East Canton 84, Mogadore 46

I'm proud to be relieved of my duties of writing a story by The Repository. Enjoy the much deserved coverage

http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1124762127/East-Canton-s-Burfield-dials-it-up-long-range

Here are some stats, opinions, observations..

Burfield tied a school record with 8 3-pointers made. His quest to break the record got a little ridiculous towards the end of the game, chucking 3's from the volleyball lines and under great distress. Coach Swartz of Mogadore handled the situation very well saying, "Were just worried about our team and our defense."

East Canton made 10 3-pointers as a team - Cartwright (2) and Burfield (8) made them all

East Canton went 16/24 from the free throw line compared to Mogadore's 7/19

The defense and intensity is making teams very frustrated. It becomes apparent with the flagrant fouls and trash talking we've been seeing a lot of lately. For the most part, the Hornets have been the bigger men in these altercations.

Smith led the Hornets in rebounding with 9 - Slater added 6 boards and Bradley 5

Cartwright led the Hornets with 6 assists and 3 steals

Tipton led Mogadore in scoring with 11

I love the quote by coach Swartz in The Rep.. "Up until tonight, our strengths have been defense and rebounding, And we thought we’d be able to hold our own. Not tonight.” This was not a bad team the Hornets drilled last night. They had some talent. I would say positive things about their coaching staff too, but these comments have been under scrutiny lately so I'll leave it out. But the Hornets put up 84 points on a team that was priding itself on defense. Could anyone have imagined this after watching is barely scrape by Tusky Valley in game 1?

East Canton had 50 points at halftime. Mogadore finished the game with 46

Scoring for the Hornets... Burfield 34, Bradley 14, Smith 10, Cartwright 8

If you missed the player profile of Joe Cartwright yesterday, make sure you check it out

The JV took a beating from Mogadore's JV group, 77-45. Pennell scored 14 and Shultz & Taylor each had 11 for the Hornets

The Rep photo gallery
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x426329607/High-School-Sports-Photo-Gallery

The Rep box scores
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x503201548/High-school-boys-basketball-box-scores-for-Feb-5

The Rep results
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1124762170/High-school-boys-basketball-report-for-Feb-5

Recap: East Canton 70, Mogadore 58 (Or, Flagrants, Taunts and Technicals, Oh My!)

Overview: East Canton was in control the majority of the game but they were unable to ever put the game out of reach. A strong last few minutes made the difference again.

Summary: At the conclusion of each quarter, East Canton held a lead of at least nine but no more than 12 points. This tells me that the Hornets controlled the game and were comfortable for the most part, but it also says that the Hornets were unable to finish off their opponent.

My first impressions of Mogadore is that they are a well-coached and fairly disciplined team. They had a mix of kids that ranged from being able to handle and put the ball in the basket to some other kids that were a little rougher around the edges. Their screen switching and ability to handle East Canton's press made the Hornets adjust. They were led by Ryan Tarter, a smooth ball-handling lead guard. He threw in 20 points including a series of impressive spinning drives. Kody Chance also had 16 for Mogadore, mostly on medium to long-range jump shots. The Mogadore student section looked like they had some potential to be disruptive but lacked a cohesive synergy. Some painted faces and player taunting but overall poor organization.

East Canton gave a very balanced offensive performance. Cartwright led with 15 points. His dribble drive was effective but he left points at the foul line. Slater added 14 points and 11 rebounds in his best overall game of the year. Burfield had 13 points including 3 three-pointers, but also had an uncharacteristic 7 turnovers. Bradley played a complete game with 10 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and a consistent breakdown of Mogadore's defense.

Picking things up in the fourth, Mogadore had cut East Canton's double-digit lead down to 3, 55-52. Bradley was fouled and knocked down two clutch free throws with under 3 minutes. On a Wildcat miss, Slater was then fouled on the rebound with 1:59 to play. With East Canton already in the double bonus, he converted both free throw attempts to push the lead to 7. After a Mogadore 2-point conversion, the Hornets got a timely play from Slater. A layup plus a foul was just what the Hornets needed. The much deserved technical foul that ensued for unsportsmanlike taunting was what they didn't need. This was Slater's fifth foul and an obvious loss of composure. He stayed on to shoot his "plus the harm" free throw which he was unable to convert. Mogadore made 1 of the 2 technical free throws.

The Hornets got another big play when Stuart Campbell took a charge with a little over a minute remaining. The Wildcats were then forced to foul Cartwright who was able to convert 1 of 2 free throws. A jump ball gave the ball back to the Hornets. On the side inbound, Burfield found a wide open Cartwright under the rim who made the basket after absorbing a flagrant foul. Defying conventional thought, the refs awarded Joe only two shots instead of one shot for the and 1, and 2 more for the flagrant. He missed both shots but the Hornets still had a 9 point lead.

Kody Chance hit a three for Mogadore which cut the lead to 6. Joe was fouled again on the inbound and converted both free throws with :46 remaining. Bradley closed the game out with 2 steals that led to points. The Hornets finished the game on a 15-6 run to improve to 7-0. Next up, Garfield at home on Friday.

The JV lost to Mogadore 43-50. Scoring for the JV team has Shultz with 12, Pennell with 11 and Taylor with 10

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From the Rep
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x370513053/High-school-boys-basketball-results-for-Jan-5

http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x370513044/High-school-boys-basketball-report-for-Jan-5

A Free-Press article recapping the game
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/article/4746897