The Burris Owls have now won their last four games. Their latest victory was this Friday night’s matchup against the Seton Catholic Cardinals. The red-hot Owls defended Ball Gymnasium as they soared past the visitors 48-32.
But this win was special for the home team for a few reasons. First, it was homecoming week. Second, this is the same Owls team that started the season 0-8.
“If you look at our schedule, we had a very brutal start to our schedule,” Burris head coach John Donahue said. “Some of those teams are ranked in the top ten in the state and the rest are quality teams.”
The Owls started the homecoming game with a fiery play style. The aggressive and fast-paced play allowed the victors to take an early lead. But with that type of play came some mistakes such as missed shots and easy fouls. Donahue said he wants his squad to slow the tempo.
“I like for us to play with this, but with that, you have to be smart and we kind of got some early foul trouble,” he said. “We had to make sure we reeled it in a little bit. Because you want to play with energy but you gotta play within yourself and under control.”
After talking to his team during the first half, the Owls started to slow down their play style. This allowed them to find open men and became a threat to the Cardinals.
Two players seemed to make a difference in the battle of the birds. Burris’ senior duo of Colin McBride and Bryce Karnes led their team with 17 points each. For Karnes, the support that the team has received has had an impact on them and with it being homecoming, this game was no different.
“It's awesome to play in front of all of our classmates, family members, and friends,” he said. “Picking up the season, I got to thank everyone who believes in us. Thanks to the coaches, we’re picking it up on the game plan. They're helping us just get a lot better and it was a great win.”
Even though the victors found themselves in foul trouble early, they were able to turn that around on their competition. Burris senior Carter Fisher was one of the Owls that was not afraid to try and swoop to the basket while taking a foul.
“I was just feeling really confident that I could take my man,” Fisher said. “I feel like I had a mismatch for sure and my shot was just feeling good.”
The Owls have found their stride at the right time. But for coach Donahue, this stretch only means one thing.
“We got more work to do,” he said. “We have two games tomorrow against some really good competition. So we just enjoy this one right now, but we'll be back to work tomorrow.”
Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ZachCarter85.
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