43
Trophy time: Buccieri powers Bulldogs in ‘Battle of 224’
By Steve WILAJ
POLAND
No doubt about it. Nick Buccieri wanted this one.
Carrying Poland to an emotionally-charged, 53-51, comeback win on Friday against rival Canfield at Poland High, the Bulldogs senior forward notched a game-high 22 points — including seven of Poland’s final nine — as he capped his spectacular night by hoisting the Battle of 224 trophy amidst a wild Bulldogs student section.
“It just feels good,” said Buccieri, who helped Poland avenge a three-point loss at Canfield on Jan. 29. “We never know who it’s gonna be — we’re always looking for someone to step up. I’m glad it was able to be me tonight and just happy to help my team win.
“We lost to them in football and I couldn’t live with myself if we lost to them again my senior year. So just getting the trophy back means a lot.”
Canfield (15-5, 9-4 All-American Conference, Red Tier) appeared to have the trophy secured when it jumped ahead 20-4 in the first quarter. But Poland (16-4, 10-4) cut its deficit to four points entering the final quarter and trailed just 49-46 with 2:48 remaining.
The Bulldogs finally gained their first lead of the game, 50-49, on Mike Gajdos’ layup with 2:04 left, but Canfield’s Vince Ferrier answered with a layup at the 1:09 mark for a 51-50 Canfield lead.
Buccieri then made two free throws at the 40-second mark to put Poland ahead, 52-51. After a Canfield miss, he followed to make another with 14.8 seconds left, before Canfield’s Brandon McFall missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds — the rebound going to Buccieri, who raced down court as the celebration began.
“He did an amazing job,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said of Buccieri, who finished 7 of 11 from the field and 8 of 10 at the foul line. “I don’t have the words to tell you how hard he played, what he did to keep us in the game and then to help us get on top. MVP of the team right now.”
Canfield — which was paced by Mason Mangapora’s 18 points and Sam DiGiacomo’s eight points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks — led 23-11 after the first quarter, as well as 35-27 at halftime.
“I’m very sad for my players right now,” Cardinals coach Todd Muckleroy said. “They wanted this game and wanted to play well. I have a group of kids in the locker room that I’ll try to build up and convince that we have some other things to play for this year.
“But we really wanted that game. Kudos to Poland, they did a great job battling back.”
Canfield, which also received 11 points each from Ferrier and Julian Vitto, built its lead to 49-40 early in the fourth quarter. But Poland used a 10-0 run to take the lead on Gajdos’ layup, as the Bulldogs forced five Cardinals turnovers in the final period.
“Defensively, we put a little pressure on them and our kids listened and executed what [assistant coach] Chad [Fender] told them defensively,” Grisdale said.
Added Muckleroy: “We started making some mistakes. And then on the defensive end, we kind of struggled to stop them. They made some shots and that’s something we couldn’t do down the stretch.”
Jake Burns added 10 points and six rebounds for Poland, which benched four of its five starters to begin the game due to an off-court incident earlier in the week.
“I hope we’re teaching life lessons and not just basketball,” Grisdale said.
The rivals — who each have two regular-season games remaining — have a chance to meet one more time this season: in Division II tournament play.
“There’s certainly things that we could have done better down the stretch,” Muckleroy said. “So that’s the motivation for us.”
And the last word from the man of the hour:
“It would be awesome to play them again,” Buccieri said.