Anyone who thought the real Class A2 final was last night between East Aurora and Riverside, obviously hadn't seen Amherst play this year. The Tigers looked like the number one seed and played like they belonged at Buffalo State in their first return to the Section VI semifinals since 2007. And that was with the team's leading scorer (Glenn Belton) in street clothes after suffering an injury.
Amherst 63, Cheektowaga 54
The Tigers jumped all over Cheektowaga in the first half and finished it with a flurry of points, to take a 37-18 lead at the intermission. Ed Doherty drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and freshman Dorian Billups also connected on one as Amherst built a comfortable lead late in the half. Johnathan Belton confidently ran the Tigers offense and finished with 14 points. Alex Turecki led Amherst with a game-high 16 points, and along with Jonah Heim, did a great job inside all evening for the victors.
Despite trailing by 18 points entering the fourth, Cheektowaga battled until the final whistle and if the ball had bounced a bit differently, the Warriors may have really threatened in the final minutes. Derek Clyburn led Cheektowaga with 14 points.
East Aurora 49, Riverside 42
Stan Wier scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half, with 13 points of those including three 3-pointers, coming in the decisive fourth quarter. East Aurora held the Frontiers to just three points in the opening quarter to build an early lead, but were outscored in the middle quarters and trailed by three entering the final stanza. It was the biggest victory of the season for the continually improving Blue Devils, as Riverside has been ranked the entire season, while EA has never cracked the top ten. The Blue Devils will now face Amherst this Saturday after spliting during the regular season, losing the most recent meeting in February by two points.
Justice Feggans led Riverside with 15 points, while Mike Leonard finished with 12 points.
CSAT 59, Cleveland Hill 43
Cleveland Hill took an early 6-0 lead, but were unable capitalize in the early momentum. After spending the first quarter on the bench due to a coach's decision, Darnell Carson scored 18 points over the final three quarters and controlled the ball for the Eagles to advance them to their first ever sectional title game. Carson was clutch in the fourth quarter, sinking eight free throws to fend off Cleveland Hill's efforts at climbing back into the game. Justin Black finished with a game-high 22 points for the Eagles, who will face Wilson for a third time this season on Saturday, after picking up their first win in school history over the Lakemen just two weeks ago.
Maple Grove 70, MST Seneca 54
Skylar Liddell scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Alex Grace netted 18 points to go with 11 assists, nine boards, and five steals to lift the Red Dragons past MST Seneca in the Class C2 semifinal at JCC. The Red Dragons finished each of the first three quarters on strong runs (7-0 to end the 1st, 13-2 to end the second, & 8-0 to end the third) to build their lead to 14 points entering the final frame. Maple Grove is amidst a 17-game win streak and advances to its fifth Section VI title game in six seasons. Aaron Frasier finished his career for the Indians with 18 points in the loss.
Silver Creek 68, Portville 64 OT
Last season, 11th seeded Silver Creek upset Portville in the second round of the sectionals and then nearly did the same to Maple Grove in the quarterfinals. This year, Silver Creek was able to sweep the regular season series against Portville and came into JCC hoping for a fourth straight win over the Panthers to earn a rematch from last year's quarterfinal with the Red Dragons.
The Black Knights needed an extra session, but were able to advance to the Class C2 title game against Maple Grove on Friday at 7 pm. Kaine Kettle dropped six 3-pointers on the Panthers, en route to his game-high 22 points. Kettle's biggest shot of the night came with just four seconds on the clock, as the sophomore drained a '3' from the corner to send the game to overtime.
-centercourt
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