The Chardon Hilltoppers had to wait a few days to get rolling with their basketball season after a deep, successful tournament run for the football team. The same can be said for the Cardinal Huskies, though their football run didn’t last nearly as long as they would have liked.
Game photos click here.
The Chardon Hilltoppers had to wait a few days to get rolling with their basketball season after a deep, successful tournament run for the football team. The same can be said for the Cardinal Huskies, though their football run didn’t last nearly as long as they would have liked.
A new season of hoops action is now finally underway for both teams, though. They met for the opening game of the season in Chardon, and the same all-out effort put forth by the gridiron teams is clearly also in the basketball teams’ DNA.
Chardon recovered from an onslaught of three-pointers from Cardinal Dec. 9 to claim a thrilling 74-65 win over the Huskies.
Runs of points were the order of the day, with the Hilltoppers using the strength of a 16-4 run to begin the third period. They overcame a six-point halftime deficit to take a lead and never gave up.
The first three minutes of the third period seem to determine the outcome of many games, and that’s exactly how it played out in this hotly contested basketball game.
Keying the run were senior forward Sammy Sulka, who hit for a pair of hoops in the spurt, and freshman guard Luke Galfidi, who also hit a pair of buckets and a free throw to overcome what was, at one point earlier in the period, a 38-33 Cardinal lead.
After Carson Frost nailed a long three-pointer from the corner on the opening possession of the game for Chardon, Troy Domen, the lone varsity returning starter for the Huskies, and junior Cam Ciminello, who grew greatly in his aggressiveness during the season as the quarterback for Cardinal, both nailed long three-pointers, and the Huskies suddenly had a 15-3 lead.
With a distinct size edge, Chardon did not give the Huskies much of a chance to drive to the hoop.
Domen nailed his third three-pointer of the first four minutes for that lead, but Chardon Head Coach Chad Murawski called a quick timeout.
Whatever he said did wonders.
Two layups and a short jumper in the lane by Galfidi were part of a 14-0 run for the Hilltoppers that gave them a lead after one quarter. After A. J. Petrella took a pass from from Galfidi and hit a bomb from the corner to give the Toppers a 28-25 edge, the Huskies, capped by a trio of free throws from Domen with 11.1 seconds left in the half, took a 34-28 lead into the locker room on the strength of that 9-0 run.
“There was no secret about what Cardinal could do,” Coach Murawski said. “We knew what Domen was capable of doing; he just made his shots early in the game.”
Long range shooting was the difference. The Huskies attacked at times, but the quick moving feet of the Hilltopper defense stopped them from getting to the basket.
That showed up in stats. Cardinal did well, hitting on 12 of 33 long bombs and 40 percent over the whole game, but in the 28-point third quarter, Chardon drove to the basket constantly for better shots that went in.
Galfidi scored 12 in the period, and Sulka, after being denied the ball most of the first half by a smothering Cardinal (0-3) defense, erupted in the third period for 10 points. The rest of the way, Chardon used its size advantage to control the backboards more, giving the Huskies fewer good shot opportunities.
Luke Galfidi finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in his varsity debut. Add a trio of steals and his first game in his home gym was a rousing success.
Sulka ended with 18 points and 11 rebounds, as well, 14 of those points in the second half. Petrella tallied 10 points with a pair of his hoops, including a three-pointer, during the second-period Hilltopper spurt.
Domen was a monster from long range, hitting seven faraway shots from NBA range on his way to a 31-point night. Ciminello added 12 points and six assists, and sophomore Landon Gallagher did yeoman’s work in a starting role with five points, 10 rebounds and six assists of his own.
Junior Charles Soltis came off the bench to add 15 points, including a trio of long shots, but the Huskies didn’t have enough energy over the course of the entire game to keep up or match the Hilltopper runs.
“Neil Lucariello may be a senior, but he’s in his first year of basketball for us,” said Huskies new Head Kyle Deckerd said. “But he is working so hard to get better and fit in, when things slow down for him he can be a force. I see good things for us over this season.”
Lucariello had a stellar season on the gridiron for the Huskies, but is still assimilating into the basketball mode. It showed, but he did grab five rebounds along the way to help out.
“For us,” Coach Deckerd said, “it’s a matter of our kids putting their experiences in working together every day.”
Spurts are a part of basketball at any level. With three-pointers dropping like they did in this game, both teams should have good seasons.
