JFK runs to title game
Eagles turn tables on Bristol with pressure
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Nate Woods, right, of John F. Kennedy shoots over Bristol’s Steve Burbach (20) Tuesday night in a Division IV district semifinal at Grand Valley.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Bryan Gabrielson of Bristol prepares to up for a shot as Justin Bofenkamp of John F. Kennedy blocks his path in a Division IV district semifinal Tuesday at Grand Valley High School.
Justin Bofenkamp of John F. Kennedy drives to the rack as Tommy Donadio of Bristol tries to take a charge in a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Grand Valley High School.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Nate Woods, right, of John F. Kennedy shoots over Bristol’s Steve Burbach (20) Tuesday night in a Division IV district semifinal at Grand Valley.
Tribune Chronicle / Bob Ettinger Bryan Gabrielson of Bristol prepares to up for a shot as Justin Bofenkamp of John F. Kennedy blocks his path in a Division IV district semifinal Tuesday at Grand Valley High School.
Justin Bofenkamp of John F. Kennedy drives to the rack as Tommy Donadio of Bristol tries to take a charge in a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Grand Valley High School.
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ORWELL -- The Bristol boys basketball team has made its living by pressuring teams from the opening tip and making them chase the rest of the night in coasting to victories.
John F. Kennedy turned the tables on the Panthers and coasted to a 68-52 victory in a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Grand Valley High School.
"(The Panthers) are a good team," JFK coach Mark Komlanc said. "I felt like if we could pressure them in the half-court and not allow them easy looks, that would get us out and running. That's not something they're used to. They trailed maybe a couple of times (this season). If teams get aggressive with us, we're going to get aggressive right back."
The Eagles (18-7), seeded third, set up a much-anticipated battle with second-seeded Cornerstone Christian (18-5) in the district championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Grand Valley.
"We've gone to watch them a couple of times and they've been to watch us multiple times," Komlanc said. "Between the two of us, we expected this to be the showdown. I've always said to be the best, you have to beat the best and they're the defending state champions. We have to be keyed in.
"If we want to be a really good team, this is where we have to put our feet down and finish it off. I'd be lying if I didn't say we expected it to be Cornerstone Christian when I was hired. We have nothing but respect for them. We have to bring our 'A' game."
Byron Taylor netted five straight points to break a 5-5 tie three minutes into the first period. The layup and 3-pointer were the beginning of an 18-2 run that had the Panthers (23-2) in a hole, 23-7, with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Taylor scored 10 of those points and netted 13 in the period.
"I take a lot of blame for what happened in the first half," Bristol coach Craig Giesy said. "I tried to overcoach. We've been playing our 1-3-1 (zone) this season with a lot of success. I probably should've pressured them earlier. I should've mixed in the pressure more in the first half. And, ultimately, we couldn't put the ball in the basket."
"That's the way we've been playing recently," Komlanc said. "We're locked in, focused and playing really, really hard. We're fast. We're athletic. And we're strong. I can't be more proud of the way we started the game. We had a tendency to start slow (earlier in the year)."
Kennedy opened the second quarter on a 13-0 sprint and Taylor netted another triple and Antonio McQueen threw down a dunk to push the advantage to 38-10 with 2:54 left in the first half. Bristol netted six straight points to close the half and trailed, 42-21, at the break.
Four straight points from Tommy Donadio and Bryan Gabrielson made it 42-25 with 5:38 to go in the third, but an 8-0 spurt from JFK in which B.J. Williams tallied on consecutive trips pushed the lead back up to 51-28.
"We knew they played physical on the ball," Giesy said. "There are times we like to catch the ball and wait a second to see the cuts. We were too aggressive. (Not being used to playing from behind) could've been part of it. Whatever the case, you saw what happened. They're long, they're fast and they're athletic. Our guys just don't see that during the season. We tried to schedule up for the district, but the competition isn't what JFK brought."
The Panthers closed the contest with 10 straight points with the help of an intentional foul followed by a technical by an Eagle in off the bench.
"I'm so proud of my team," Giesy said. "They didn't give up. There were some chippy plays there at the end and my players did what they needed to do and played the game the right way. It did get out of hand. It could've been worse if my guys would've retaliated."
Taylor paced the Eagles with 25 points, Justin Bofenkamp had 15, Nate Woods had 12 and McQueen chipped in with eight more.
"The kid who came in from Austintown (Taylor) was the difference-maker," Giesy said. "Getting a kid like that to come to the program can instantly turn a team. We did a great job on the kid from Harding, McQueen. We had to step down on him and when we stepped down, it left a shooter open and they made us pay in the first half."
Gabrielson netted 20 points, Donadio added 15 and Gage Elza scored seven for the Panthers.