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AKRON, Ohio– Once CVCA was able to take control of the pace of play early on Wednesday night, there was no stopping them as they ran away with a 64-47 win over Poland Seminary.
The win advances the Royals into the district championship game on Saturday afternoon against the winner of VASJ and Alliance.
“For the last three years it’s been normal and now we have to get it done,” Futch said about the feeling he and his players have about making another district final appearance. “That’s the feeling in terms of finishing the job and after being in the regional finals a few years ago, anything can happen. For us, it’s staying in the moment.”
Once the Royals sunk their first basket, you could tell they felt something. Their physicality, speed and ball movement were just too much for the Bulldogs to overcome early on. Senior guard Lavelle Sharpe tested his 3-point shot often Wednesday night and ended up knocking down four of them in the first half.
@VelleSharpe2 with his second 3-pointer of the first quarter.
Royals lead 12-2 with 2:35 left in the 1st Q. pic.twitter.com/wRib726e0B— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 7, 2024
The Bulldogs scored just one basket in the first quarter and with the pressure the Royals applied throughout the night, turnovers turned into transition buckets that slowly took the Bulldogs away from any sort of comeback.
A 4-2 lead through three minutes turned into a quarter-ending 13-1 run for the Royals, taking a commanding 17-3 lead after the first quarter. It only got worse for the Bulldogs from there as Sharpe connected on two three-pointers along with Charley Levak commanding the offense at the guard position, creating a slew of open looks for his teammates.
Make that 22-3 for @CVCAathletics, 6:16 left in the first half. pic.twitter.com/M2I5XghObP
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 7, 2024
His team’s lead grew from 14 points at the end of the first quarter to a 22-point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs looked confused with the way the Royals applied full-court pressure and Matthew Futch knew his team could break open the game starting with their press.
“That’s our identity, that’s how we’ve been playing all year,” Futch said about attacking his opponents with its stout full-court press. “We really take pride in halfcourt defense…I was proud of our guys with what we did tonight and I hope we can continue that.”
HALFTIME: CVCA 37, Poland Seminary 15. @SportsKee1 @CVCAathletics pic.twitter.com/BJX1RDDs3T
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 7, 2024
The Bulldogs would come out the first half with some fire, as they started to go through their offense more and control the pace of play at times. Once Eric Fender’s team thought they were inching closer to a comeback, there were the Royals creating turnovers that left the Bulldogs scrambling for more answers.
Some of those answers were answered to start the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs opened the first three minutes on a 15-4 run to get within 11 points after Danny Nittoli connected on a transition layup.
That’s as close as the Bulldogs would get with the Royals finally figuring it out down the stretch. It doesn’t just start and end with three, four or five players. Futch explained that his constant rotation and ability to play guys one through eleven make his team a dangerous one this time of the year.
“It was really about the rotation of how we can get guys in as well,” Futch explained. “We play all 11 guys, some play more than others but all 11 play significant minutes.”
During the win, Nuru paced the Royals with a game-high 20 points, with Sharpe adding 18 points and 10 coming from Levak.
As for the Bulldogs, Carmine Tukalo paced his team during the loss with 17 points. Nittoli added 10 points along with six points from Oliver McCully.
