Class B2 Semifinal - Wilson 47, Cleveland Hill 43
Wilson got a pair of big 3-pointers from a pair of big players in the final 1:20 of its semifinal victory against Cleveland Hill, advancing to the Class B2 championship against Cassadaga Valley this Saturday at 12 pm. Brennan Moxham and Tyler Martin did most of the ball handling and scoring all game for the Lakemen, and it was the two skilled guards who made the biggest shots at the game's most crucial moments.
Moxham scored a game-high 22 points and Martin finished with 15 points, combining for all but ten of the Lakemen's total points for the game. The two worked all game to produce enough offense to keep the game close, while a team defensive effort from the Lakemen never allowed the Golden Eagles to extend their lead beyond six points.
After falling behind by nine points early on and trailing by five points after one, the Lakemen opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 15-13 lead. It would be the only lead for Wilson until much later in the game. Cleveland Hill quickly evened things up and the teams entered the intermission locked at 25 apiece.
The Golden Eagles scored the first six points of the second half, before Jordan Thilk got Wilson back on the board by converting a three-point play. Thilk's basket was the only field goal in the game for the Lakemen that wasn't scored by Moxham or Martin. Cleveland Hill stretched its lead back to five points before the end of the third.
Wilson responded with a 6-0 run to open the final stanza to take its first lead of the half, 36-35. Daryl Spencer came right back for Cleveland Hill and connected from downtown to put his team back up by two. After the Lakemen knotted things back up with a pair of free throws, Julian Glover canned another 3-pointer for the Golden Eagles with 2:48 remaining to give them a 41-38 lead.
After both teams came up empty on ensuing possesions, a '3' from Moxham tied the game at the 1:20 mark. Without hesitation, Jeru Molson of Cleveland Hill came right back at Wilson 13 seconds later and hit a tough hanging jumper to break the tie. As the game went under one minute, Martin found himself with enough space to get a shot off, and buried a 3-pointer with 51 seconds to go, giving Wilson a 44-43 lead. Cleveland Hill was unable to answer in the final moments, and a big rebound from Moxham along with heady defensive plays from Martin and Patrick Diez sealed the win for the Lakemen.
Spencer led Cleveland Hill with 13 points.
Class A2 Semifinal - East 66, Olean 56
East played one of its best games of the season and still had its hands full with the Olean Huskies, who get their mail delivered to Buffalo State in early March. The Panthers had five players finish in double figures, led by Jasen Oden's 18 points.
The Panthers, who typically come roaring out of the gate and produce fast points with a trapping pressure defense, were unable to rattle the inexperience from Olean. Despite starting three freshmen and one sophomore, the Huskies handled the big stage and battle tested Panthers, like a seasoned veteran squad.
East had its largest lead of the first half at 10-3 late in the first quarter, but Nick Schmidt stuck a '3' at the buzzer, making it 10-6 after eight minutes. The Huskies continued to be smart with the ball and hung around in the second quarter, before back-to-back 3-pointers from Luke Hennessy and Alex Curtin gave the Huskies their first lead at 23-22.
After heading to the break down by four, Olean scored the first five points of the second half and led 31-30 early in the third. But after a 7-0 run from East which included five points from Domonique House, the Panthers began to take control of things. East built on a six point lead after three, with a 10-2 run to open the final quarter and put the game way. Oden scored eight of his points in the fourth quarter that saw East up by as many as 15 points.
Olean got 12 points from 6-6 freshman Sam Eckstrom in the loss.
Class A2 Semifinal - Riverside 58, Cheektowaga 42
Justice Feggans scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Willie Jefferson scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, to lead Riverside to the Class A2 final. They will face East on Saturday at 3:30 pm, a team that owns two regular season wins over them in Yale Cup play.
The Frontiers trailed the Warriors by one at the end of the first quarter, but a 17-9 second quarter put them up 28-21 at halftime. Riverside began the second half with an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 39-23. Cheektowaga could only get back to within ten points before Feggans and Jefferson took over late in the game to squash any hopes the Warriors had of getting back into the game.
Brandon Nance scored 16 points for the Warriors in his final game with Cheektowaga.
Let us know what you thought about the games in the comments section below.
-centercourt
How is it possible Buff State yesterday didn't have pizza? We were told 'we can't get the oven working'....I said 'did u call someone 2 look at it?' and was told 'I don't know'....every year it's something. It's not that hard. Make the pizza, then sell it when it's ready. Last year we were told 'we can't sell it until the Hot Dogs r gone'....I am laughing my ASS off as I type this but sad 2 say this is all 100% true.
I was VERY VERY impressed with Olean's kids. Book a room 4 them in Glens 2012, 2013, 2014...assuming of course that the world doesnt' end on December 21st 2012 (google the date if u live under a rock!)
Posted by: McShea is God | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 01:56 AM
Congrats to both Newfane and Wilson on wins the last two days. The N-O is well represented once again with very good chances to win sectional titles for the third year in a row...
Also, very impressed with the young Olean group. Coach Anastasia does a great job.
Good Luck to the rest of the teams!
Posted by: Justin Gerstung | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Olean certainly looks to be a state power in the coming years, particularly because they will move back down to B next year.
