Recap: East Canton 63, Tuslaw 59 (Or, Introducing... The Escape Artists)

Harry Houdini had a few acts that would draw fans in droves to witness. He escaped from the Chinese Water Torture Cell (See Tusky Valley for our version of this trick), he escaped handcuffs out of a milk crate (See Sandy Valley for our version of this one) and he would also allow random people to punch him in the abdomen to show he could absorb body blows (See last night's game for the Hornet example). Houdini eventually died from complications from a punch to his gut during one of his acts. And if you don't pay careful attention, history will repeat itself.

The first quarter was a full round of trading blows. After 8 minutes, Tuslaw held a one point lead, 16-15. In the second, East Canton outscored Tuslaw by nine points to take an 8 points lead into half, 25-33. After the third quarter, East Canton had pushed their lead out 3 more points to 39-50. A big play happened with around 5 minutes remaining in the 4th. Bradley got up a full head of steam on a drive, made a lay-up and a Tuslaw defender attempted to take a charge. He got solid contact with Bradley but he appeared to be sliding under him late and be positioned right under the goal. The call, in my opinion, was correctly made to give Bradley the bucket but this is typically a 50-50 call. If it goes the other way, Bradley has four fouls and 3 points come off the board.

The lead stayed in double digits through the first half of the fourth quarter until the Hornets were blindsided by an 8-0 run by the Mustangs in under a minute. Instead of being up 13, the Hornets were now up 5 and Tuslaw was shooting the free throw of the and-1. Tuslaw missed the free throw but recovered their own miss and got fouled again. I'm not a firm believer in karma but the free throw gods evened things out after a few horrific performances from the charity stripe earlier in the year for the Hornets. The Tuslaw player missed both FTs and the Hornets held a 5 point lead, 56-51.

The Hornets got a turnaround fade away jumper by Cartwright to increase the lead to 7. Tuslaw scored quickly and fouled Smith in the back court. He made the front end of the one-and-one and missed the back end. Tuslaw's Getz came down and stroked a long pull-up to cut the lead to 4. Bradley got fouled and stepped to the line for a 1-and-1. He stroked both with precision, 61-55. After a Hammond 3-pointer, the Hornet lead went to 3. With :17 remaining, Tuslaw was able to cause a jump ball on the ensuing possession. The arrow pointed in the Hornets favor. Cartwright then snuck out for a wide open lay-up to seal the game.

Burfield led the Hornets with 17 points, including 5 3-pointers. Bradley had 12 points with 6 coming from his 7 FT attempts. Smith also had 12 (while leading the Hornets with 2 blocks and 3 steals) and Cartwright added 9 points and 6 assists. Tuslaw put three in double-figures: Getz with 16 (10 in the 4th), Hammond with 11, including 3 3-pointers, and Combs with 10.

With all this being said, I pose the question: Was the Tuslaw another game to tighten our abs, help build the Hornets experience and toughness, or did we get our appendix ruptured like another famous escape artist?

The JV was defeated 55-42. Taylor led the way for the EC JV with 14

Things I Think I Think
I think our student section provided an uplifting experience to the Hornets, a coordinated and consistent group. I feel a lot more confident playing Mogadore, Minerva and Streetsboro at home when the Hornets have a true 6th man

I think Tuslaw was very well coached. They had unique schemes that left the Hornets confused and second guessing. I have played hundreds of basketball games in my career and never saw a 1-1-1-1-1 press before. Tuslaw pulled it out last night and pulled it off to get a few turnovers. They also frustrated our motion offense and dribble drive sets with pre-game adjustments that didn't let East Canton run their stuff in the smooth manner (this is debatable) they are normally accustomed to

I think if East Canton wants to keep getting better, they need to play games like last night. I can picture us playing in a similar game, maybe even in the tournament, and the kids and coaches both have a eureka moment: "Hey, I've been here before and I know how this game ends." I saw some "deer in headlights" looks last night, but even Houdini had to have his assistant give him a key to escape a few of his acts
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The Rep Results
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1090835089/High-school-boys-basketball-report-for-Feb-2

The Rep Box
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x979444433/High-school-boys-basketball-box-scores-for-Feb-2

Recap: East Canton 77, Garfield 62 (Or, That Could Have Gone A Lot Better)

Overview: After an even first half, East Canton's superior athleticism and talent prevailed over Garfield in the second.

Summary: The value of Josh Smith has never been more clear. Nursing a sore ankle, Smith was held out of Saturday night's contest. It seemed that East Canton couldn't get the loose balls they normally do. They couldn't get the offensive rebounds they normally do. They didn't finish on the baseline as well as they normally do. I attribute a lot of this to Smith's absence.

Slater stepped into the starting lineup with Smith out. He made the most of his start with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Burfield matched Slater's output with 21 of his own. The two combined for 19 points in the decisive 3rd quarter. Cartwright had 4 assists (team high) to go with his 12 points. The leading scorer off the bench was Campbell with 12.

