Recap: East Canton 64, Campbell-Memorial 56

Chris Beaven of the Rep wrote a great article about the game in the Rep. He recapped it perfectly but I will add some of my comments. Read this article first
http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x1526463088/East-Canton-boys-win-to-reach-regional



How about Zell Bradley? Boy, did he just stuff the stat sheet, or what? Not only stats, but he kept the Hornets in the game by making plays when Campbell went on their run early. Zell had 22 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. That's 43 tallies in the stat column! There are only 32 minutes in a high school basketball game. He was making a positive contribution on the stat sheet every 45 seconds last night! Zell also went 14-18 from the free throw line, including some clutch makes. This is the same Zell Bradley that teams wanted to intentionally foul early in the fourth quarter to try to take advantage of his perceived lack of free throw shooting. He made those teams pay, and he made Campbell pay. Zell, keep on keeping those stat girls busy

Side note: I write down notes during the game to myself. I have twice written down, "Bradley is doing everything he can to win this game."

Beaven correctly pointed out the match up zone at the end of the game that completely stifled Campbell. Technically it's switching man defense but it had the same effect as a match up zone. It shut down the driving lanes and left Campbell scratching their heads. It was timed perfectly for when it was implemented. Campbell didn't have enough time to make adjustments for it. This was a HUGE factor in the outcome of the game.

Another huge factor was the timely pressing of the Hornets. East Canton picked their spots but it was effective most of the time they went to the presses. It was most evident in a Hornet 6-0 run during the 3rd quarter. The Hornets scored 6 points without letting Campbell get the ball across half court. This turned the score from 29-34 in favor of Campbell, to 35-34 in favor of East Canton.

The Hornets stepped up at the free throw line again. They have had a roller coaster ride from the charity stripe this season but they have picked a good time to hit a peak. Bradley led this way going 14-18. Burfield knocked down 6-9. Cartwright knocked down two in the clutch. Stu hit two more big ones to close out the game. It was just a a solid overall free throw shooting effort by the Hornets

74% of the Hive followers correctly predicted the Hornets to win by under 10 points in our most recent poll. That's impressive




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The Rep's Preview
http://www.cantonrep.com/stark/canton/x427965236/East-Cantons-district-final-foe-looks-familiar

Blast From The Past: The 1985 Team - District Champs

Written by Joe Bogdan


Although the 1985 team would end up in the same place as the 1984 team, they had to get there with different players, and along a different path. As the Hornets continued to play in a Senate League that was rapidly outgrowing them, wins were hard to come by. The team was very competitive in most contests, but ended the regular season at only 10-10. Senior Brian Martin stepped up to take over the offense, scoring 20 points per game, and being named District 4 player of the year, as well as 3rd team All-Ohio. Senior captains and three year letter winners Don Shimek and Mark Wardle added toughness and leadership.

When East Canton dropped down into tournament play, the rigorous Senate League schedule began to pay dividends. The Hornets went largely unchallenged in their first two tournament games, and squeaked by Woodridge 38-36 in the district semis. The team beat Ashtabula St. John’s 54-46 to claim its second straight district crown.

Once again, the Hornets would find themselves in Canton Memorial Field House for the regional tournament. This year’s opponent was Maplewood. With a talented 6’7” big man, Maplewood proved too much for the smaller Hornets. East Canton’s tourney run ended in a 62-45 loss.

Recap: East Canton 59, St. Thomas Aquinas 55 (Or, Hornets Jump Out Early, Hold On For Sweet Tournament Life)

The first quarter answered a lot of the questions as to how last night's game would be played. Ryan Snyder, one of the counties top scorers from St. Thomas, was questionable with a ankle injury. His mobility, or lack there of, set the Hornets on a course ultimate aggressive play. The ability of St. Thomas to handle East Canton's pressure also showed as the Hornets were extremely disruptive. Then came the big “what if.” What if East Canton gives any kind of offensive shooting performance like they did in the sectional final against Ursuline? Well, that “what if” was quickly nixed in the first quarter when Burfield got hot from three-point range and Bradley connected on a few crafty, patient drives. The Hornets put up 20 points in the first quarter, almost equally their output for an entire half against Ursuline. So with all those questions out of the way and the Hornets clutching a 9 point lead, the rest of the game was to play out like a television sitcom.

