COLUMBIA STATION — Reigning Patriot Athletic Conference MVP David Delahunty had gaudy statistics, but Nathan Polidori and the rest of the Buckeye boys basketball team had guts.
The Bucks survived Columbia 56-51 in their season opener Friday, staving off a potential collapse on seemingly every fourth-quarter possession of the PAC cross-division game.
Buckeyes Nathan Polidori puts up a shot past Columbia defender Danny Malin for two points during the first half. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk
They also survived the 6-foot-6 Delahunty, a physical, driving power forward who had 28 points, including 11 of his team’s 13 in the first half, and 18 rebounds.
Buckeye got 22 points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists and eight turnovers from All-Ohio guard Polidori and 10 points from fellow letterwinner Nick Wills. More importantly, it also got clutch plays from newcomers Joey Bartinelli and Carter Hudak to overcome an admirable comeback attempt by the Raiders (0-3, 0-2).
First-year Bucks coach Tom Harrington preferred to accentuate the positive on a night when there were more than a few negatives, though most of those can be chalked up to opening-night jitters.
“I would say that it was ugly, but it was a great win,” Harrington said. “I’m going to tell you why: We’re on the road, new coach, new staff, a lot of adversity, a lot of things didn’t go our way tonight. Although it was ugly, it was a great win.
“(Columbia’s) a good team. They’ve got a great player. We overcame a lot, and I’m really proud of our guys.”
Buckeye, which attempted all 22 of its free throws over the final 4:28, maintained a seven- to nine-point lead for most of the second half, but missed enough free throws and committed enough turnovers to allow Delahunty and Co. to hang around.
Along the way, the Bucks came up with little plays that added up over the course of the fourth quarter. Polidori got two steals, while Hudak blocked two shots and tipped in a Polidori missed layup, got fouled and completed the three-point play.
There also were three points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal from mistake-free two-guard Mikey Novick (7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and two free throws by Bartinelli with 7.6 seconds left that sealed victory.
Considering Bartinelli and fellow starting forward Liam Murray barely played because of foul trouble — Murray fouled out in the third quarter after getting a foul and immediate technical — adversity was clearly the theme of the night.
“It was a fight, you know?” Polidori said. “We fought for everything. (Columbia is) a tough team, and it’s hard to dominate for all four quarters.”
Buckeye appeared on its way to a blowout early, as stellar switch-everything man defense frustrated Columbia into missing 24 of its first 26 shots, including a few that connected with the side of the glass.
However, the Bucks’ inconsistent half-court offense, which sometimes deteriorated into NBA-style isolation with either Polidori or Wills, couldn’t string together scores.
When the Raiders finally made their third shot, they trailed 17-7 with 4:28 left in the second quarter. Delahunty then went on a mini-hot streak and Buckeye led only 24-13 at halftime.
Luckily for the Bucks, Columbia couldn’t take full advantage of a bizarre third quarter in which the teams combined to shoot 5-for-24 and the Raiders attempted 14 free throws to Buckeye’s zero.
“It’s the first game,” Polidori said. “You’re going to miss a lot of shots.”
The score was 34-26 after three periods and both teams were in the bonus, giving way for the fourth to become a foul-shooting bonanza.
The outcome came down to execution from that point, and Buckeye was the winner despite some hiccups.
“I think everybody on the team can make plays, and everybody on the team is a varsity player,” Polidori said. “That’s a big help. When you have guys like Carter Hudak, who’s a sophomore, make the play for you, it’s a big deal.”
Note
| The teams combined to miss 11 straight shots to open the second half before Polidori nailed a 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the third quarter.l Spencer Imes scored 14 of his 22 points in the first quarter as Buckeye’s junior varsity won 52-28. |
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
Buckeye 56, Columbia 51
BUCKEYE 15 9 10 22 — 56
COLUMBIA 5 8 13 25 — 51
Buckeye — Joey Bartinelli 2-2-7, Liam Murray 1-0-3, Nick Wills 4-2-10, Mikey Novick 3-1-8, Nathan Polidori 7-5-22, Justin Lowry 0-0-0, Justin Canedy 1-0-2, Carter Hudak 1-2-4, Braeden Stauffer 0-0-0, Bruce Barnby 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-12-56.
Columbia — Jordan DeLisle 3-2-8, David Delahunty 9-8-28, Cole Thomas 0-0-0, Taylor Beck 2-0-4, Justin Tacchite 0-2-2, Jared Heidecker 2-4-9, Brandon Coleman 0-0-0, Danny Malin 0-0-0, Cody Richard 0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-16-51.
3-point goals — Polidori 3, Bartinelli, Novick, Murray, Delahunty 2, Heidecker. Rebounds — Buckeye 28 (Novick, Polidori 6), Columbia 48 (Delahunty 19). Assists — Buckeye 9 (Novick 3), Columbia 2 (Tacchite, Beck). Records — Buckeye (1-0, 1-0), Columbia (0-3, 0-1). Junior varsity — Buckeye 52, Columbia 28.
