The first 60 seconds couldn't have gone any better for the Spartans. Junior sensation Sterling Taplin blocks the opening shot attempt of the game taken by Jamestown's Tommy Campion. David Berkun streaks the other way and Taplin delivers a pass in stride for the assist. After a stop, BANG, Taplin bombs a '3', and it's 5-0 North. Would this be another dominant showing from the Spartans? Not if the Jamestown bigs had anything to say about it...and they had a lot to say.
The Red Raiders looked inside early, stayed with a good thing, and eventually pulled away from the Spartans, winning the highly anticipated rematch of ECIC I foes, 55-46. If Jamestown wins the remainder of its league games, they would capture a third straight ECIC I title, lock up the top seed in Class AA, and avoid a potential semifinal game against top ranked Niagara Falls.
After the quick start from North, the Red Raiders scored eight straight in response, taking the lead and forcing a momentum squelching timeout. By the end of the first quarter, the teams were locked at 13. Williamsville North sank three treys in the quarter (Taplin 2, Berkun), while Jamestown got 11 of its 13 points from the towering tandem of sophomore Branden Kellam and junior Quinn Lee Yaw.
Aman Washington drained a pair from downtown for the Spartans in the second quarter, to offset another six points from Kellam. The teams were still llocked in a tie, 21-21, until Tommy Campion scored his first points of the evening, a 3-pointer with just two seconds left in the half, to give Jamestown a 24-21 advantage at intermission.
After being held scoreless in the second quarter, Taplin scored the first four points of the third quarter to give the Spartans a one-point lead, 25-24. It would be the last time Williamsville North held an edge on the scoreboard.
Jamestown used a 10-0 run to gain some separation from the Spartans. Campion collected back-to-back buckets to spur the surge, followed by a transition basket from Zack Panebianco. Then, Kellam and Lee Yaw put an exclamation point on the run. First, Kellam zinged a halfcourt pass to Lee Yaw, who got up high and finished with authority. On the next trip down the court, Lee Yaw flipped a slick pass inside to Kellam, who finished nicely. Suddenly it was 34-25 Jamestown, the same nine-point advantage the Red Raiders would have at the final buzzer. North was never able to get any closer than six points the rest of the way.
With 2:33 remaining in the game, Taplin popped a 3-pointer, drew a foul, and converted a four-point play. Shortly after, it was announced that the '3' had boosted Taplin into the record books. He became the all-time leading scorer at Williamsville North, in just his junior season, surpassing Darren Brown's mark of 1,318 points that has stood since 1986.
Kellam finished with a career-high 25 points and also grabbed eight boards. Campion and Panebianco each added nine points, while Lee Yaw scored eight points to go with his 16 rebounds. Jamestown held a distinct advantage on the glass in the game, outrebounding North, 38-20.
Taplin's team-high 20 points paced Williamsville North, while Berkun scored 11 points and Washington added nine points.
-centercourt
Congradulations to Sterling Taplin on becoming The Spartans all time leading scorer last night. May he continue to blossom as a player and floor leader for the green and white.
Let's be thankful that some of the rumors and suggestions about transfering out of Will North, and onto one of the private schools, offered up by a regular contributor to this blog through the years, never came to fruition.
A carreer mark of 2,000 pts is within reach, go and get it.
Posted by: Walter W | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 05:09 PM
He's having a fine career at North but who is to say he would not have had a spectacular career elsewhere. Congrats Tap on grabbing the North record!
Posted by: Gus Buster | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 08:00 PM
True enough Gus Buster, but there is another side to that coin, and he also could have ended up somewhere that limited his attempts and prevented him from being the player he is today.
There are teams that run motion offences, with poor spacing that become very predictable, and are easy for upper echelon teams to defend. In that type of offence his 3 point and drive to the basket attempts would have been severely limited, cutting gravely into his point total opportunities.
North has been the right place for Sterling to begin and end his carreer.
Posted by: Walter W | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 08:13 PM
If all goes well it will be great to see Sterling go over 2000 points for his career next year and be among some of the best hs players in western NY history. I never thought he would transfer to a MMA school, like the rumors would have had you believe. In a world of Lebron James and Dwight Howards, its nice to see Sterling remain loyal and play out his career at Wil North.
Posted by: Mr. Hoops | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 09:02 PM
Nice win for Jamestown, shows they can win with the bigs leading the way and Campion in a complimentary role. Kellam and Yaw were to big and athletic. Also speaks to Campion's unselfishness and putting team first. If North is going to advance at Buff State they need to get more from bench and down low. Attea is the only one contributing down low, not sure that they received any contributions from bench.
Posted by: PJB | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 09:03 PM
There just wouldn't be a point in Sterling Taplin going to any of the local privates. He already has an offer from UB, and I'm sure could have one from Bona, Canisius, or Niagara if he wanted. If he wanted to raise his national profile he would be a lot better off transferring out of the area to a highly ranked private or prep school that plays a national schedule. Clearly that's not something he's interested in, and I don't think that says he is "afraid" of competition at all. I've seen some people say he just wants to stay at North and get his points. Maybe he actually LIKES going to school there. HOW DARE HE. Maybe he doesn't want to let down his teammates. RIDICULOUS. Maybe he enjoys being with his friends and the neighborhood he grew up in. UNTHINKABLE. There's a lot more to life than basketball, especially for a 16 or 17 year old kid. He's done so much for Will North and it will be interesting to see how for he can take them come sectional time. He will have plenty of choices when it comes time to make a college decision.
Posted by: wnybball | Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:32 PM
Nothing like watching a Ben Drake coached team. It's a piece of art. They always play hard, run good sets, run good plays when they need a basket and get up and down the court with anyone. Great performance by the sophomore Kellam. He was a force inside and has a bright future.
Only 4 Spartans scored in the game. They need help elsewhere whether down low or off the bench. The other thing that struck me was how often they failed to balance the floor after a shot, which led to at least 5 run outs for the Red Raiders. That's something they need to address. I noticed the same thing with their jv squad. North also had some difficulty with the RR's zone defense. It seemed they too often passed the ball around the perimeter without penetrating the zone. When they did it usually led to some pretty decent looks for their sharpshooters.
I saw the Nichols/St. Mary's game last Friday. Too bad there wasn't much, if anything, written about the game. The game was well played and hotly contested in a back and forth duel between two very good small schools. I'm not sure if the contest between the players or the coaches was more entertaining. The effort was tremendous from both squads. Both coaches made adjustments during the game that helped their teams regain the lead and momentum. I was extremely impressed by the support of the Lancers bench players or as we used to call them in college...the shock troops. They were fully into the game and urged their teammates on the court on at all times. You don't see that often enough and is the hallmark of an excellent team. I would certainly recommend attending the rematch.
Posted by: hoopster | Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 11:39 AM
Taplin will b playing 4 coach Smith at Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson Virginia. It's a done deal for the 2013-2014 season. Now that he has the scoring record and clearly knows his team can't beat Falls this year and won't be Jamestown next year, he decided there is no reason 2 stay. Good luck 2 Taplin next season at Oak Hill.
Posted by: McShea is God | Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 01:21 PM