The second quarter began the let-down for the Hornets. It did not appear on the score baord because they actually increased their lead by 2 more points. But, the defensive intensity was slowly wearing off and the rebounding edge was starting to tilt towards Aquinas. Aquinas also debuted some junk defenses and face-guarding techniques on Burfield. I felt these really slowed the Hornets down and got EC out of rhythm. The lack of intensity was most evident in the post defense of EC. In the first quarter STA's gaurds couldn't get a look in the post, and if they did, EC had the post surrounded. The 2nd quarter STA got easy post feeds for scores. All that said, the Hornets take an 11 point lead into halftime.

During the 3rd quarter STA cut into the Hornet lead by five points. More STA junk defense was really taking the Hornets away from what they wanted to do. Additionally, STA began to look like more of an aggressive team. Holding on to a six point lead going into the fourth quarter, it would come down to ball security and free throws for the Hornets.

In the 4th quarter STA started to get a rhythm. They scored 22 points that quarter, as many as their output in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined. East Canton didn't back down though. They handled STA's press and made them pay for extending their pressure. Leading by 6, EC got a huge play from Campbell finishing a lay up off of a press break for an and-1. He knocked down the free throw to give EC a nine point lead, 49-40. STA didn't stop scoring but EC managed to match the Aquinas points by knocking down their free throws. Smith stepped up to the line for a 1-and-1 and nailed both. STA quickly scored. Campbell got fouled for a 1-and-1 and nailed both. STA missed their free throws and it was back to foul line for EC. Bradley, now in the double bonus, made the two he was given. STA then scored two baskets in a row to cut the lead to 7, 55-48. Burfield split a double bonus and STA wasted no time in scoring and then calling what seemed like an endless amount of time outs. Smith put the game away with 3 out of 4 free throws in the final minute. STA had prayer when they hit a 3-pointer in the final minute but the EC lead was never in serious jeopardy.



The leading scorers were Campbell 15, Burfield 12 , Bradley 11, Smith 11 and Slater with 8. Bradley added 5 assists to go with his point total and Smith and Campbell each grabbed 5 boards. Leading the way for STA was Bond with 16. Dempsey added 10 and Duplin 9. Their leading scorer hobbled around and only managed to score 4 points. It's hard for me to take pleasure in seeing a kid play his final game in this condition. And I feel even worse for him after seeing him try to drive around Jow Cartwright on one leg. That ain't happenin.

Here is the Rep's version
http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x1224403725/H-S-boys-basketball-East-Canton-remains-unbeaten

Things I Think I Think
I think I'm proud of the way East Canton's student section held their own against the STA group. STA had more students and experience of being an irritant all year to opposing teams. The Hornet fans traded cheers and held their own all night. They did have one thing in their favor though. That was the “SCOREBOARD, SCOREBOARD, SCOREBOARD!”

I think Friday night's game should be a dousy. Campbell-Memorial's athleticism and quickness are unparalleled to any team on East Canton's schedule this year. They looked like a Streetsboro on steroids to me.

I think the assertiveness of Stu Campbell lately deserves a round of applause. He's gotten tougher as the year has gone by and is almost indispensable in late game situations. He even had a caller from an in-state university after the game. The only other college recruiter to appear for the Hornets was from the Paul Mitchell College of Hair Care for Justin Whitacre. Gotchaaaa

Recap: Hornets 43, Youngstown Ursuline 40 (Or, Hornets Survive, Advance)

The Rep On East Canton V Ursuline
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x2096601980/East-Canton-Hornets-keep-the-dream-going

The Rep On Our Opponent Tuesday, Aquinas
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x2096602038/Aquinas-boys-advance-to-play-East-Canton

Watching last night's game I felt a flurry of emotions. At times I wanted to laugh, other times I wanted to cry. Another time I wanted to wake up because I was sure the game was nightmare of mine. Then, I had a momentary bit of confidence that the game would turn out in East Canton's favor - only to be followed by a strong feeling of impending doom. But I survived my emotional roller coaster, and so did the Hornets.

