Cards recover to win, 47-40

Campbell trailed by 11 in the second quarter, but stayed within reach because of its pressure.

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CAMPBELL — Canfield boys’ basketball coach John Cullen doesn’t mind pressure. Not even the kind that comes in the form of opposing defenses, such as what Campbell Memorial threw at the Cardinals Friday night.

“We’ve been pressed all year,” said Cullen. “Campbell did a nice job with that 1-3-1 zone. Poland’s pressure will be the granddaddy of all the pressure defense we’ll face. I don’t care if everyone we play pressures us, because we need to get used to handling it.”

After a shaky third quarter against the Red Devils’ half-court trap, Canfield responded in the fourth quarter, turning a one-point game after three quarters into a 47-40 victory to remain tied with Poland for the top spot in the MAC at a perfect 3-0.

“Campbell is a smaller team than usual, but they can create defensive problems with their quickness,” said Cullen. “Their intensity disoriented us a little bit, but fortunately it didn’t last too long and we responded. We were able to get things back together with some nice passes and put things away by getting the ball to the right spots.”

The Red Devils (6-2, 1-2 MAC) trailed by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, but battled back in the third period with a menacing defense. Campbell limited Canfield to just seven points in the stanza and owned a 30-29 advantage heading into the final quarter.

But Canfield (7-1, 3-0) made all the right offensive adjustments in the fourth, employing three different press-breakers to attack Campbell. The strategy paid dividends, as the Cards engineered a 12-2 run to begin the final period and surged ahead 41-32 on a jumper by John Manzoian.

Campbell rallied, getting within 41-38 at the 2:36 mark via a 3-pointer from Jerah’me Williams.

It was the Cards’ solid shooting night that eventually did Campbell in, as Canfield finished 22-of-41 (54 percent) for the game, including 12-of-19 in the second half.

“We hit four 3-pointers in the first half which is what got us ahead,” said Cullen.

“In the second half, we shot more layups and that’s going to help your shooting percentage. Our point guard [Manzoian] got us into the things we needed to be in and that got us some easy points.”