The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon wins with layup at buzzer
Kirtland and Chardon have not met on the football field since 1982, but have squared off in basketball seven times since 2017, and a few of those games have been thrillers.
Their non-conference matchup on Feb. 10 at Chardon was one of those, as Chardon pulled out a 90-88 victory.
It was tied up at 8888 with 8 seconds left, after a back-and-forth fourth quarter in which the teams matched each other shot for shot after Kirtland had erased a nine-point deficit to start the frame.
Chardon freshman standout Luke Galfidi took the inbound pass after Kirtland’s Nick Barisic had tied the game with a 3, drove the length of the court and had a good look at a layup to win it, but the ball glanced off the backboard and fell toward the floor.
Galfidi’s teammate Carson Frost was in the right place at the right time. The senior grabbed the rebound, went back up and beat the buzzer with a bucket off the glass to send the crowd into a frenzy.
The win snapped a fivegame losing streak in what has been a tough season overall for the Hilltoppers. Chardon upped its record to 5-13 with four games to play before the postseason.
“Just excited to get a win,” Galfidi said afterward. “They came back a little bit, but we pulled out the win. I saw Luke driving, and just kind of crashed in.”
At halftime, it appeared that no late-game heroics would be necessary, as Chardon knocked down 12 3-pointers in 21 attempts to build a 51-36 halftime lead.
Chardon senior Sammy Sulka finished with a teamhigh 23 points, including four 3s, three of those coming before halftime.
But Kirtland didn’t go away quietly. The Hornets adjusted by defending the perimeter tightly and cleaning up on the glass, holding Chardon to one shot attempt each trip down the floor.
The Hilltoppers cooled off in the third quarter, connecting on just 3 of 17 shots in the frame, including 1 of 7 outside the arc.
Kirtland (13-6), on the other hand, scored the first 10 points of the third quarter, taking advantage of turnovers and using their speed in transition, and five players scored as the Hornets cut their deficit to seven going into the final stanza.
Or to nine, as it turned out. There were differing opinions at the scorer’s table — one side had it as 6356 Chardon in the lead at the end of the third quarter and the other 63-54 — ultimately was decided in favor of 63-54.
Chardon extended its lead to 70-59 in the fourth, but Kirtland chipped away. The Hornets sliced their deficit to 76-74 on a pair of free throws by junior Vince Carriero. After that, defensive stops were nearly non-existent, as both teams kept scoring and ramping up the intensity.
A layup by Sulka appeared to give Chardon some breathing room at 86-82, but Barisic fired in a 3 to cut it to one point with 17 seconds left.
Sulka then sank two from the line after a foul, but Barisic again was money from outside the arc to tie the game and set up Frost’s big play to win it.
“It feels good to get a win, we’ve been having a rough stretch,” Sulka said. “We were forcing it too much (in the third quarter) and just had to settle down a little bit. We just had to take smart shots.”
Galfidi, Frost, and senior Ryan Grau each scored 18 points for Chardon to back
Sulka. The Hilltoppers finished with 16 triples, with Frost and Grau joining Sulka with four apiece.
“Coming off of last night’s high-intensity rivalry game (a 72-56 loss to Riverside), I was concerned coming in because we knew Kirtland was going to play hard,” Chardon coach Chad Murawski said. “Seeing our kids respond after an emotional game last night, I’m proud that they were able to find a way to get it done.”
Carriero scored a gamehigh 24 points for Kirtland, senior Gino Blasini contributed 18 points, and Barisic finished with 17 after shaking off an ankle injury incurred in the first half.
“Chardon is a good basketball team,” Kirtland coach Shawn McGregor said. “Their record doesn’t indicate how hard they play and the talent they have. They knocked down twelve 3s (in the first half), we don’t knock down
THE SCORE CHARDON 90, KIRTLAND 88
twelve 3s in three games.
“For them to shoot as well as they did in the first half, and for our kids to come back the way they did in the second half, I think that shows great character from our kids.”
Chardon travels to play another big rival, Kenston, on Feb. 13. Kirtland will host Harvey on that day. In the meantime, both teams will find out their respective postseason draws on Feb. 11.
“It sounds cliche to say that it’s not about what wins and losses, because at the end of the day it is,” Murawski said of his team’s season. “But if you would have seen our practices the last couple of days-these guys are grinding away like we’ve had an undefeated season. It’s a testament to our seniors that have held the ship together.”