BURTON–Kirtland kicked off its 2024-2025 season with a 57-47 win at conference rival Berkshire on Saturday.
The Hornets rarely trailed scoring 13 or more points in each quarter and riding consistency to get in the win column.
“It was good,” said Kirtland head coach Shawn McGregor. “You could see some rust with the football guys. Now we’re in a situation where we’re playing for five weeks. Vince (Carriero) and Lucas (Renfro) did a nice job holding us together when we struggled. The kids played well and hard. That’s really a part of the gig. If you can play hard, it helps get some of the jitters out, and that leads to consistent basketball.”
Billy Verbic and Cameron Beam helped the Badgers to an early 7-3 lead thanks to a Verbic layup and a Beam bucket, plus a foul.
Carriero helped weather the early storm with a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper while Sammy Ridgeway pitched in with three first-quarter points, helping Kirtland build a 17-12 lead after one.
Carriero continued his scoring ways in the second frame, scoring 7-of-13 points for the Hornets with Danny Alfieri and Johnny Rascan finding the range from 3-point land for a 30-20 lead at halftime.
Renfro took the reins in the third quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame with a 3-pointer and perfect 4-of-4 shooting to send Kirtland into the fourth leading, 43-32.
Jake Patterson got going for the Badgers in the fourth, connecting on a 3-pointer to go along with his seven points, and Caden McGranahan also found his range.
Kirtland responded with four points from Renfro, Carriero, and Ben DiFranco to fend off the Badgers.
Carriero and Renfro worked well together in their first game together.
“I led the scoring in the first half, but Lucas was able to pick me up in the second half when I was off,” Carriero said. “That’s what’s going to make us good throughout the year. It’s nice; I’m able to play free.”
Renfro added, “We started a little slow; the football players were trying to get into it. I started off slow, but Vince carried us in the first half. It switched in the second half, so that’s what we can do.”
That duo was key to Kirtland’s consistency in the win.
“It’s two guys that can make plays,” McGregor said. “Two guys that have their skill level is hard to guard, and we didn’t shoot the ball well today, but they still got good looks, and they weren’t afraid to shoot them, and it’s nice having two guys that can make play when needed.”
The Hornets’ defense was swarming, from the backcourt with its full-court press to the paint, where they pulled down 26 rebounds. DiFranco and Will Burt led the way with nine and seven, respectively.
“They are our glue guys,” McGregor said of the Kirtland big men. “They make teams better because they don’t need shots to be good, and I think that’s lost at times with high school basketball, or basketball in general. Will and Ben know their roles.”
Carriero led all scorers with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, converting 7-of-10 attempts at the free-throw line, and Renfro finished with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
Berkshire dropped to 0-4 to start the year. Only four returners have varsity experience, two of whom are injured.
“We need a couple more guys to step into their roles,” said Berkshire head coach Joe Montanaro. “We need another guy to bring the ball up the floor, rebounding the basketball. We need to be way more physical; we have too many guys standing around. We need to play better team defense. It’s the little things.”
Patterson led the Badgers with 12 points and Luke Stute and Beam had eight points each.
Berkshire will look to bounce back against visiting Badger and Kirtland hosts defending Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division champion Crestwood on Dec. 21.
