Hot-shooting Hornets down Spartans
Feb. 19—CONNEAUT — The Kirtland Hornets sizzled the nets shooting a red hot 59.4% from the field in the first half led by senior guard Joe Grazia.
That ability to score efficiently allowed the Hornets to take command early Thursday night to defeat Conneaut 82-47 in non-conference action on senior night for the Spartans.
Grazia scored 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 18 points in the first half to lead Kirtland. He also scored the first nine points for the Hornets and 12 of his team's first 15 points as Kirtland took a 15-0 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.
The Hornets started five seniors and finished the game shooting 55.1% overall from the field. Kirtland had 12 players score, including senior guard Liam Powers with nine points. Junior forwards Gage Sullivan and Mason Rus each added eight points.
Conneaut also shot well in the first half, connecting on 9 of 17 (52.9%) attempts before cooling off a bit in the second half to finish the game shooting 43.4%. However, the Spartans had 19 turnovers in the first half allowing Kirtland to capitalize in transition and build a 48-20 lead at halftime.
"We did a good job pressuring the basketball, which led to some easy looks early on and I think it loosened our guys up a little bit," Kirtland coach Shawn McGregor said. "We didn't shoot well [Wednesday in a loss to Painesville Harvey]. We did a much better job today finding the open man and attacking gaps and shooting with confidence."
When Grazia plays well, the Hornets also play well, McGregor said.
"He's been solid all year and is a playmaker and a very good athlete," McGregor said. "We go as Joey goes so when he shoots the ball well, he gives us a different presence that opens things up for T.J. [Green] and [Anthony] Demarco."
Junior forward Delaunte Lane had several steals in the game and converted them for breakaway baskets including a dunk.
Lane scored 14 points to lead the Spartans on 7-for-16 (43.8%) shooting. Junior center Robert Hagstrom added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
"They're athletic and came in, allegedly, not shooting the ball well recently," Conneaut coach Tim Tallbacka said about Kirtland. "But they made 13 threes in this ballgame and they were shooting pretty well to me. I'm not sure 13 threes beat us, it was the turnovers and buckets they scored off turnovers."
Tallbacka said the Hornets forced his team to play at a quicker pace than they would have liked.
"If we don't have a fast break, we want to be somewhat deliberate with our sets to get the best shot," he said. "We're going to keep on battling. This is an odd season, win or lose in the tournament we're going to continue to play after that. We have a few more games scheduled and we're just going to keep plugging away."
The Spartans are scheduled to play at Lakeside, starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday with the JV game.
