Kirtland bounces Berkshire, moves on to district round

Hornets will take on Lake Catholic in Division III semifinal

Beating a team you’ve seen twice already is one of the biggest challenges in sports. For Kirtland, that was the task when the Hornets welcomed Berkshire in a sectional final on Feb. 24.

The Hornets struggled to figure out the Badgers’ zone in the first half, as they had 10 turnovers before intermission. After the half, Kirtland started to find their spaces and pulled ahead as the game went to the fourth.

Despite Berkshire’s best efforts, they weren’t able to regain the lead and Kirtland posted the 49-46 victory.

In the district semifinal round, Kirtland travels to Salem to take on crosstown rival Lake Catholic on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Kirtland took a 7-6 lead, but with their turnover woes, Berkshire went on a 10-0 run and took the lead at the first buzzer. Berkshire continued the pressure in the second, but the early struggles were no surprise to Kirtald coach Sean McGregor.

Even though McGregor’s team has the ability to shoot from beyond the arc, against the Badgers’ defense he knew they needed to work on getting the ball inside.

“Berkshire does a good job

forcing you to work outside,” McGregor said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well at all but we were getting some good looks. I felt like through the game if we got some confidence we would make some more shots in the second half.”

The answer down low was Gino Blasinsi, as he led the way for the Hornets in scoring with 12 points. Kirtland used its ball movement around the arc, which helped create lanes for Blasini to cut through to the lane.

While he became the focal point for the scoring, Kirtland had seven other players in the scoring column. They also had nine players contribute on the glass as well while Owen Mueller had five assists.

Blasini said having multiple players doing a little bit of everything gave the Hornets an advantage.

“We were able to wear them down, Owen hit two 3s and everyone was playing really well,” Blasini said. “We have a lot of depth and see everyone get the most out of their minutes. When

people had their name called in crunch time, they all rose to the plate.”

The biggest wrench in Kirtland’s

comeback attempt was their defensive scheme in the full-court press.

PAUL DICICCO — FOR THE NEWS-HERALD Kirtland coach Sean McGregor gives instructions during the Hornets’ victory Feb. 24.

PAUL DICICCO — FOR THE NEWS-HERALD Berkshire’s Gavin Hipp goes for a shot through a pair of Kirtland defenders.