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Burnside goes inside to lead York Catholic over Delone


The York Catholic boys' basketball team picked up the biggest win of its season Friday, when it toppled longtime tormentor Delone Catholic, 61-48, at James Forjan Gymnasium. It was the Fighting Irish's first win over the Squires since the 2006-07 season.

Perhaps York Catholic's biggest catalyst on the night: 6-foot-6 senior Mark Burnside.

The forward dropped a game-high 22 points, nearly doubling his 11.5 points per game average. Even though he is often the tallest player on the court, Burnside is also an above-average long-range shooter, and sometimes lingers out along the perimeter.

Not Friday.

"I watched film on two games and felt that," Delone Catholic coach Jim Dooley said of Burnside's perimeter style. "He played really hard tonight, set good screens."

York Catholic coach Joe Keesey called it Burnside's best game of the season.

Besides his scoring, Burnside also pulled down 11 rebounds, including three offensive boards. His willingness to go inside showed up early -- he went to the free-throw line six times in the first quarter, and finished the game 9-for-12 from the stripe.

In the fourth quarter, another Burnside bucket in the paint help stall a Delone run that had cut York Catholic's lead to six.

"They tried to double us," Burnside said. "We worked in practice on just finding the open spot, we were getting into the lane and getting lay-ups.

"I was just trying to go to the open spot. Down to the block, the foul line, wherever was open. They got me the ball. "

Height was one of the most obvious differences between the Irish and Squires on Friday. Delone did not start a player taller than 6-0. York Catholic had both Burnside and senior forward Michael Sperring (6-4).  Those two are also the Irish's two top scorers.

What's more, the win should help York Catholic maintain its place atop the District 3 Class AA boys basketball power rankings.