(Bill Brooks of Silver Creek shoots over Jared Fish of Salamanca in the 'Game of the Week')
All season long, Silver Creek and Salamanca have been right there with each other. They've been positioned right next to each other in the small school poll. The same thing goes for the state rankings. Both teams have dealt with key injuries. Both entered the year as favorites in Class C1. Both have standout big men. And between the two teams, the prevailing thought has been that one of them would win the league title in a crowded CCAA I East. So last night's game was an easy pick for me as 'Game of the Week'. After two overtimes played out in front of a raucous crowd, on senior night in Silver Creek, the Black Knight's breathtaking one-point victory is in the running for 'Game of the Year'.
Bill Brooks scored a game-high 30 points, collected 17 rebounds, and blocked seven shots, including the one to preserve the win at the buzzer, as Silver Creek escaped with a victory in a wild double overtime affair against Salamanca, 67-66. The win allows the Black Knights to clinch an outright league title if they can prevail over Allegany-Limestone again next week.
One thing I heard from both coaches following the game was how proud they were of their players. And for good reason. Both teams saw the kids in uniform leave everything out on the court - you couldn't have asked for more effort from any player that stepped on the hardwood last night.
The magnitude of the game couldn't have been more obvious right out of the opening tip. Everything was dialed up. The coaches were extra passionate. The fans treated every basket and every missed basket, like it was the one to decide the game. Each possession seemed like a crucial one. In the end, each one was.
The Black Knights owned the game early on. Brooks scored the first five points to get the place rocking. Connor Gates was feeling it at the open and canned back-to-back treys. Silver Creek took a 20-11 lead into the second quarter, and used a 14-0 run to push its lead to 37-15 with 1:55 left before halftime. But rather than crumble under the big game pressure, the Warriors began to show their true character before the game even made it to halftime. They battled for those last two minutes, and cut the deficit down to 13 points with an 11-2 scoring surge, making it 39-26 at the break.
Four minutes into the third quarter, Silver Creek had extended back to a 46-30 advantage by looking to get the ball into the hands of Brooks each trip down the floor. Jared Fish answered the bell for Salamanca, scoring six points over the last four minutes of the third quarter, which also included a '3' from Austin Elliott & a bucket from Tyler Siperek. After three quarters, Salamanca found it self hanging around again, and the game began to feel like it had a long ways to go. It did.
"They switched to man, which caused a little hiccup, & then went back to zone", Silver Creek coach Rob Genco said. "Fish did a nice job of seeing what we were doing and he started cheating over on screens and worked through them".
"We stopped being patient on offense", Genco said. "Once we had a comfortable lead, it was playtime".
For Salamanca, it was crunch time. Trailing 55-43 with five minutes left in regulation, the Warriors went to work. Elliott canned a trey. Siperek buried one as well. Elliott hit one of two free throws. Now, it's 55-50, with 2:43 left.
Jake Lewis scored with 2:25 left to put Silver Creek back up by seven. It would be the last points for the Black Knights in the quarter.
Elliott popped another 3-pointer at the two minute mark for Salamanca. Trailing 57-53, Tate Reynolds turned a steal into a score with 25 seconds left for the Warriors. After Silver Creek missed the front end of the one & one, Salamanca gave the ball to Siperek, who fearlessly drove the lane and finished in traffic to tie it with five seconds. As Genco screamed for a timeout that fell on deaf ears, the Black Knights chucked a long outlet pass to a wide open player under the basket. He missed a shot at the buzzer that would have counted. Oooovertime for the 'Game of the Week'!
Silver Creek took a five-point lead in OT, only to see it evaporate when Fish tied things back up at 62 apiece with a pair of free throws in the last minute. Then he fouled out on the other end. The Black Knights had an inbounds play for Brooks in the last seconds of OT, but with the defense draped on him, he was unable to get the potential game winner off. Double Overtime!
Trailing by a point with 15 seconds left in the second extra session, Brooks scored the go ahead bucket for Silver Creek on a turnaround bank from just outside the paint. The last look for the Warriors came from the far corner, but Brooks leaped into the air and with two hands, sent the shot flying back into the bleachers, landing in his mother's lap.
What a game, and what a way to finish senior night for Brooks, after a stellar career in that gymnasium.
"I'm so proud of him as a person", said Genco. "If you could have heard him on the bench when guys started getting down and pointing fingers, he took control and was a leader, telling them we had to stick together. I didn't have to say anything".
Gates and Trevon Thompson each scored 15 points in the win for Silver Creek.
Fish ended with a team-high 20 points, while Elliott and Siperek each netted 16 points.
-centercourt
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