Pinckney struggles with 6-foot-8 Gigliotti in loss to Hartland
HARTLAND — The perfect way to defend 6-foot-8 Hartland center Jason Gigliotti is beyond anyone's coaching powers.
"I can't change my kids' height," Pinckney coach Tom Reason said.
So, an undersized team like Pinckney just does the best it can against Gigliotti and hope for the best.
Most nights, it's Gigliotti who gets the best of the opposition in such matchups. Such was the case Tuesday night, as he scored 17 points for Hartland in a 51-42 victory over previously unbeaten Pinckney in a KLAA West basketball opener.
"You let him touch the ball, and he's going to kill you," Reason said. "I'd say we're not the biggest team in the world. We've got a bunch of 6-foot dudes and they've got a 6-8, 6-6, a couple of 6-4s."
Gigliotti scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, as Hartland held off Pinckney's bid to come back from a 16-point deficit. He scored three baskets at the rim and was 6-for-6 from the line in the final quarter.
"He really commanded the ball and demanded he receive the ball in the second half," Hartland coach Kevin Blouin said. "Our guards did a good job getting him the ball. When he got in there, he did a great job finishing. He made some huge baskets down the stretch for us."
Gigliotti is the only returning starter from a Hartland team that shook off a slow start to reach the KLAA Lakes Conference championship game and win a district title.
As important was he was in closing the deal, it was Gigliotti's supporting cast that got Hartland off to a fast start. After leading 11-9 after one quarter, Hartland scored 13 straight points to begin the second quarter.
Three of Hartland's new starters provided solid offensive support, with junior Brandon Harrison scoring nine points, and senior Connor Harris and junior Jonathan Jackson scoring seven apiece. The Eagles are off to a 3-1 start, winning their last three games.
"They have a lot of experience outside of Hartland, with AAU and everything," Gigliotti said. "They're definitely great basketball players. I think they were ready for it, they stepped up and they definitely have been doing really good."
Making an impact off the bench was sophomore Evan Metz, who scored all six of his points during Hartland's 13-0 second-quarter run. Two of Metz's baskets came off of steals.
"He's got a lot of energy," Blouin said. "He really does a nice job defensively for us. He's a great piece to have coming off the bench. He has a huge enthusiasm for the game, and it shows with his defensive effort."
While Hartland had balanced scoring, Pinckney (4-1) received scoring from only three players, with Evan Fackler (23 points) and Kyle O'Donohue (15) combining for 38 of their 42 points. All-County guard Kolton Pavlicek, who was avearging 13.5 points, was held scoreless before fouling out with 2:08 left in the game.
Pinckney beats Grand Blanc, ends 10-game hockey losing streak
"We didn't show up in the first half at all," Reason said. "Our entire game plan was to be on the same page tonight with our transition game and the way we run our sets. We just had an array of bad shots, selfish shots, and did not play as a team for the first two quarters."
Down 27-11 early in the third quarter, Pinckney battled back to within four points three times in the fourth quarter, but Hartland was able to respond to each of the Pirates' runs.