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Yappi.com writer MASSILLON— In a game reminiscent of their long standing football rivalry games, Massillon and McKinley both came out swinging, and looking for a win. Before a sell-out crowd packed into the gym at Massillon's Washington High School this evening, the defending Division 1 state champion Canton McKinley Bulldogs took on the Massillon Tigers in what was to be a hard fought basketball game. For three quarters, the Tigers played the mighty Bulldogs tough as they trailed by only 11 at the start of the fourth quarter. They were still alive with a quarter to play. However, fatigue in the second half and the loss of star guard Michael Porrini proved too much for the hosts to overcome as they were knocked out in an 83-66 setback in front of 2,967 fans in Tigertown. Canton McKinley outscored the Tigers 43-25 in the second half, which contributed to the winning margin for the visitors. The loss placed Massillon at 12-2 on the season and their eight-game winning streak was terminated, while Canton McKinley won their fourth straight over the Tigers and improved their record to 12-2 on the year. How big was tonight’s game? The game pitted the last two Canton sectional-district champions against each other with McKinley winning district title in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Massillon captured the 2003 championship. Canton McKinley is in the driver’s seat again to notch the top seed for the Canton sectional-district tournament to begin in late February. Massillon cannot do any worse than become the second seed in the tournament draw. “You have to give Massillon credit because they are a very tough team. They played us like the tough team they are,” Bulldogs 52-year-old head coach Dave Hoover said. “That is a heck of a team and we might see them again down the road. I have much respect for them.” Massillon head coach Matt Creamer acknowledged that his Tiger players were upset about the loss. Losing at home is never a good thing but the Tigers have 10 days to put aside the setback before going on a road trip February 10th to St. Thomas Aquinas to battle the Knights. Don’t expect Creamer to allow his players to dwell over the loss. Massillon’s pride was hurt tonight, but he expects them to come back a better team with a greater resolve. “Right now, the kids are down and they are hurt a little bit. Losing is never a good thing, but it is a loss that we have to learn from as a team and move on,” he said. “We played McKinley tough for three-and-a-half quarters but we have to play four quarters if we are going to beat the Bulldogs.” Creamer added, “We want another shot at them. That is the fuel driving us right now.” Both teams traded baskets early on in the opening quarter by running and pushing the ball up the floor. It was a hotly contested quarter which saw Canton McKinley build an early 10-4 lead based on Todd Brown’s two three-pointers from the left corner. But Tigers guard Ricardo Wells responded with two three-point shots of his own while getting guards Mario Edwards and Michael Porrini involved in the scoring. Canton McKinley led 22-16 after the first quarter, but the fun was just beginning. Midway through the second quarter, the game was halted when Hoover sensed that his team was becoming the spotlight of distractions from Massillon's adult fans. The same thing happened when Creamer saw his team experiencing the same from Canton McKinley's adult fans. The game was stopped and both the game officials and Massillon police were summoned to both team benches to defend the teams from any harm. “Both teams were recipients of distractions in that sequence. We don’t want anyone being ejected from a game and I would never wish that on anyone,” Hoover said. “(Creamer) and I both notified game officials and Massillon police and they did a good job of handling the situation afterwards.” The biggest shot of the quarter came from Canton McKinley senior point guard Sedelle Broyles. Leaning into a defender, he drained a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a commanding 40-31 halftime lead. Canton McKinley was on their way but Massillon still had some fight left in them. The third quarter belonged to the Bulldogs but it was also a standout quarter for senior forward Ricky Jackson as he scored 12 pivotal points. “We wanted to win the third quarter by six points and be up by 15 but we were up by 11. But if Jackson doesn’t have that breakout quarter, then the game is a lot tighter than what it is at the start of the fourth quarter,” Hoover said. “Ricky Jackson just played impressive tonight,” Creamer commented. The Tigers began to wear down late in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs took advantage of the Tigers' fatigue and lack of inside game along with the loss of Porrini due to foul trouble. Three dunks in a row in the fourth quarter- two two-handed dunks by Jackson and one one-handed slam by Raymar Morgan was all the Bulldogs needed. The Bulldog fans turned it up a notch and the Tigers were left only to wonder what might have been. The Tiger were staggered on the first two dunks and then were finished off on the last one. Canton McKinley led by 17 and Hoover was on his way to being 10-4 against the Tigers. “The dunks were huge and they got our fans fired up,” Hoover said. “However, you have to understand that Massillon is a good team, make that an excellent team. And they proved that tonight.” Porrini led Massillon with 17 points while Brown, who returned from an injury, led the Bulldogs with 17 points. “We are not about to dwell on this setback. We are going to come in and practice harder the next 10 days and we are going to come back an even better basketball team,” Creamer said. “There are still a lot of opportunities out there for us to step up and we will.” Massillon and McKinley. The rivalry continues. STATS Field goals: Canton McKinley 30/61 (50%), Massillon 26/57 (46%). Three-point goals: Canton McKinley 6/14 (43%), Massillon 5/8 (63%). Free throws: Canton McKinley 11/19 (52%), Massillon 9/19 (48%). Fouls: Canton McKinley 31, Massillon 25. Turnovers: Canton McKinley 12, Massillon 14.
JV Boys' Basketball- Canton McKinley 58, Massillon 38 MASSILLON—Two 8-0 runs and a 6-0 run was all the Canton McKinley Bulldogs needed as they outgunned the Massillon Tigers 58-38 in the reserve game. The win pleased Canton McKinley mentor David Thompson, who praised his players on the win based on fundamentals. “The defense played hard and strictly, we just played good defense,” he said. |
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