It wasn’t anything Bradford High did or did not do. Elk County
Catholic is just that good.
The Crusaders came into the Owls’ Nest on Tuesday and spread the
word that they are the team to beat in District 9 with a convincing
61-39 rout of the Owls.
With Bradford playing a box-and-one on Jesse Bosnik – ECC’s
standout junior guard – the rest of the Crusaders took advantage of
the remaining zone defense by converting 11 three-pointers.
But, it wouldn’t have mattered what defense BHS had thrown at
Elk – the deep ball is the type of game they play.
“That’s our style of play,” agreed Aaron Straub, Elk head coach.
“What you saw tonight is what you get.”
The Owls made it 4-4 midway through the first quarter, but
trifectas from Josh Salter, Kevin Genevro and Dan Scutella allowed
the visitors to post a 10-point advantage, 16-6, through one.
Just into the second, Ben Lanich was on his way to the floor but
found Dan Vecellio with a head’s up pass for two.
Then Shane Hvizdzak buried a pair of free throws to shave the
deficit to six, 16-10.
Elk responded with a 19-6 run to maintain control at
halftime.
Bosnik sank two from the line, a fundamental three-point play by
Kyle Mahoney and a deep ball by Scutella made it 24-10 and prompted
two BHS timeouts.
The timeouts did not help as a Bosnik putback, a Bosnik three, a
Salter trifecta and another shot from beyond the arc by Scutella
made it 35-16 going into the locker room.
The second half was just a formality and ECC headed back to St.
Marys with a 21-point win and a still-perfect record at 4-0.
The Owls did manage to limit Bosnik to just 10 points in the
game, but Scutella shot the lights out and finished with 23 points
on the strength of seven three-pointers.
“To hold Bosnik to 10 points is, I think, pretty good,” said
Dave Fuhrman, Owls head coach. “But that just shows you the
strength of their team. They have guys that can step up and pick up
the slack.
“Scutella in particular really stepped up. They shot it
well.”
Elk shot a phenomenal 44 percent (11-for-25) from beyond the arc
and finished up 20-51 overall (39 percent).
“We shot the ball extremely well tonight and I thought that was
the difference in the game,” Straub commented. “Dan Scutella shot
it very well and we did a nice job of creating some opportunities
for him.”
“They are a good three-point shooting team,” Fuhrman conceded.
“They space the well and can break you down off the dribble to
penetrate and kick.
“They’ve got some shooters and all their guys can score. They’re
a tough team to defend.”
ECC outrebounded the Owls 36-27 and held the hosts to just 30
percent shooting (14-for-46).
“On top of all their offensive skills, they’re a good defensive
team, too,” Fuhrman emphasized. “They’ll get up and guard you. We
had a tough time running our half-court offense.
“They played the game the way it’s supposed to be played.
They’re a very good basketball team, they’re well-coached and they
play well together. They were the better team tonight.”
Still, Straub did not want to take anything away from his
respected rivals.
“In all fairness to Bradford, they played a little short tonight
because of some sickness and we know that the next time we see them
it will certainly be a different game.”
Ryan LaBrozzi’s 11 marks led the Owls. Tyler Hopkins grabbed six
boards and Tom Morris picked up three steals.
In addition to Scutella’s 23 marks and Bosnik’s 10 tallies,
Salter finished in double figures with 10 points in the rivalry
win.
“This is a great rivalry,” Straub declared. “Coach Fuhrman is an
outstanding coach and this is an outstanding program. Any time you
come up here and get a win you’re extremely happy and we’re leaving
here extremely happy tonight.”
The Owls, now 1-4, are at Punxsutawney on Friday, while Elk
County Catholic will host Ridgway the same night.
