Burrell boys basketball striving for better results in season’s 2nd half

By: Ted Sarneso
Thursday, January 9, 2025 | 4:19 PM

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When the season began, Burrell boys basketball Mike Fantuzzo knew it would take time for his team to mesh.

After the Bucs’ 78-46 win against Freeport on Tuesday night, he believes the team finally has learned to play together.

“I think it was a game where we’re starting to click and figure some things out and get a little bit of momentum and confidence going into Friday’s game with Valley,” Fantuzzo said. “We’re looking to close out the first round of section games strong.”

It has been an up-and-down year for the Bucs, who ended a tough stretch during which they lost three in a row and five of six.

“It’s been a learning experience, not as well as the coaches or the players wanted the first half to go,” Fantuzzo said. “We feel like we could have had two more wins in there, but I kept telling them it was still early in the season, and we want to be growing and peaking in the second half.”

The Bucs returned only one starter from last year, senior guard Tucker Bitar. His presence has been a stabilizing factor, and it was evident in the win against Freeport.

“They all need to learn to play with each other, and I think Tuesday — if you watched the game — was the first step into him distributing the ball to his teammates with open looks and they hit those shots,” Fantuzzo said. “It then helps Tuck, as opponents can’t key on him and what he does best, which is to get to the hoop and find those open looks for himself. It’s a learning curve for all our players and still is.”

Bitar also has been the main scorer for the Bucs, as he is the only one averaging double figures (15.6 points per game). The next closest on the team is junior guard Ryan Wass with 7.8 points per game.

“Tucker’s Tucker,” Fantuzzo said. “He’s been a staple for us. He handles the ball very well, handles the press well. Ryan is looking good, gaining confidence as one of our shooters. He hit six 3s in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game.”

Two newcomers, junior guard Sam Conte and junior forward/center Gavyn Orr, play important roles, although their offensive numbers might not stand out.

“Gavyn had a great game against Freeport,” Fantuzzo said. “He was under the weather and was banged up earlier in the season, but he looked very healthy Tuesday night. Sam is doing very well defensively, covering the opposing team’s best player. He handles the ball with very few turnovers.”

That has been one of the positives for the Bucs in the first half of the season. They rarely beat themselves with turnovers. In their losses to Knoch and Deer Lakes earlier in the year, they turned the ball over only 10 times.

One other positive has been the unselfish nature of the team in recent games.

“We’re sharing the ball a lot better, and that’s what we need to do,” Fantuzzo said. “They make that one extra pass to find that great shot versus a good shot.”

The Bucs might have started the season on shaky ground, and it led to them having a 5-7 overall record (2-3 in Section 1-4A). But heading into Friday’s game with Valley, the team seems to be finding itself at just the right time.

The road ahead doesn’t get easier for the Bucs as they play Highlands, Knoch and Deer Lakes in their next three contests.

“Right now, the focus is on Valley. We’re not looking ahead to Highlands,” Fantuzzo said. “We look at one game at a time, but they’re smart kids. They understand the consequences of wins and losses when it comes to these next couple of games.”

Fantuzzo is keeping his players focused on Valley but knows what comes next for his team.

Burrell will then take on Highlands, which they beat Dec. 13 to open section play, but will hope to have better showings against Knoch and Deer Lakes after losing by 20-plus points in their first meeting with each.

“Knoch not only has size with (Zane) Pacek, who is 7 feet, but they have really good guards,” Fantuzzo said. “Our challenge is keeping those guys in front of us. From a defensive standpoint, that will be our biggest struggle. Same thing with Deer Lakes. (Nathaniel) Moore is playing great right now, scoring 20-something points a game. He hurt us in our first meeting, so we have to find ways to slow him down.”

Burrell is in fourth place in the section, which would guarantee a playoff spot. Fantuzzo wants his team to continue to mesh and execute its offense, and should the Bucs make it into the playoffs, they hope to be a tough out.

“Tuesday’s win gave us a little bit of momentum, and the guys had a good practice on Wednesday,” Fantuzzo said. “Hopefully, it gives us a little bit of energy to have another good game on Friday, keep it rolling through the second half and get into the playoffs.”

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