Boys basketball: Buckeye outlasts Normandy in double overtime

PARMA — The Buckeye boys basketball team easily could have lost Tuesday, but experience, hustle and plain ol' grit helped the Bucks pull out a thrilling 76-71 double-overtime victory over Normandy in Cleveland West Conference play. Playing against a young Invaders team (6-2, 2-2) that had won six straight since losing to Westlake by 33 points in its season opener, Buckeye (6-4, 4-1) wasn't very good for 2½ quarters and went a woeful 15-for-29 at the line (.517), but relentless offensive rebounding and veteran players making big plays at key times were the difference. "This game could have been a lot easier," said senior shooting guard Austin Hyre, who scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtimes while also finishing with three rebounds and six assists. "We missed a lot of bunnies, a lot of free throws and a lot of threes (7-for-22), but we still found a way. "It says a lot about our team and our experience and our maturity. We take pressure more easily than we did four years ago." Center Turner Dolata, who joined Hyre in playing all 40 minutes, led the Bucks with 24 points and 12 rebounds while also tying for the team lead with six assists, sixth man Zach Stough went 6-for-8 from the field for 15 points, point guard Logan Brown atoned for 4-for-10 shooting at the line in the fourth quarter and overtimes by grabbing nine rebounds on the night, small forward Jacob Snyderburn added seven points while going 2-for-6 at the stripe and power forward Derek Snyderburn, scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting through the first OT, had five points in the second four-minute session while finishing with six boards and three assists. "We were down (11 midway through the third quarter) and this is a tough place to play, but we found a way," Derek Snyderburn said. "In the second half we made more hustle plays than they did." The Invaders, who normally start two freshmen and a sophomore, were without coach Mike Durkin and ninth-grade starting point guard Ryan Durkin due to illness, but they gave Buckeye all it wanted with assistant Joey Schmook filling in as head coach. Senior shooting guard Alex Valentin Rivera led Normandy with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, but he didn't score after landing hard on his right wrist with 5:10 to play in regulation. Rivera, who had been 9-for-12 at the line, stayed in to shoot two free throws, but his first attempt was two feet short and his second barely grazed the front of the rim. With 22 points and three 3-pointers through three quarters, he attempted just two shots after having his wrist wrapped. Normandy, which also got 19 points, four boards and six assists from sophomore guard Logan Guadalupe, 14 points and seven rebounds from freshman center Gavin Clark and nine points and six rebounds from senior power forward Landen Holmes, led 39-28 after a Valentin Rivera three with 3:35 left in the third. The Invaders, who played a lot of zone in the second half due to foul trouble, were still up 10 late in the quarter, but Stough hit a 3-pointer and layup in the final 25 seconds to cut the deficit to five. Then it really got fun. Buckeye trailed by seven on two occasions in the fourth but tied at 55 when Dolata scored inside with 1:35 remaining in regulation. Normandy went up two on a drive by Guadalupe, then got a rebound after Hyre missed on a drive and Dolata got a putback attempt blocked. Hyre, who finished 7-for-22 from the field but was clutch when his team needed him, stole the ball right back and scored to tie with 31 seconds on the clock. "He got the rebound in front of me and I just ripped it from him, took one dribble and scored," he said. Guadalupe hit a deep 3-pointer from the right wing on the ensuing possession, but the Invaders already had called timeout with 5.2 on the clock. When play resumed, Dolata came up with a steal and fed Jacob Snyderburn, but his running, rushed, longer-than-normal left-hand layup attempt — with an Invaders player closing — drew nothing but glass as the buzzer sounded. Normandy led by five in the first OT, but Hyre hit a three off a Dolata pass and Brown split free throws to make it 63-62 with 1:29 to play. Both teams struggled at the line from that point, with Hyre finally tying the game on a floater with 32 seconds left. Guadalupe missed a three in the closing seconds and Buckeye's long heave was well off the mark, sending the game to a second OT. Hyre immediately hit another three off a Dolata assist as the Bucks began that session on a 10-2 run. Normandy got as close as four with 13.9 on the clock, but the outcome was never really in doubt after Buckeye's quick start. Derek Snyderburn was a large reason why. He scored his first points of the night when he grabbed Stough's deflected 3-point attempt, scored, was fouled and converted the three-point play to make it 71-67, then scored off a long pass from Dolata to put the Bucks up 74-67 with 1:09 to go. "It was a slow start for me," he said. "I didn't get many looks at the hoop, so I made hustle plays and found my teammates. The and-one was my opportunity." Dolata had just one point in the OTs, but he had a direct hand in six of Hyre's 10. The 6-foot-5 center also had 19 of his team's first 33 points to keep the Bucks from getting blown out in the third quarter. "Turner shows up every game," Derek Snyderburn said. "He's our guy." "He draws so much attention from guys on the other team," Hyre added. "As soon as he's doubled, he finds one of us. I'm just thankful I was able to hit them." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 76, Normandy 71 (2 OT) BUCKEYE 11 12 17 17 8 11 — 76 NORMANDY 18 10 17 12 8 6 — 71 Buckeye — Jacob Snyderburn 2-2-7, Derek Snyderburn 2-1-5, Turner Dolata 10-4-24, Austin Hyre 7-3-20, Logan Brown 0-4-4, Zach Stough 6-0-15, Mason Dolata 0-1-1. TOTALS: 27-15-76. Normandy — Damir Smith 0-0-0, Landen Holmes 3-3-9, Gavin Clark 5-4-14, Alex Valentin Rivera 6-9-24, Logan Guadalupe 7-3-19, Aaiden Guadalupe 0-0-0, Brody Tusai 1-0-2, Jacob Chuba 1-0-3. TOTALS: 23-19-71. 3-point goals — Hyre 3, Stough 3, J. Snyderburn, Valentin Rivera 3, L. Guadalupe 3, Chuba. Rebounds — Buckeye 33 (T. Dolata 12), Normandy 27 (Clark 7). Assists — Buckeye 18 (T. Dolata, Hyre 6), Normandy 15 (L. Guadalupe 6). Records — Buckeye (6-4, 4-1), Normandy (6-2, 2-2). Junior varsity — Normandy 52, Buckeye 38.