Holding a 3 point lead at half, the Hornets came out for the third and methodically wore down Garfield, slowly growing the lead bit by bit. It got up to around 20 and East Canton was able to cruise to the finish. Still, the game has to be considered a let down. Granted, it was was third game of the week and Smith was out but the Hornets didn't play like an undefeated team or a state ranked team.


The JV got a nice come from behind win to move their record to 5-5. In the 53-43 victory, Pennell scored 20, Shultz 12 and Taylor 11.

Things I Think I Think
I think the question that arose at Mogadore of “who's going to tackle #20” was answered last night. At the far side of the court, a scramble for a loose ball led to a Slater/Bradley collision. As to who got the better of it, I'm not sure Slater is aware he was in collision

I think the student section picked a good theme. The white out was full of energy and fun to watch. I'm surprised to see that the numbers for the student section were down from the opening home game. In contrast, attendance as whole seems to be increasing.

I think Slater is more effective playing with an undershirt. T-shirt Slater is scoring 14ppg, up 6 points from his non-T average

A Free-Press article recapping the Hornets last 3 games. They even referred to us as the Wizards
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/slideshow/4752176
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Rep Box Score
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1560345180/High-school-boys-basketball-box-scores-for-Jan-16

Rep Results
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1301081493/High-school-boys-basketball-report-for-Jan-16

Recap: East Canton 68, Rootstown 55 (Or, Bradley Finishes What Burfield Started, With Folly In Between)

Overview: After a torrid start, East Canton cooled off to let Rootstown back in the game. A strong finish led East Canton to their 8th straight win.

Summary: A 26-13 first quarter made the Ohio Division 3 polls look eerily prescient early on. After the Hornets followed that quarter up with with a whopping 3 points in the second, the rankings showed through to be what they really are, more or less bunk. During the 26 point first quarter outburst Burfield netted 16 points including four 3-pointers. This prompted the Rovers to face guard him the rest of the way out. It proved to be successful with Burfield not getting a single point the rest of the game on limited shot attempts. In the second quarter, which East Canton only scored 3 points, Rootstown scored 9 to make it a 29-22 halftime score.

The third quarter had a few bright spots, some let downs and few moments of intrigue within. A bright spot was Elseser going on a 5-0 run by himself in about :10. An and 1 followed by a steal and score did the trick. A Let down was the one possession of zone the Hornets tried to whip out. It was rudely greeted by a wide open 3 ball that was cashed in. Both moments of intrigue surrounded Rootstown's coach. A group block out by several Rover players was whistled for a foul. Their coach then unleashed a lengthy diatribe in one of the refs ear for several seconds. Either his words didn't match his demeanor, or the ref just had long fuse. On another occasion, after the Rovers made an and 1 while on a run of their own, their coach was inspired to give a Tiger Woods-like fist pump. I don't mind the show of emotion but there were no green jackets to hand out to the winners.

In the third quarter each team scored exactly 20 points leaving the score 49-42. The fourth quarter became Bradley's quarter. Dishes, drives and defense from the senior kept the game in check. He didn't try to do too much and it may not have been that obvious to the casual viewer, but he was dominating the game in a low-key way. He finished the game with stat sheet stuffing 12 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds in securing the victory.

Burfield, after being worn like a shirt by Rover defenders for 2 ½ quarters due to his blazing start, finally got a look with a little under 3 minutes remaining. It was a slow developing play and was going to be an obvious 3-point attempt for the junior. He was almost visually salivating to get the trey off but left the shot a full foot short. Though not a shining moment, I have to think it was a great moment for maturing. I'm not sure if that is the first time he has ever been face guarded for an extended period of time but I can confidently guarantee, with his abilities, it won't be the last. Personal game development, better coaching adjustments and experiences like this will make similar circumstances [choose your own cheesy cliché line: like a walk in the park, a piece of cake, or like clockwork].

Rootstown was led in scoring by Jordan Jonier with 19. As a team they made 9 3-pointers but took some outrageously long attempts, converting a few. If I had Synergy Sports and pulled up the data for some of these shots, I think the computer might start to weep before blowing up its monitor in an attempt to free me from viewing the data. but more power to em for the courage to pull so deep. Also contributing for East Canton was Cartwright with 10 points and 5 steals. Campbell added 11, Smith 7, Slater 6 and Elseser 6 more.


The JV notched another win to push their record to 4-4. Shultz led the way with 18 points including 8-10 from the foul line. Down two with around a minute to go “Long Distance Dillon” buried a three pointer to give East Canton the lead they would never relinquish. Taylor added 9 for the Hornets and Kennedy 8.

