Burrell boys storm back, fend off Springdale in home opener

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, December 5, 2025 | 10:52 PM

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The Burrell boys basketball team’s big fourth quarter pushed them past Springdale, 52-47, as the Bucs avoided an upset in their home opener Friday.

The Bucs outscored the Dynamos, 23-8, in the fourth quarter and went on a 21-4 run to end the game.

Down 39-29 going into the fourth quarter, the Bucs needed a spark, and Adam Wass answered the call. He finished with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds.

“The team kept the energy off the bench and was still in it,” Wass said. “Everybody had energy, and it just led to the points and forcing turnovers. Everybody was in it.”

His brother, Ryan Wass, finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Bucs went from down 43-31 to up 46-45 in the matter of three minutes.

After Adam Wass set up Ryan Wass for a 3 to cut it to 43-40, a Trey Coury free throw and a Wass layup tied the score at 43.

Down 45-43, Adam Wass knocked down a 3 to give the Bucs a 46-45 lead, their first lead since 17-15 in the second quarter.

Coury, who racked up nine points in the fourth, notched a layup to extend the lead to 48-45.

At 50-47, the Dynamos nearly got a steal, but the officials called a foul on Landon Linderman.

Sam Conte’s two free throws iced the game.

Burrell’s defense, with Conte and Coury leading the charge, slowed down the Dynamos.

“Trey brings the energy every single game,” Adam Wass said. “Sam is a pesky defender, always frustrating the offense on the boards.”

Springdale led at halftime 24-22 after a half that featured seven lead changes and three ties.

Springdale’s Robby Simmen helped the Dynamos surge ahead, as he had 17 points through three quarters of play.

Burrell’s Gavyn Orr tied it at 24 early in the third quarter.

But a Linderman 3 and a Liam Dexter three-point play put them up 30-24.

A Simmen 3 extended their lead to 33-24, forcing Burrell to take a timeouts after a 9-0 run.

Linderman buried his fourth 3 of the game to go up 36-24.

Trevor Clark made a free throw, which was the last of a 13-0 run putting Springdale up 37-24.

The Bucs, however, sailed all the way as they turned up the aggression and defensive intensity.

“Slowing them down led to bad decisions from them into pushing up the floor for wide-open shots and layups,” Adam Wass said. “It was just everybody working together.”

Burrell coach Mike Fantuzzo said the team focused on playing a complete game defensively in the final quarter.

“We have to get after it defensively, not just in a half set, but we want to pressure full court,” he said. “They picked up the energy, got some things going from a full-court defensive standpoint, and it really sparked us and we got some steals and some baskets finally. We kind of just rolled with it.”

That led to Adam Wass’ big final quarter.

“He could hit the 3s, he could hit the pull-up jumpers because he’s so fast,” Fantuzzo said. “A lot of times he feeds off of his defense, and then he gets those steals and he’s hard to guard because he’s so fast. When he’s getting to the hoop, we can kick it because teams are going to start sinking in on him.”

Springdale coach Scott Ruppert game-planned to slow the Wass brothers.

“I thought Adam did a great job of adjusting to it and taking some of the gaps that early in the game he didn’t get,” Ruppert said. “That was a major difference-maker. … I thought Coury’s nine points there at the end really helped. Kudos to them for recovering in the game and making the adjustments.”

Despite the loss, Ruppert said he was proud of his team since several players have only played in two varsity games. Simmen delivered 17 points and seven boards. Linderman knocked down four 3s and had 14 points.

“Their commitment to what we did yesterday to prepare and how they came out and played, I was incredibly proud of them,” Ruppert said. “I thought it was an underdog game that for 3 1/2 quarters, I thought we played an unbelievable game. I’m just proud of my guys.”

Adam Wass is happy to take home a home-opening win.

“It’s just great, especially coming back in the last minutes down 13 points,” he said. “It’s a great win.”

Tags: Burrell, Springdale