A new holiday tradition has begun in the Williamsville community - the Five Guys Tournament hosted by Williamsville North. This year was the third annual tournament and it's a new tradition the Spartans basketball program hopes will stick. And in keeping with tradition, the Spartans made sure the result remained the same - the championship trophy stays on Hopkins Road.
Ten seconds after Nicholas Clough struck from downtown to put his Flames in front, 3-2, North's Dylan Lambert drilled his own from beyond the arc to put the Spartans back on top - and it would be for good. Williamsville North led the final 29 minutes of the Five Guys Tournament championship game and came away with a 77-55 victory over district rival Williamsville East.
Maceo Jack earned Tournament MVP honors, after scoring 41 points over the two games. His points came in a variety of ways - from pull up jumpers to knifing through the defense to get to the rim, from converting three-point plays to dropping 3-pointers. And of course, there were dunks - none as exciting as the one he put down in transition courtesy of a perfect lob tossed by teammate Dylan Lambert. Jack rose up above the defense and used both hands to stuff the ball through the bending breakaway rim.
Another candidate for the MVP had to have been Lambert, who also had a heck of a performance, scoring 34 points in the two games, including a team-high 20 points in the title victory over the Flames. Many of those tournament points came on 3-pointers, seven in all, with five bombs coming against Williamsville East. But Lambert is far more to the Spartans than just a 3-point threat, he has become a heady team-leader who takes care of the ball, defends, and makes timely plays for North when they need them. One example would be at the end of the first half when Williamsville East had cut a 16-point Spartan lead to seven with an 11-2 run. Lambert had his number called after a North timeout and got to the charity stripe, where he sank both tosses. On the ensuing possession for the Flames, which was to be the last of the half, Lambert perfectly timed a steal by stepping in front of a pass and heading the other direction. He finished the play and the half with a #BOOM, rising up and flushing it with two-hands to send his squad to the break with a 33-22 lead.
The closest Williamsville East got in the second half was within five points midway through the third quarter. One of Lambert's five treys spurred a 7-2 North spurt that put them back up by ten. Chad Steinwachs turned in a big second half for the Spartans, scoring 12 of his 14 points over the final 16 minutes and helping to thwart any thoughts Williamsville East had of getting back into the game.
Point guard Sean Hill had a beautiful finish for North in the fourth quarter and finished with six points, but his contributions went far beyond scoring. Hill's energy on both ends of the court sets a tone for his team, but he's also the one who directs the Spartan sets and knows when to settle his squad. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the ovation Jeffery Calderon drew from the Green Squall when he entered the game and promptly drained a pair of treys, or that Sam Cimato scored five points & looked good.
In all a great team effort from North to win this tournament over the field they competed against (Will East, Pittsford Sutherland, & St. Mary's), maybe its best showing of the season. The Spartans improved to 5-2 on the season, heading back into league play, which starts off the New Year with a pair of home contests against Clarence (Tues 1/6) and then the big one, Jamestown on Thursday, January 8th.
Clough scored a game-high 23 points for Williamsville East in the loss, while Cort Williams added 15 points.
Pittsford Sutherland defeated St. Mary's, 63-57, in the consolation game. Takal Molson led the Lancers with 21 points.
-centercourt
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