(The View From Centercourt at Depew, site of the 2015 ADPRO Public/Private Challenge)
St. Joe's 63, Niagara Falls 62
Trailing by 10 points with just over five minutes left in the game, the Marauders used a 14-3 run that included an 8-1 finish in the last two minutes, to complete a thrilling comeback in the night cap of Thursday's ADPRO Public/Private Challenge. Nick Motley sank a pair of free throws for St. Joe's with 27 seconds left to tie the game at 61-61. On the ensuing Falls possession, Motley earned a steal and took it the other direction, where he finished a layup with five seconds left to give the Marauders a 63-61 lead, their first of the second half. The Wolverines had a chance to tie the game with no time left on the clock and a pair of charity tosses, but only connected on one.
"I think Nick Motley stepped up," St. Joe's coach Mark Simon said, amidst praise from the effort he received from several of his players.
The Marauders finished the opening quarter on a 12-4 spurt to lead 14-11 after one. A 7-0 run by the Wolverines got them back in front in the second quarter, and they took a 27-25 lead into halftime. Breon Harris had a big third quarter for Niagara Falls, scoring 11 of his 13 points, as Falls built a 10-point lead by dictating a fast-paced tempo that they excel at.
"I didn't like the tempo," Said Simon. "We didn't make shots, didn't rebound, and you know they're just too good - they were leaking three guys. I tried to slow it down with some subbing and situational substitutions."
Perhaps most impressive was how St. Joe's stopped the Wolverines from scoring in the fourth quarter, after Falls had put up 32 points over the 10 minutes prior.
"The 2-3 gave them a little trouble and we handled their press better and didn't really turn the ball over over those last six minutes," Simon noted.
Point Totals
St. Joe's: Nick Motley 18, Naseer Jackson 17, Anthony Brophy 10, Mike Telesco 7, Hunter Dimitroff 5, Caleb Cockrell 4, Jack Capen 2
Falls: Qeyion Williams 16, Syquan Ralands 15, Breon Harris 13, Jhamir Isom 7, Charles Lamar 6, Cortese Myles 3, Daquan Hubbard 2
******
Kenmore West 69, Nichols 40
Trailing by 13 points at halftime, the Vikings put together a solid third quarter to climb back into the game. Nichols outscored the Blue Devils, 14-8 in the quarter that ended with a trey from TJ Banaszak at the buzzer, to pull within seven points. However, Kenmore West dominated the final eight minutes of the game and won in a blowout. Tyler Aquilina splashed a '3' to open the scoring in the final stanza for Kenmore West. The trey spurred an 18-2 run that included traditional three-point plays from Terrell Ford, Aaron Tucker, and Tal James. West won the fourth quarter, 27-5, to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Point Totals
Kenmore West: Terrell Ford 15, Aaron Tucker 15, Tyler Aquilina 11, Tal James 11, Carson Gaughan 5, Tyler White 3
Nichols: Marcellus Cooper 15, Will Johnson 9, TJ Banaszak 5, Ted Roach 4, Harrison Serotte 4
******
CCA 55, Holland 41
After a competitive opening quarter, the Dutchmen were outscored in the second, 20-4, and trailed by 21 at halftime. Holland worked hard offensively to find good shots, but struggled to score with any consistency. CCA connected from beyond the arc nine times in the game. Daniel Scott scored a game-high 26 points for CCA and displayed a tremendous all around game.
Point Totals
CCA: Daniel Scott 26, Patrick Ranallo 8, Dwight Simpson 8, Billy Gummo 7, Josh Tyson 3
Holland: Cody Slocum 11, EJ Staniszewski 10, Laine Husman 7, Jacob Ratajczak 5, Trevor Reisdorf 4, AJ Perlino 4
-centercourt
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