Bristol beats GV, wins NAC Challenge
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Tommy Donadio of Bristol goes in for a layup as a Tyler Butler (right) and Jude Cunningham (back) of Grand Valley defend the paint in the Northeastern Athletic Conference Challenge Game on Friday night at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Phil Aliberti of Bristol goes in for a layup as a Grand Valley defender trails the play in the Northeastern Athletic Conference Challenge Game on Friday night at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Tommy Donadio of Bristol goes in for a layup as a Tyler Butler (right) and Jude Cunningham (back) of Grand Valley defend the paint in the Northeastern Athletic Conference Challenge Game on Friday night at Bristol.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Phil Aliberti of Bristol goes in for a layup as a Grand Valley defender trails the play in the Northeastern Athletic Conference Challenge Game on Friday night at Bristol.
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BRISTOLVILLE -- The Bristol boys basketball team has gained a bit of a reputation among Northeastern Athletic Conference coaches as a unit that will do all of the necessary little things to win.
The Panthers lived up to their reputation in running out to a big halftime lead then holding on late to claim a 58-51 victory over Grand Valley in the NAC Challenge game at Bristol on Friday night.
The Panthers (20-1, 16-0) also beat the Mustangs a season ago in the first NAC Challenge. It's the sixth year in a row Bristol has cut down the nets as the NAC Stripes Division champion.
"We've had to have guys step up," Bristol coach Craig Giesy said. "We've had a next-guy-up mentality during our tenure. We've established our program now. Guys just have to step into their roles and we have the opportunities to be successful year in and year out.
"We're very proud. The top part of our league is strong every year. To be in that discussion, we're very proud of that as a staff and as a program."
Grand Valley (14-7, 12-4) used an 8-2 spurt to take a 16-15 with 4:37 left in the first half and coach Justin Turk warned the Mustangs they had to continue playing the game the right way or the Panthers were going to take advantage.
Turk proved prophetic as Bristol scored the final 14 points of the half and led, 29-16, at the intermission.
"We were stressing during a timeout that we had to close the quarter strong," he said. "With a team like (Bristol), they can put up 10 (points) instantly. We did not close the quarter strong. From that point on, we played pretty even."
Tommy Donadio netted five of those 14 points and Gage Elza had a 3-pointer as five different players notched buckets.
Elza knocked down his third triple of the night after Donadio scored to open the second half and the Bristol lead was 34-16 just more than a minute into the third period. Grand Valley used an 8-2 spurt to cut the deficit back to 11, 41-30, with 1:45 left in the third. A 10-0 run to bridge the end of the third and the start of the fourth had GV within five, 45-40, with 6:12 to play.
Phil Aliberti answered with two buckets in the span of about 40 seconds.
"That was a big moment," Donadio said. "If it wasn't for Phil, they'd have gotten back into the game."
Later, Donadio took a charge sapping momentum away from the Mustangs once again.
"They do a good job moving their feet," Turk said. "They get in the right position every time. They took two charges on drives where the ball in (the hoop). If we get those buckets and the calls go the other way, that possibly six points. They do the little things. On the flip side of that, we went to a five- or six-man rotation late and we had a lot of guys step up."
"That charge was sweet," Aliberti said. "That was awesome. I saw it coming from a mile away. Those plays are what make the game for us. That's how we turn things around, with those hustle plays."
The Mustangs did hold a five-point lead early on. They used an 8-0 run to go up, 8-3, with 4:47 left in the first period. The Panthers netted the next 10 points -- behind a 3-pointer each from Donadio and Elza -- to take a 13-8 advantage leading into that second quarter.