Burrell gets important victory over short-handed rival Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 11:51 PM

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The Burrell-Valley rivalry always holds plenty of importance for both schools, but it felt especially crucial for Burrell on Tuesday.

Burrell knew the reality of its situation as the midpoint of section play approached, and the Bucs realized they needed to take advantage of their opportunity against the Vikings.

The Bucs got back to basics, using strong defense and spread-out scoring to hold off an undermanned Valley team for a 49-42 victory in a Section 3-3A game in a crowded Burrell gym.

“They’re starting to buy in, and us losing a couple started to make them doubt a little bit,” Burrell coach Shawn Bennis said. “The seniors are realizing that we’re down to eight games remaining in the regular season, and if their chapter in the story wants to be a positive one, they’re going to have to do what we ask them to do: play for each other, play together.”

Tuesday’s win moved Burrell, a playoff team each of the past two seasons and a section co-champion in 2018, into a third-place tie with Steel Valley and Shady Side Academy as the first half of section play concluded. The Bucs (4-8, 3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak heading into a key game Friday against Shady Side Academy.

“This one was important, especially to get us back into the section playoffs,” said senior center Andrew Bigler, who scored a team-high 18 points. “It’s a big win to boost us over the other teams in the section. And it’s a rivalry, so it’s good to win the game.”

Logan Bitar added 12 points for Burrell, which held off a late rally from a Valley team missing three of its usual starters.

Playing without starters Nyjewel Carter, David Primus and Deonte Ross, Valley (4-7, 4-2) got 18 points from Elijah Murray but couldn’t find enough offensive or defensive consistency to avoid a second consecutive section loss.

“I want to fight with the guys we have, and this is a tough night for us,” said Valley coach Mark Faulx, who said he couldn’t comment on the status of the missing players. “We just definitely have to get better. I’m hoping the pressure will make these guys better. We’re going to take a look at things and try to be ready for the next game. I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it. What we can control is our attitude, effort and focus for tonight.”

Both teams struggled to find offensive consistency in the first half, which ended with a 19-17 Burrell lead. The Bucs and Vikings combined for 13 field goals and 18 turnovers before halftime.

Burrell began to open up its lead in the third quarter by spreading the ball around. A pair of 3-pointers by Logan Phillips on the Bucs’ opening two possessions gave them a six-point lead, and a Seth Fischbach 3 later in the quarter pushed the advantage to nine.

The 6-foot-4 Bigler added five points in the period.

“Our focus was to limit turnovers and many of the things, just shoot the ball while getting good open shots instead of forcing ones,” Bigler said.

Murray kept Valley in the game, however, scoring seven points in the third to keep Burrell’s lead at six points entering the fourth. His stepback 3-pointer cut the deficit to 35-32 on the opening possession of the fourth, but Valley got no closer. Roman Flenory and Murray fouled out in the fourth.

An Eddie Hyatt 3-pointer made the score 44-39 with just under two minutes remaining, but that was Valley’s last field goal until Thomas Albert hit a 3 just before the final buzzer.

Valley made nine 3-pointers, including three apiece by Murray and Albert, who finished with nine points.

“I’d like to see us be a little more efficient offensively, and I’d like to see us be better defensively,” Faulx said. “They were better than us tonight and deserved to win. I sure hope we get better from this. Sometimes a good team responds to a tough loss. I’m hoping that’s what we are.”

Shady Side Academy routed the Bucs in their section opener in December.

“What we’ve really been preaching to them is to be you, be who you are,” Bennis said. “I think we’re finding out who we are. We can’t let other teams take us away from who we are. We have to try to make teams play how we want to play.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Valley