The Friday night matchup between the Berkshire Badgers and Kirtland Hornets didn’t have a favorite. The teams had split their pair of CVC games this season, each winning on the home court of the other. But both games were hotly contested, meaning this tournament contest meant a bit more to the victor.
Game photos click here.
The Friday night matchup between the Berkshire Badgers and Kirtland Hornets didn’t have a favorite. The teams had split their pair of CVC games this season, each winning on the home court of the other. But both games were hotly contested, meaning this tournament contest meant a bit more to the victor.
Sparked by a short surge by the Hornets to start the third period, which was sparked by full court pressure defense, Kirtland took advantage of the absence of Miles Miller, the Badgers’ top shooting guard, to record a thrilling 49-46 victory.
Berkshire (9-14) was aggressive in the first half, leading to a 22-19 halftime edge. A 10-0 run late in the first period, and a short 6-3 spurt late in the second quarter, gave the Badgers a 22-14 edge before a Vince Carreiro three-pointer and two free throws from Gino Blasini closed the gap before halftime.
But tightened defensive pressure to open the third period for the Hornets gave Kirtland (13-10) a small lead, and the Hornets nursed it the rest of the way.
Finally, after Berkshire closed to within 40-38 on a pair of free throws from Mason Mendolera with 3:22 left in the game, Gino Blasini scored on a putback, then scored on the next possession on a sweet back door layup, to open a 44-41 lead. Gavin Hipp had nailed a long trey, and Carreiro hit both ends of a one and one free throw opportunity with 7.3 ticks left, making a long three-pointer from Jack Hastings at the final horn immaterial.
“We missed Miles tonight,” Berkshire Head Coach Joe Montanaro said. “That said, their defensive pressure in the second half was the difference. We also had some stretches where we didn’t get rebounds. That has been regular for us this season, but despite being a bit outmanned, the kids really stepped up big time tonight, and I can’t be any prouder of them.”
Blasini played a big part in many Hornet plays in the second-half comeback.
“They beat us on our floor and we beat them on their floor this season,” the junior forward said. “We thought our depth was better than theirs, especially with Miller not playing, so we just applied more pressure in the second half and it worked out well for us. We thought if we came out in the third period and put on full court pressure, we could take control, and that’s how it worked out.”
Blasini led a balanced attack for Kirtland with 12 points, as eight Hornets scored points. Nine of Kirtland Head Coach Sean McGregor’s players snared rebounds as everybody made big contributions.
“Gino is just one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached,” McGregor said. “He can do everything on the floor, and one of the best things he does is to see the entire floor all the time. That lets him make big plays and, along with his solid rebounding, he’s always a threat to do something good no matter where he is on the floor.”
In the next game, the third-ranked Cougars slipped past the 12th-seeded Hornets, 59-54, at John A. Cabas Gymnasium.
