First-half run carries Bristol over Rockets
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Jake Hall of Maplewood takes a jumper over Bristol’s Phil Aliberti, left, and Bryan Gabrielson Tuesday night at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Bryan Gabrielson of Bristol leans around Jared Bedlion of Maplewood as he takes a jumper Tuesday night in Northeastern Athletic Conference action at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Jake Hall of Maplewood takes a jumper over Bristol’s Phil Aliberti, left, and Bryan Gabrielson Tuesday night at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Bryan Gabrielson of Bristol leans around Jared Bedlion of Maplewood as he takes a jumper Tuesday night in Northeastern Athletic Conference action at Bristol.
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BRISTOLVILLE -- The Bristol boys basketball team has a way of breaking offenses with its pressure defense. Maplewood understands that as well as anyone and it made absolutely no difference in the Panthers' 67-40 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night in Northeastern Athletic Conference play at Bristol.
"Usually, in this rivalry, having the home court makes a difference," Bristol coach Craig Giesy said. "Our fans came out, they were loud and that helped us push through some things early. The boys were pumped up to play this game like they always are when we play Maplewood."
It took Bristol (12-1, 9-0) a few minutes to get going, but once the Panthers got their feet under them they separated themselves quickly with a 17-0 run to take a 20-4 lead with 6:36 to play in the first half.
The Rockets (10-4, 6-2) did cut into their deficit with a 10-0 spurt and trailed by just nine, 26-17, with 26.1 seconds left in the first half. Bryan Gabrielson wrestled that momentum back for the Panthers heading into the break.
"There were a couple of turnovers and we made a couple of shots," Giesy said. "We played well for about a quarter, then at the end of the half we got in some foul trouble and our rotations were a little off. It got a little ugly, then, I think, Bryan got fouled and hit both free throws (with 1.3 seconds left in the half) to extend our lead from single digits back to double digits. I thought that was big for our momentum going into halftime."
"We missed free throws," Maplewood coach Nathan Kish said. "We were 3 of 13 in the first half. They beat us in every facet of the game. They deserved to win."
The Panthers' pressure was the crux of Maplewood's problems.
"We pressure up front and try to do some things up there, obviously," Giesy said. "But when our press is really working, we will sprint back and get tips, steals and contest everything all night long. The guys continued to play hard and aggressively. We got some breaks, made some shots and executed well when we needed to execute well."
"They're really good at exposing ball-handling and finishing," Kish said. "If you break the press, you have to be able finish the 3-on-2 break. That's probably one of our biggest weaknesses. They (exposed our weaknesses) really well."
Offensively, Bristol slowed the pace and worked the ball around for the right shots.
"That's just part of our offense," Giesy said. "We run a motion-type offense and the boys have to read and react. They have to take advantage of what the defense gives them. (The Rockets) were playing up in our face with an aggressive style (of defense). We had to take advantage of that. The guys did a great job of reading and reacting."
"They're patient," Kish said. "They hit us with the same back-door play over and over and over again. They read it and went back door and we never stopped it."
Tommy Donadio netted 23 points for the Panthers to lead all scorers. Phil Aliberti had 11 ponts, Gage Elza had 10 and Gabrielson and Steve Burbach each chipped in with eight.
Zach Dawson was the Rockets' leader with 12 points.