Midway through the opening stanza of the Class A2 quarterfinal between Lew-Port and Cheektowaga, the Warriors had raced out to a 13-point lead. It would ultimately be the margin of victory that would send the defending sectional champs back to where they claimed last year's prize, Buff State. But before the Warriors could celebrate, they needed a gut check, because the Lancers were far from finished after falling behind early.
Cheektowaga started strong and finished strong, punching its ticket back to Buffalo State for the Class A2 semifinals with a 64-51 victory over visiting Lew-Port on Friday. The victory sets up a sixth meeting in two seasons with ECIC III rival Amherst, the team the Warriors knocked off to hoist the hardware last season. They will tip at 7:45 pm on Thursday night.
In the game's opening minute, Zak Ciezki and Dominick Welch each scored, a sign of things to come early. Cheektowaga's dynamic duo combined for 15 of the Warriors 25 first quarter points, as they raced out to the early 25-7 lead after one quarter. The first eight minutes saw a pair of dunks from Welch within 30 seconds and treys from three different Warriors.
"We obviously wanted to jump on them and play that fast pace as much as we can and we did that", Cheektowaga coach Pat Cullinan said.
Less than two minutes into the second quarter, Cheektowaga extended to its largest advantage of the contest, 29-7, on a bucket from Stephan Parker. Lew-Port coach Matt Bradshaw then made a switch to man defense, which also seemed to be a license for the Lancers to play more inspired, which they immediately did. Jenard Jackson scored to kick off nine straight points for Lew-Port, that included a 3-pointer from Jordan Willard, and baskets from Craig Paige and Donald Allender, to make it 29-16.
"They made that switch to man and we reverted back to some old habits", Cullinan said.
The Warriors seemed to adjust to the new scheme, as Ciezki and Welch each found the basket again around the middle of the second quarter, and with just two minutes left before halftime, Cheektowaga led 35-18. But just as it seemed they might run away with the game, Lew-Port changed the entire complexion of the contest in a two-minute spurt. Allender and Paige each filled the rim, followed by another Willard '3'. Paige then scored again off a Cheektowaga turnover, before Jackson closed the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Suddenly, a 12-0 scoring surge had the Lancers knocking on the door, down just 35-30, as the teams ran off to the locker rooms.
"They stepped it up intensity wise and played better in man, no question", said Cullinan. "That 12-0 run killed us at the end of the half".
The third quarter saw the pace of the game slow and quickly became a more even, back-and-forth affair. Welch got things started with a swish from downtown to get his team back up by eight points. Midway through the third, Lew-Port got a pair of baskets from Jackson and another from Allender to get within two points. Welch and Allender traded scores in the final minute of the quarter, and the team's headed into the crucial final frame, separated by just two points, 42-40.
"It took a little bit for us to get a gut check and answer the bell", said Cullinan. "We said to them in the huddle, guys, we've lost two in a row (quarters). We won the first and now we've got to win the fourth , and we've got to win it convincingly".
That was exactly what they did. Cheektowaga won the final quarter, 22-11. They were able to extend the lead back to double figures midway through the fourth, capitalizing on Lancer misses by attacking the basket. Cheektowaga got to the line repeatedly in the fourth and hit 10 of 12 attempts in the first portion of the quarter to go back up 56-44. The Lancers never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Welch finished with a game-high 23 points, while Ciezki scored 18 points for the Warriors.
Paige finished with a team-high 15 points. Jackson and Willard each scored 11 points, while Allender added 10 points and the type of effort that stands out to everyone in attendance with the way he worked inside all evening.
-centercourt
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