Things I Think I Think
I think East Canton has some of the most drastic peaks and valleys of any team. I know why the Hornets have the peaks - hot perimeter shooting but more so a scoring defense. I can't really figure out what is causing the valleys. A lack of intensity due to fatigue? Stagnant offense? Poor shot selection? Or something I'm completely missing. Feel free to weigh in on this Hive faithful

I think the game with Streetsboro (Also unbeaten in the conference) on Friday is a tell-tale sign of this teams fate. The Hornets have beaten the rest of the conference (Excluding Garfield which they will meet Saturday at home) with most of those wins coming on the road. An away victory this Friday puts East Canton in the drivers seat of the PTC-County Division

I think the state ranking bestowed upon the team can is a gift and a curse. It gives the recognition the team deserves but puts a huge bulls-eye on the teams back in all future contests. Speaking of the rankings, don't forget the check out the Hive's latest poll on the right hand side of page

Recap: East Canton 64, Waterloo 44 (Or, Hornets Give Vikings A Proverbial Black Eye)

The Hornets defended their home court for first time this season, successfully edging the Vikings from Waterloo 64-44. An incremental increase of score margin through the first 3 periods left the 4th quarter as a mere formality. Aggressive defense, improved free throw shooting and rebounding dominance pioneered the way to the win.

After shooting 23/45 from the foul line against Windham, the Hornets shot a solid 25/32 tonight. Burfield dropped 13 of 15 through the net and Bradley hit 8 of his 9. Things get a lot more interesting if the Hornets shoot as poorly as they did in their previous game.

Offensively the Hornets were paced by Burfield's 26 points, a game high. Three 3 pointers and FT's galore aided his large output. Cartwright knocked down 2 threes early in the game and finished with 10. Bradley's 10 had an impact but his constant harassment of the passing lanes is where he made his greatest impact. Nathan Franks led Waterloo in scoring with 18.

Late in the 4th quarter, after each team had put their younger players in to get some experience, Aaron Kennedy was able to get in the box score for the first time in his varsity career. After missing the first of two free throws, he went to his Gilbert Arenas free throw routine which helped him knock down the second.

The JV team took a loss for the first time this season, losing to Waterloo 41-49. Brandon Shultz had 11 points for East Canton and Duke Taylor added 10

Things I Ihink I Think
I think East Canton has an engaged and obnoxious student section. They came all decked out in Hornet attire and consistently had creative things to do and chant. Keep it up

I think the Hornet offense is showing much improvement from just 2 games ago. They look less robotic and more willing to free lance when necessary

I think East Canton must have a phenomenal hospitality room. I overheard 2 of the refs raving about the pot roast before the start of the 3rd period

Around The Portage Trail Conference - County Division

The Record-Courier Newspaper ran a preview of basketball teams in that area in their Tuesday November 24th publication. Six teams in the PTC County Division are located in the geographical region the paper covers. Besides giving a basic overview of each of these 6 teams, The Record-Courier asked each team's head coach to predict how they thought the league would shake out. The following are excerpts from the predictions that were made.


Waterloo Head Coach John Herchek
“On paper, you've got to look at East Canton. They are probably the number 1 favorite because they return everybody, and they came on strong at the end of last year and had a nice tournament run. Mogadore and Rootstown are going to be much improved because they played a lot of young kids last season and they got better as the year went on.... I really think that the league is going to be more balanced than it has been over the last 3 or 4 years. Anybody can beat anybody, especially early in the year.”

Streetsboro Head Coach Todd Muckleroy
“East Canton has everyone returning from last year and they're a pretty feisty team. Waterloo has a pretty good team, you can't count out Windham, and I think Mogadore has some good athletes and some competitive kids.”

Garfield Head Coach Mark Rado
“East Canton returns everybody and they should be pretty good, Streetsboro is always athletic while Windham always brings a good team. Mogadore and Rootstown will also be better with a lot of talent returning.”

Mogadore Head Coach Russ Swarts
“East Canton and Streetsboro are going to be very solid, and Waterloo and Windham, with their tradition and the fact that both of them are always very well-coached teams, you can never count them out.”

Rootstown Head Coach Andrew Vlajkovich
“The league is wide open, but Streetsboro and East Canton are the front runners.”

Windham Head Coach Marty Hill
“Even though they lost a lot of people, I think Waterloo will be a lot tougher than people think. East Canton returns just about their entire team so they'll be tough, and Streetsboro will be good, especially if (Jay) Lugo ends up playing for them. That would add another dimension to their team.”


Things I Think I Think
I think the league has more parity than usual. The teams typically at the top are in a transition year, while some of teams not accustomed to being at the top of the league have the experience from playing more underclassmen the last few years. Could a few unexpected upsets be brewing?

I think East Canton received a lot of respect from the other coaches in the league. The core returners have earned that respect. Almost all coaches mentioned East Canton as the first or second team to beat in the conference.

I think no one is betting on Streetsboro or Waterloo to have a "down" year. Yeah, they lost a lot of good players off of teams that had huge records, but the majority opinion is that the systems and coaching philosophy will prevail.