Canfield defense prevents another Hubbard upset

March 13, 2015 at 12:08a.m.

Warren

Before the Canfield High boys basketball team could earn one final shot at archrival Poland in a Division II district final, it needed to clear one more hurdle.

Thanks to a suffocating defensive effort, senior leadership and some timely shots from youthful substitutes, the Cardinals pulled away from Hubbard in a 44-29 victory.

With the district semifinal win Thursday, Canfield will meet Poland, which beat them twice in the regular season, in the district final Saturday at Warren Harding.

The Cardinals’ man-to-man defense limited Hubbard to 11 field goals for the game, with just four coming in the second half.

“I didn’t think we needed to pull out any gimmicks,” said Canfield coach Todd Muckleroy. “We’ve stuck with it all year long and, at this moment in time and playing into the tournament, you’ve gotta stick with what you know. You know your team’s good at it and we’re confident as a coaching staff they can get it done with stat style of defense.”

The Eagles, who upset Cardinal Mooney to advance to Thursday’s game, fell behind early then took a short-lived 17-16 lead late in the second quarter.

Canfield senior Matt Yourstowsky stole an errant pass on the Eagles’ next trip and converted at the basket as they reclaimed the lead.

Then with the seconds ticking away, reserve guard Julian Vitto drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a momentum-swinging sequence.

The two teams traded inside baskets and trips to the free-throw line and the Eagles, with Derek Kopanic leading the way, got to within two points at 25-23 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.

“If you had told me we’d be down by four at the half to Canfield, I’d take that,” said Hubbard coach Rick Fox. “I was happy with the way we played and we make a great hustle play then they hit the shot at the end of the half.

“We came out in the third and did a nice job and [Canfield] hit some shots there at the end.”

Vitto made another 3-pointer after two Kopanic free throws to give Canfield a 30-25 lead before Yourstowsky split a pair of free throws.

With 45 seconds left, Matt DeSanto’s pressure defense allowed Yourstowsky to swoop in, make a timely steal and again earn an easy layup.

The defensive intensity continued into the fourth. Hubbard struggled from the field, going 1 of 11 in the final eight minutes.

Canfield, well-rested and obviously fresh defensively after a week layoff, methodically took advantage on the offensive end.

Mason Mangapora scored four points in the quarter and, after a steal at the defensive end, found John French at the other end in an acrobatic 3-point play. With four minutes to play, Yourstowsky capitalized on another steal with a trip to the foul line when he was fouled driving to the rim, effectively ending any suspense with a 42-25 lead.

“That was big,” said Yourstowsky. “We knew they liked to set ball screens for Kopanic and I knew if I maybe blitzed a couple of them it would lead to an easy steal and easy break or get a foul call or open up our offense. We knew they’d play a zone [defense] and if they got makes, they’d get back into it so we had to beat them down the floor.”