Here are some of the stats of East Canton

Free Throws - 15/28
Three-Point Shooting - 2/20 total, 0/15 in first half
Two-Point Shooting - 11/52
Overall Field Goals - 13/72 (18%)

And that's the winning team!

Ursuline was equally as ugly in their own way. Their poisons were turnovers (24), free throws (4/11) and three-point shooting (0/10).

After the worst half of basketball played all year by the Hornets, they still managed to hold a one point lead at the half. This despite spending most of the first half rushing shots and getting blocked. The length and athleticism clearly bothered the Hornets. Long arms made Hornet jump shots get released earlier than usual and those same long arms rejected numerous shots and altered many more.

The refs called the game like a tournament game. Fouls seemed reserved for only blatant offenses. With East Canton being the undersized team, this was not in the Hornets favor. This won't change though. And I don't believe it's a problem because the Hornets are tough. They fought hard for those balls without getting calls and I'm positive they will remain the tough, scrappy bunch that got them this far.

The game stayed remarkably close throughout the whole contest. At the end of each quarter the largest scoring margin was 3. Ursuline led by 2 after 1 quarter, East Canton by 1 at halftime, East Canton by 1 again at the end of 3 quarters, and finally, East Canton by 3 to end the game. I'm not sure what the biggest deficit either team faced but 5 points would have been a big lead for either team to hold at any point in the game.

On a night where it seemed the entire team was having an off night, Burfield led the team with 12 points. He got 8 of those in the 3rd (a period the Hornets only scored 13 points total). Bradley had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Smith had 10 rebounds to go with his 7 points. Ursuline was paced by #15 Gregory with 12 points. He had a money pull-up jump shot and gave the Hornets fits trying to keep him out of the paint. Ursuline's big scorer, Jenkins, was held in check and only finished with 7 points.

The Hornets play next Tuesday against St. Thomas Aquinas at 8pm. This should be the most chaotic environment of the season. Aquinas has a top-notch student section so the Hornet fans may need to take it up another notch for this one.

Player Profile: Ryan Burfield

Ryan, a 6'0" junior, leads the Hornets in scoring at 19ppg and adds 4 steals and 3.5 assists per contest. He's rewriting the East Canton record books with his 3-point shooting and is making drastic strides to have a well-rounded overall skill package. Get to know Ryan a little better through this installment of Player Profiles.

Favorite food? Any kind of chicken

What other sports do you play? Baseball, Vollskett-square

Favorite sports team? Cavs

Favorite class in school? Chemistry 2

Last book you read for entertainment? Enders Game

Favorite movie? Grandma's Boy

What's in your cd player right now? All rap and hip hop

Who is your role model? My dad

Lebron or Kobe? LeBron

What's your favorite Spurgeon quote? "That's not sexy"

Most memorable moment in athletics? Zell making a 3-point shot to take Columbiana to OT

What are you post high school aspirations? Go to college


Coach Spurgeon on Ryan: "Ryan has certainly developed his game. He has become a scorer, not just a shooter. He continues to improve his defense, rebounding and ball handling every day."

Player Profile: Zell Bradley

The 5'10" senior leader is averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4.5 steals per contest while shooting 50% from the field. However, no form of statistical measurement can accurately show what Zell brings to the Hornets. As the primary ball-handler, Zell has used a combination of speed, quickness and smarts to pick apart defenses with his drive and dish game. Able to beat defenders with either hand, the big men have feasted on easy lay-ups from Bradley all year. Learn more about Zell off the court in this installment of Player Profiles.