I see the third East/Riverside meeting as being far closer than their previous match up. Riverside has to have the most confidence right now since they beat Joe's and have shown that they have reverted back to playing strong defense. East still provides them with match up problems but I still see this game as finally being an A-2 final that could both be close and enjoyable to watch. That hasn't been the case for the middle game on sectional Saturday for a number of years.
I see Wilson going through over Cass. Valley...they are fairly similar teams, in that their strength's are both in their guard play, but I feel Wilson's guards do just about everything a little better. Cass. Valley has some size, but do not really utilize any post up opportunities in the paint.
Posted by: TML1000 | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 01:24 PM
Does anyone else think Ken East has a shot tonight?
Jay Skurski and I might be the only ones there to find out.
Posted by: TML1000 | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 01:30 PM
Great stuff Centercourt as always.Sorry to hear that Buff State is dropping the ball again when it comes to the snack stand. See you on the show Saturday.
Posted by: Tony Caligiuri | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 01:57 PM
This year I believe there is really only one, maybe two teams that can really say they deserved to be at Buff State.
Maryvale certainly deserves to, having gone undefeated but with the funky power points getting the unfortunate draw of Riverside. Man, how talented is Estarfaa?
The other is Will North. How is North more deserving than Lancaster you may ask? North split with Lancaster, beat Jamestown, beat Batavia and towards the end of the year had a convincing win at Clarence, whereas both of Lancaster's wins vs Clarence were close games.
Posted by: Billy Bob | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 02:09 PM
Hey, Billy Bob. North had its chance to make it to Buff St. — and lost. They beat Jamestown without Paige and that Batavia win looks less impressive now that Batavia was crushed/ousted by Aquinas in Sec. 5.
Meanwhile, I also was impressed by young Olean. The East kids weren't exactly beating their chests after that game... had the look of "whew" after the game was over. Just an impression...
Posted by: Hoopsview | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 02:32 PM
If Maryvale deserved to be at Buff State, then they should have beat Riverside...at home nonetheless.
Posted by: StateChamps2003 | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 03:15 PM
Billy Bob -
Funky power points? Riverside finished 8-6 in the Yale Cup. The eighth seed seems pretty appropriate for a near .500 club.
How talented is Estarfaa? Extremely, and he's also a great kid.
Interesting spin you put on Will North and Lancaster. Here's mine:
North's wins over Batavia and Lancaster were in December. Since January, North went 8-5 while Lancaster was 9-3.
North lost 3 of its last 4, while Lancaster is on a five game win streak.
Lancaster won the most recent meeting with North, by nine.
Lancaster had two very good showings against a Jamestown team at full strength.
North won at Clarence by 15, Lancaster won at Clarence by 10, for whatever that's worth.
Every team at Buffalo State deserves to be there, because they all had to win to get there.
Posted by: centercourt | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 03:31 PM
Ha...the "deserved" stuff in ridiculous.
You could make the case for a slew of teams with that logic...Ken West, Wil East, Amherst, Lew-Port, etc.
Something I find funny is that during the season, there is so much banter and "what if" regarding the polls, but once it gets to sectional time, the polls are a mere formality of the teams who are still playing. Just something I really find as contradictory.
Posted by: TML1000 | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 04:22 PM
Buff St. has added Tim Hortons this year, though. However, they are apparently not authorized to sell them in the roll up the rim cups.
Posted by: TML1000 | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 04:24 PM
The Riverside/Maryvale was a well played, loosely officiated game. Both team played hard to get to Buff state and only one can go.The top 3 teams in A-2 were East, Riverside, and Maryvale. One was not going to make it. The coin toss goes in favor of Riverside, Then they are playing East or if Riverside do not loose to Mckinley in the last 5 seconds, they are a higher seed. That is how it works sometimes it the luck(?) of the draw.
Posted by: Butters | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 04:39 PM
Lancaster won its game at home vs North, while North won at home vs Lancaster
Posted by: Just a correction | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 04:41 PM
Billy Bob must be from either Will North or Ken West Area.. Good luck to ALL teams that made it to Buff State...
Posted by: basketballfan | Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 05:45 PM
Here's a thought on the location of the Class C games. Does anyone else think that the semi-finals and finals should be moved back to Buffalo State? Or even possibly moving tomorrow's finals to Buffalo State?
This year, 6 of the 17 Class C teams are within the city of Buffalo, including 3 of the top 4 seeds. The number of city schools is more than what it was back when Class C finals WERE held at Buffalo State. I think Section 6 should consider moving these games back to Buffalo State considering that the last two years, the top seeds were from the city and virtually playing away games.
The hour and half drive to Jamestown is pretty unneccesary considering both teams could take a 15 minute drive to Buffalo State. Considering the financial status of the state, you would think they would be looking for any way to cut corners and save some money. Well, tomorrow would be an opportunity.
Posted by: StateChamps2003 | Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 11:50 AM
lakawana didnt win by very much to bad vinny bomasuto couldnt play his game. Things would have been different.
Posted by: BEAUTIFUL | Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 07:08 PM
lackawana didnt win by very much to bad vinny bomasuto couldnt play his game it would have been a different ball game.
Posted by: BEAUTIFUL | Thursday, March 03, 2011 at 07:25 PM