(Sophomore Syquan Ralands finishes inside for Niagara Falls)
For just over three quarters on Tuesday night, Kenmore West kept pace with Niagara Falls in the NFL opener for both teams. But when the Blue Devils got to within a point of the Wolverines early in the fourth quarter after scoring six straight, something happened - a switch flipped - and Falls took over.
Junior guard Qeyion Williams scored eight of his 19 points and collected four of his eight assists over the game's final 6:34, as Niagara Falls broke open a one-point game with a 25-8 run that put Kenmore West away, as they cruised to a 74-56 victory. The win gets the Wolverines off to a 1-0 start in the NFL where they were champs last season, along with North Tonawanda.
"I thought Qeyion took over", Niagara Falls coach Sal Constantino said following the game. "It was the first time I've seen him be that really aggressive guy that we can be good with".
A pair of free throws earned on a strong drive to the lane by Williams got the Wolverines going in the fourth quarter. With just under three minutes to play and Falls leading by nine, Williams converted three-point plays on consecutive possessions. Three of his four assists in the final stanza went to Charles Lamar, who scored all 10 of his points during the decisive stretch that lifted NFHS to the win.
The Wolverines fell behind in the early going, giving up eight straight points late in the opening frame, as Kenmore West took a 19-16 lead into the second quarter after repeatedly beating Niagara Falls down the floor for easy baskets in transition.
"Their bigs ran our bigs into the ground early on", Constantino said. "We talked after the first quarter - they had 19 points and I said how many of those were skill baskets".
Falls saw the tempo slow in the second quarter, which actually worked to their advantage. Marquise Miller, Daquan Hubbard, and Jhamir Isom all connected from downtown against the Blue Devils' zone as the Wolverines took a nine-point lead in the last minute of the half, before bailing out a desperation 3-point attempt by the Blue Devils that allowed them to add two points to their score with zeros on the clock, making it 35-28 at the break.
Kenmore West began the third quarter with a trey from Tal James that sparked on a 13-5 run. Tyler Aquilina's 3-pointer with 2:40 left in the third quarter gave West the lead back at 42-40. But after working so hard to regain the lead, it was gone again in just nine seconds, when sophomore Syquan Ralands converted the 'And1'. Three straight baskets from Breon Harris over the next minute got Falls right back to a seven-point lead, 49-42.
"I thought when we just started running offense and made them run offense, we did a better job", Constantino said. "It's good that we can play up tempo, but we're starting to see we can play in the half court when we have to".
I asked Constantino for his thoughts on his team's start to the game, falling behind early after such a strong showing over the weekend in the Cataract City Classic against top competition.
"It was one of the things we talked about before the game. We've got to bring that intensity like we had this weekend from the get-go", said Constantino. "I want to be the same team every time we step onto the floor".
Coming off strong showings in the Cataract City Classic, Harris and Ralands were both once again difference-makers for the Wolverines. Harris, who displays the type of heart and effort that coaches dream of getting from their players, is not only the best defender on the court every time he's in the game, but he has also taken the offensive aspect of his game to another level. Ralands is a high-energy big man who attacks the glass and runs the floor for Falls, and is already finding the score sheet. His effort earned him a nice breakaway dunk in the second quarter. Harris finished the game with 19 points, his third straight game with team-high honors, while Ralands scored 15 points.
Kenmore West was led by Terrell Ford's 19 points. Aquilina scored 16 points for the Blue Devils, Aaron Tucker finished with 10 points, and James added nine points.
-centercourt
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