YORK TWP. — This performance was much better.
The Buckeye boys basketball team used a fast start, pressure defense and offensive balance Tuesday to easily take down Fairview 66-43 in Patriot Athletic Conference cross-division action.
Coming off a sloppy season opener five days prior at Columbia, the Bucks (2-0, 2-0) wasted little time pulling away from the Warriors (1-2, 0-2), who went 5-18 last season but upset Buckeye in February.
“We jumped on them early,” Bucks power forward Liam Murray said. “We had a great defensive first half. I think we let up 15 points. You really can’t ask for much more.
“Offensively we took really good shot selection. I think we were kind of jacking in the second half, but in the first half we were playing really good all-around.”
The 6-foot-4 Murray poured in 13 second-half points and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Center Nick Wills had 10 points, eight boards and three steals, while fellow returning starter Nathan Polidori had a very Nathan Polidori-like 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The pleasant surprise came from the bench, as Justin Lowry (6 points, 8 rebounds), Justin Canedy (4, 5) and Braeden Stauffer (9 points) each had extended stretches of strong play.
That’s good news moving forward for a team that has personnel balance but has yet to figure out a consistent rotation under first-year coach Tom Harrington.
“Guys like Canedy came in, Carter (Hudak) came in, Braeden came in and shot the ball well,” Wills said. “Those guys gave us a good lift, especially on a Tuesday night at home and we’re all tired from school. They were really good tonight.”
Buckeye showed full-court pressure for the first time this season and used it to fuel the transition game, getting Polidori hot right of the gate. Buckeye led 14-7 after one quarter and 36-15 at halftime, holding Fairview to 6-for-30 shooting and forcing 11 turnovers.
The Warriors, who shot 4-for-22 from 3-point range, countered with 19 points from multi-faceted point guard Jared Butler, but no other player had more than four points.
With nothing to lose, Fairview went a 10-0 run to begin the second half to make the score semi-interesting (36-25) with 4:46 left in the third, but Murray responded with a scoring binge and squashed that idea.
“I think we can play a couple different styles with this team depending on who we’re playing against and what we think the matchups are,” Harrington said. “Tonight we felt like we could pressure these guys, and it worked out for us.”
While the third quarter wasn’t ideal, the Bucks responded with a 19-point fourth and walked out of the locker room with positive vibes.
They’ll need them this weekend in consecutive games against defending PAC Stripes Division champion Lutheran West and improved Norwayne.
“First off, we executed what we wanted to do,” Wills said. “They threw a lot of stuff at us, and were able to respond to a lot of it.”
Note
Spencer Imes had 13 points as Buckeye’s junior varsity held on for a 40-37 win.
Buckeye 66, Fairview 43
FAIRVIEW 7 8 16 12 — 43
BUCKEYE 14 22 11 19 — 66
Fairview — Josh Filkill 0-2-2, Arjol Arapi 2-0-4, Max Kolman 1-0-2, Derek Schwarber 1-1-3, Jared Butler 8-0-19, John McQuate 1-0-2, Ryan Grealis 1-0-2, Mo Elder 1-0-3, Jack Costas 1-0-2, Owen Morrison 2-0-4, Colin Caja 0-0-0, Grant Howes 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-3-43.
Buckeye — Joey Bartinelli 0-1-1, Liam Murray 5-6-17, Nick Wills 4-1-10, Mikey Novick 0-0-0, Nathan Polidori 5-6-18, Justin Lowry 3-0-6, Justin Canedy 2-0-4, Braeden Stauffer 3-2-9, Carter Hudak 0-1-1, Bruce Barnby 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-17-66.
3-point goals — Butler 3, Elder, Polidori 2, Stauffer, Wills, Murray. Rebounds — Fairview 30 (Filkill 9), Buckeye 40 (Murray, Lowry, Wills 8). Assists — Fairview 8 (Butler, Schwarber 3), Buckeye 12 (Polidori 4). Records — Buckeye 40, Fairview 37.