Recap: East Canton 80, Rootstown 40 (Or, When Zell's Raining Threes, 19-0 We'll Be)

The Rep's coverage

http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x1650247359/East-Canton-continues-on-road-to-perfection

Sorry for the lack of coverage on Friday's game. I was in Kentucky visiting my former college. I did have a few thoughts and observations on Friday's game.

It was undeniable that the environment played a huge factor in Fridays game. With WHBC in the building and all the alumni, the atmosphere was electric. There were no empty seats in the gym. Some special people from East Cantons basketball history were getting to watch the Hornets for the first time in years. Boy, did the Hornets not disappoint. The game was over just minutes in.

Campbell had a huge 1st quarter. 8 of his 13 came during the first period and he didn't even start. This is a great sign and a huge boost to the Hornets overall depth and toughness inside.

The third quarter was a bit of a let down. Rootstown outscored the Hornets, 15-12. In fairness, the game was well past decided at this point and it didn't matter what East Canton did, the result was solidified. The Hornets seemed content, lax with their pressure and a lack of precision on offense. But I am a bottom line type of guy and the bottom line says: East Canton 80, Rootstown 40. Still, 4 quarters of basketball is the goal, not 3.

East Canton didn't allow any Rootstown players to reach double digits for indivdual scoring. I love it when this happens, personally. It shows that the Hornets are as much of a team on defense as they are on offense.

Bradley was all over the place stealing balls. He was in passing lanes and swiping crossovers. He finished with 6 total steals. Oh yeah, he also made a season high 4 3-pointers, all in a short time span. When he got hot, it was truly the death knell for the Rovers. Most teams know they are in trouble trying to harness Bradley's quickness, but to have to worry about the 3-point shot too is devastating.

East Canton scored 12 points in the 3rd quarter. 6 Hornets scored during the 3rd with no Hornet scoring any more or less than 2 points. Weird.

Rootstown is a good 3-point shooting team. We bothered their sets and didn't let them get many good looks from three range. Rootstown only hit 4 3s, while East Canton put 8 3s in.

The JV team lost, 40-53. Leading the way for the Hornets was Pennell with 11 and Kennedy with 9.

Free-Press Article
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/article/4776624

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