Favorite food? Porterhouse Steak

What other sports do you play? None

Favorite sports team? Cleveland Cavs

Favorite class in school? Lunch

Last book you read for entertainment? The Bible

Favorite movie? A Night At The Roxbury


What's in your cd player right now? A Mix, but Mostly Lil Wayne

Who is your role model? Momma Cartwright

Lebron or Kobe? Lebron

What's your favorite Spurgeon quote? "That's Not Sexy"

Most memorable moment in athletics? When Joe ran in circles at Mogadore freshman year

What are your post high school aspirations? Attend college

Coach Spurgeon on Zell: "Zell has really become a floor general. He distributes the ball, he scores it, he defends.. He has been invaluable this year."

Recap: East Canton 69, Streetsboro 57 (Or, Hornets Remain Perrrfect, Now The Real Fun Begins)

The Rep covered this one
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1595502823/East-Canton-boys-basketball-team-goes-20-0

Overview: After an even start, the Hornets pulled away in the 2nd quarter. They built a lead Streetsboro could never tap back into.

Summary: Historians should have been salivating at the chance to witness what went down in the Smith Gymnasium last night. The last game to be played in at the East Canton facility turned out to be a special one. With East Canton set to play their games in a new gym next year, it only seemed appropriate to cut down the nets after the game. And the Hornets had a reason to do it. Finishing the regular season 20-0 for the first time in school history (and the 14th time in Stark County history), meant the the game ball was getting locked up and the nets were coming down.

The nervousness showed in the 1st quarter. Missed layups and rushed shots led to a 9-10 Streetsboro lead after 1. The 2nd quarter is where the Hornets established the superiority, outscoring Streetsboro by 10 points to take a 9 point lead into half. But all was not well for the Hornet faithful. Bradley and Campbell both had 3 fouls at intermission and Streetsboro was giving East Canton as much pressure as they could handle. The Hornets are usually the disruptive team on defense but Streetsboro gave as good as they got with defensive pressure last night.

East Canton started the 3rd on a 4-0 run making the score 39-26 but couldn't keep that momentum. The entire quarter continued at an uncomfortably sloppy pace. This stretch featured missed layups back and forth with plenty of fast break opportunities. A play of note happened toward the end of the 3rd. After a loose ball, a Streetsboro player tried to make a save under the Hornet goal. He rifled the ball at Slater to try and get the ball to go out of bounds off him. Slater's quickness (O, the irony) allowed him to catch the ball in his stomach and lay it in instead of the ball deflecting out of bounds to the Rockets. Slater led the Hornets with 26 points. He was an animal on the boards and finished around the room exceptionally. After 3 quarters, the Hornets had pushed their lead out 2 more points, 69-57.

Streetsboro was able to to get as close as 6 points in the 4th quarter. After playing awful for the majority of the game, Bradley stepped up and made plays to keep the Rockets at a distance. He executed a dribble-drive floater to perfection, plus a drive and dish gave the Hornets breathing room. Then Streetsboro tried to foul Bradley early to get to take advantage of his perceived inability to make free throws. Boy, were they wrong about this. He converted 4 consecutive free throws in 1-and-1 situations, split a double bonus, and converted 2 more of a double bonus in a 2 minute stretch. That being said, game over.

The Box Score
http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1694768878/High-school-boys-basketball-box-scores-for-Feb-27




The Rep wrote a nice article about the history behind Stark County teams going 20-0. Somehow they managed to turn it into more ink for Brett Wackerly. For those of you who were not in your senior basketball season during North Canton's 20-0 season of 2003-04, this is not very surprising.



http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1694766277/What-would-20-0-mean-for-East-Canton-basketball-team
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Check out this picture. This sign seems very insensitive to be posted in a girls high school basketball town. I'm just kidding, Hive faithful. But notice the white truck in the background, belonging to the future District 4 Coach of the Year, Chad Spurgeon. Talk about perfect timing. Thanks to Nicole's for the support and pre-game pasta!


