, especially in crunch time.

“It was great, there was high intensity out there,” Jean said. “We work on late-game situations every day in practice. At the start of the season, we weren’t really good in late-game situations and closing out and today, it just shows all the work we put in and we ended up with the victory.”

Jean swished a mid-range jump shot to begin the overtime quarter, giving ‘Wick the lead for good at 59-57. Camacho converted a layup and Lum drove hard to the basket and scored, making it 63-57 in favor of the Bruins. A little later on, a basket by Robinson extended the Bruins’ advantage to 67-57 and the hosts held on to a double-digit lead from there.

The Bruins outscored the Tigers, 15-3, in overtime, thanks to solid execution on offense and their effective man-to-man defense.

“Staying intense, not letting their main players score, boxing out – that was a big thing – rebounding was what kept them in the game and when we started rebounding, that’s what won this game,” Jean noted.

Lum drove to the basket for a layup and drained a 3-pointer, giving the Bruins a 14-4 lead early in the opening half. The Tigers proceeded to go on a 10-0 spurt to even the score at 14-14 at the 7:53 mark of the first half.

A pair of baskets by Brown and a fastbreak layup off a steal by senior guard Charlie Branch fueled Greenwich Day’s run. Brunswick opened a 23-17 advantage after Fisher converted a shot from beyond the arc. Camacho penetrated the lane and scored against the Tigers’ man-to-man defense, making it a 30-22 game in favor of the Bruins late in the first half.

GCDS excelled on both ends of the court to start the second half, with Introzzi sparking a 9-0 run, putting the visitors on top, 35-33 with 12:55 to go in the second half after they trailed, 33-26 at halftime.

“They were very tough,” Lum said of GCDS. “They gave us a hard fight today, but we came out with the win and that’s all that matters.”

The lead went seesawed back-and-forth thereafter, with ‘Wick going on another run to seize a 47-42 edge and the Tigers storming back to go ahead, 48-47 with an 8-0 spurt. Introzzi’s dunk in transition off a pass from Williams gave GCDS a one-point lead. From there, the game had six lead changes the rest of the second half.

“I love to coach in these environments,” coach Jean Baptiste said. “I live for this, I think the boys grow from playing in these environments, I think they get a chance to learn how to move forward in tough moments. Winning in this environment – the team is on Cloud 9.”

Overall, Brunswick has won four in a row, six of its last eight games and has an overall mark of 15-0, including a perfect FAA record. Guard Caden Tate had four points and forward Kingston Pitt added two points for the victors. GCDS has an overall record of 16-5 and have been dominant against its foes outside of the FAA, losing only one non-league matchup all season. The Tigers got seven points from Nicholas Triolo, 11 from Chandler Blijen and three from Charles Branch.

Now the Bruins hope to attend to some unfinished business from last season when they take the court for the FAA Tournament final versus visiting King School.

We are very hungry, I can’t even describe it,” Lum said. “The locker room has been filled with energy and intensity. If we all come together, we are going to get everything we worked for.”

“Togetherness, toughness trust,” Jean Baptiste said. “Those are our three core values and if we do that, we’ll win the game.”