By Nolan Epstein
Springfield, MO – State-ranked Hartville (10-0) is certainly no stranger to big-time basketball games, and Tuesday’s contest could have very well provided a preview of what the Eagles might come to face with when the playoffs roll around in March.
Despite a slow start in their Blue and Gold quarterfinal game, the No. 3 seeded Eagles found a way to claw back and notch a hard-fought 52-46 victory over a talented Springfield Catholic (6-3) squad in the tournament’s Blue Division.
The Irish, headed by coach Tony Armstrong, raced out to an 8-2 lead within the first two minutes of regulation and ultimately grew that advantage to 22-11 at the end of the first quarter.
“It was a little stressful,” Hartville head coach Brett Reed said of his team’s early struggles. “We had a hard time getting going. It looked like we came out not focused and ready to, and Catholic came out clicking on all cylinders. They came out a little bit more ready to go.”
Following a little inspiration and a much-needed wake-up call by their coach, the defending Class 2 state champions started to make the appropriate adjustments and constructed a 15-4 run to close the half after No. 6 seed Catholic briefly grabbed a 13-point lead in the early going of the second quarter.
After yielding four shots from beyond the arc over the first eight minutes of the game, Hartville completely shut down the Irish’s perimeter attack – allowing them just a trio of short-range field goals in the second.
“We stopped giving [Catholic] some easy and open looks,” said Reed. “I felt like the threes that Catholic got in the first quarter were wide open looks. We got down to guarding better and held them to six [points] in the second quarter. Ultimately, I think that was the difference.”
Both teams played virtually even in the third period, setting the Eagles up to make their move in the final segment. With the game knotted at 46-46 and 2:14 left to play, Reed’s club put together one more run – this time of a 6-0 variety to close out the game and the win.
The Eagles were led in scoring by senior Dune Piper, who led all players with 25 points, including 10 in the final quarter.
After the win, Piper was eager to talk about how his role has changed following the graduation of key players from last season’s 29-win team.
“The last few years I’ve been more of an assist and defensive player,” Piper said. “This year, Coach [Reed] has been saying that I need to step up and score more, so I do my best.”
Tuesday’s victory was also made a little bit sweeter due to the fact that it provided a change of pace to the type of competition the Eagles have been pitted against throughout most of the regular season.
“It just feels like so much more of an achievement when you beat a team like Catholic than when you
beat a small school around us,” Piper added. “The schools around us are pretty good, but it’s just a bigger achievement when you beat a bigger school. That’s what it feels like, at least.”
Hartville advances to the semifinals and will play No. 2 seed Glendale tomorrow at 5.30 p.m., while Catholic falls to the fifth-place bracket and will take on 7-seed Mansfield at 2 p.m.
Box Score
Catholic – 22 6 11 7 – 46
Hartville – 11 15 12 14 – 52
Catholic – Charlie O’Reilly 13, Jake Branham 7, Michael Manzardo 7, Brett Maes 7, Tyson Riley 6, Ian Cochran 4, Wallace Squibb 2
Hartville – Dune Piper 25, Deric Jones 11, Wyatt Ward 7, Jace Keith 6, Braden Keith 3