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Here is a Free-Press article about the 20th win
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/slideshow/4781116
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Here is a Free-Press article about Zell Bradley, errrrr, I mean East Canton celebrating Black History Month
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/simple_article/4776629
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Here is a Free-Press article on the tournament draws of the local schools
http://www.the-press-news.com/news/article/4771270

Blast From The Past: The 2001 Team

Written By Joe Bogdan

Sandwiched around some mid season frustrations, Jeff Spaulding’s second team played well at the right time to claim the Hornets most recent trip to the sweet sixteen. East Canton was led by second team All-Ohioan Bub Crumrine and Academic All-Ohioan Jarrod Davis. Seniors Lucas Butler, Todd Shadle, John Miller, and Eric John gave the team a veteran cast. Sophomore Kyle Arick was the lone underclassman to start for the Hornets, while fellow sophomore Jake Jacobsen and freshman Pete Foltz were valuable players off the bench.

After an opening night loss to Malvern, East Canton won four in a row. At mid season, the Hornets were 7-3, and in the hunt for the PAC title. Losses at Manchester, Fairless and Sandy Valley in the middle of January took the team out of the league race, but East Canton won several close games down the stretch to finish at 11-9.

The Hornets were seeded third in the Struthers Sectional-District, but almost didn’t make it out of the first round. The team faced a double-digit first quarter deficit against Lowellville. Crumrine scored 32 points, and the team needed every one of them as it was extended into overtime before outscoring Lowellville 17-2 in the extra period for a 72-57 win. Following a familiar pattern for the year, they followed the sub-par performance with a brilliant one. Again trailing early, East Canton stormed into the lead against second seeded Sebring and muscled its way to a 48-44 upset.

East Canton faced top seeded South Range in the district finals. South Range was led by North East Ohio Inland District player of the year Chris Hatch. Hatch was kept under control by the stingy defense of Lucas Butler, and the Hornets built a ten-point lead during the third quarter. South Range mounted a comeback, and took a 53-51 lead during the last minute. With 15 seconds left, Bub Crumrine caught Todd Shadle’s pass and hit a three pointer while coming off two screens. South Range threw up a desperation heave at the buzzer, but it bounced harmlessly off the rim as time expired.

The regional tournament in Canton would see the Hornets as an underdog for the third straight time. They would face state ranked Lutheran East. The Hornets played well throughout the first half, leading 31-20 with a little over a minute remaining. However, Lutheran East went on a late surge and closed the gap to four at the half. The game slowly slipped away as Lutheran East began to go inside, and the Hornets went cold from the field. In the end, the fine tournament run ended with a 59-63 loss. Jarrod Davis summed up the feeling of all involved after the game when he told the media “I’m sure a lot of people didn’t think we could get this far, but everyone on this team knew we had what it took. And we showed we could play with anybody.”

Player Profile: Stu Campbell

Stu, the 6'6" post, has found his niche coming off the bench for the Hornets. Easily East Canton's best passing big man, Stu has shown constant and consistent improvement over the course of his senior season. He has a soft shooting touch with range all the way out to the 3-point line. His size allows him to be a force on the boards at both ends of the court. Learn more about Stu in this installment of Player Profiles.


Favorite Food? Chocolate Chip Waffles


Favorite Sports Team? Cleveland Cavs


Favorite Class in School? Relationship Matters


Last Book You Read for Entertainment? Friday Night Lights


Favorite Movie? Step Brothers


What's in Your CD Player Right Now (Or Favorite Band/Musician)? Jay Z


Who Is Your Role Model (s)? My 2 brothers and Rambo


Lebron or Kobe? Lebron


Most Memorable or Funniest Moment In Athletics? Running out on the court with time remaining at Windham


Coach Spurgeon on Stu:
"Stu has a lot of ability and talent. He's really a great kid. As he continues to become more aggressive, he becomes better every day."



There has been some controversy over whether Stu Campbell can or cannot dunk the basketball. There also may or may not be private wagers being placed on his capability to do so. It is about time he proves it to us all. Therefore, I am starting the "Let Stu Dunk" campaign to encourage others to pass the ball to Stu on breakaways, look for him on alley-oop plays, or maybe even let him jump off your back to give him a few inch boost when he attempting to "get up." Time is ticking, Stu. Better dust off those Jump Soles.

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