Buchtel Grounds Falcons, 82-73

[HoopHound]

by Starkravingdad

Buchtel did it the old-fashioned way: solid man-to-man defense, high percentage shots in the paint and good foul shooting down the stretch as they eliminated Fairless, 82-73 in the Canton D2 sectional finals.

Buchtel overcame a huge disparity in foul calls (20-7 at one point) in the first 3 quarters and held off a 4th Q Falcon surge to secure the victory in a game where the Griffins never trailed.

The Griffins did most of their damage inside, exposing the weakness in the Fairless defense - in the paint. Buchtel would penetrate across the foul line and pull up for jumpers, drive and dish or drive and finish. The Griffs shot 58.2% from the floor, including 69.6% in the second half. Steve Hargrove and Darnett Virden did most of the damage inside, combining for 42 of Buchtel's 56 points-in-the-paint on the night.

Fairless was at the other end of the shooting spectrum, ice cold for most of the game, due in large part to the athletic Buchtel defense. Jordan Jennings finished just 4-24 from the floor for just 16%. The Falcons were under 20% on their bread-and butter, the 3-point shot. "Live by the 3, die by the 3" was never more apparent than the 4th Q. The Falcons were 3-19 in the final frame as they tried to come back from an 11-point Buchtel advantage at the start of the 4th.

Buchtel, who lost two starters to grades and another to early college enrollment, held a 37-31 lead at the half, despite the aforementioned disparity in officiating. Jennings had all 12 of his 1st half points from the charity stripe (22 total for the game).

The Griffs pulled away in the 3rd. A 21-8 run keyed by pressure defense and great shooting ballooned their lead to 62-47. The Griffs controlled the boards as well during the run, often limiting the Falcons to one shot per posession.

The Falcons had a few fireworks left. Beginning in the 4th Q, they finally warmed up from 3-point land. When Josh Penland, who otherwise had a very quiet 11 points, hit a 3 with 2:31 left, the Falcons were within a point, 72-71.

But it was too little, too late as the Griffs closed out the Falcons 10-2 in the last 2 minutes. Fairless was forced to foul and heave desperation threes, and Buchtel stretched its lead back to 9 for the final total.

Four of the top five seeds remain in Canton D2 district, as Buchtel takes on Hoban and St V-M meets NBC tri-champ Alliance.