BURTON—Chagrin Falls had its moments but in the end, the Tigers couldn’t keep up with Bristol in a 71-67 loss to the Panthers in Game 4 of the 2024 Berkshire Hall of Fame Hoopfest.
The Tigers came into the game shorthanded as Ryan Curtiss sat out the contest, setting the stage for other players to step up in a game against a tough opponent.
“I’m proud of our effort and how we played,” said Chagrin Falls head coach Dave Bargar. “We had some guys really step for us.”
Brad Russell came off the bench and scored all of his team-high 18 points in the first half, including five 3-pointers in the second quarter.
Next man up was Oscar DiFranco who also finished with 18 points while pitching in with six steals defensively.
“Brad brings that dimension to the game with his 3-point shooting ability,” Bargar said. “Oscar is just a disruptor out on the floor, he makes things happen.”
Bristol held a 42-39 halftime lead after a high-flying first half of action.
Facing an unfamiliar opponent in Bristol, the Tigers faced many challenges.
“They knew they were going to get trapped every time they touched the ball,” Bargar said. “We had great spacing; we reversed the ball and we made threes; our biggest message to the kids before the game was, ‘Don’t give in to what they’re doing.’”
The Tigers made a move in the third quarter and after a last-second DiFranco steal and score, Chagrin Falls led 52-50 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bristol turned the tide and scored 21 fourth-quarter points to secure their victory.
In a game full of back-and-forth runs, the Panthers eventually used a quick 7-4 run to take a 57-56 lead and they never looked back.
“We didn’t give in, we kept fighting,” Bargar said. “If they went on a run, we responded. It was one of those kinds of games where our guys really battled the whole time.”
Jacob Kay connected on three 3-pointers to aid his 13-point performance. Spencer Kaas finished with 10 points and Evan Castelluccio had two points for the Tigers.
The loss snapped Chagrin Falls’ three-game win streak, but the Tigers remain optimistic.
“Just going back to our last four games, we’ve figured some things out,” Bargar said of his team. “We have certainly turned the corner on consistent effort and competing; we couldn’t fix the basketball part until we fixed the effort part, and tonight I thought we did that.”
Bristol improved to 11-2 behind Mikey Burbach’s 23-point, 19 rebound performance. Kaiden Kohler, Jack Berry, and Jayden Miller also scored in double figures for the Panthers with 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday when they host Kenston.
