No. 1 Deer Lakes boys frustrate No. 2 Burrell as all 5 Bucs starters foul out
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Friday, January 5, 2024 | 10:18 PM
Deer Lakes’ J.T. McCue is fouled by Burrell’s Dylan McKallip on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Collin Rodgers is fouled by Burrell’s Tucker Bitar on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Burrell’s Esau King-Buchak grabs a rebound over Deer Lakes’ Aiden Fletcher on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Burrell’s Esau King-Buchak blocks the shot of Deer Lakes’ Billy Schaeffer on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Nathaniel Moore blocks the shot of Burrell’s Esau King-Buchak on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Nathaniel Moore fights for a rebound with Burrell’s Malik Buchak on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Wayne Love is fouled by Burrell’s Macky Bennis on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Nathaniel Moore is fouled by Burrell’s Tucker Bitar on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
Deer Lakes’ Billy Schaeffer is fouled by Burrell’s Malik Buchak on Friday at Deer Lakes High School.
All week, Deer Lakes boys basketball coach Albie Fletcher used the phrase “up tempo” when preparing his players for their matchup with Burrell.
Usually that term is designated for offense, but the Lancers love speed on defense, and they used it to frustrate the Bucs and get them in extreme foul trouble in the highly anticipated No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Class 3A.
One by one, each of the five Burrell starters fouled out as top-ranked Deer Lakes enjoyed a comfortable lead and went on to win 65-43 on Friday night.
We’re definitely a different tempo than (Burrell) is,” Fletcher said. “They’re very good at executing in the halfcourt, so we didn’t want them to get comfortable and slow the game down. Our kids pretty much executed the game plan to perfection. If we can play at our pace, I think inherently that happens within the game. You start scrambling a little bit and get some more reaches. That’s what we tried to do, and our kids did a great job.”
Deer Lakes led throughout, and the foul trouble for the Bucs started early. Macky Bennis, Burrell’s leading scorer, picked up two fouls in the first couple of minutes. He got his third on a charge early in the second quarter and a fourth when he was whistled for an intentional foul for contact with Deer Lakes’ Billy Schaeffer moments later.
Bennis sat out the rest of the first half and the entirety of the third quarter with four fouls. He finished with four points, which all came in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore guard Collin Rodgers could sense the Lancers were frustrating the Bucs early on.
“We could tell,” Rodgers said. “Their top guy (Bennis) had four fouls in the first half, and they were frustration fouls. Coach (Fletcher) talked all week about having the right mindset and letting the scoreboard talk. I felt like we did that. We kept working, and that’s what frustrated them. Not words. Not talking back. We just kept frustrating them with how we were playing.”
Schaeffer had 21 points, and Rodgers scored 13. Both helped the Lancers take a 25-14 lead into halftime.
Tucker Bitar did his best to keep the Bucs in it, scoring a game-high 24 points. He also drew four charges on defense. But the Bucs made only five field goals in the first half, and once the fouls started piling up, they couldn’t cut into the Deer Lakes lead.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well at all in the first half,” Burrell coach Mike Fantuzzo said. “I thought we had decent looks and didn’t hit them. They made theirs, and that was a big difference. It’s hard to compete in games when you can’t put the ball in the hoop.”
Rodgers was happy to get a win against the Bucs in his final home game against them.
“It’s a big rivalry,” Rodgers said. “They got us three out of the last four times, so it was nice to get one. In this game, you know anyone can win it. It comes down to who shows the most perseverance, and I think we showed that.”
The rematch is set for Jan. 30 at Burrell. The Bucs won at home last year to split the season series and will look to do the same again.
“It’s one game,” Fantuzzo said. “We’re still in good shape. We’ll bounce back as we always do and ready to compete the next time around.”
Jerin Steele is a freelance writer
Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes
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