(Jordan Nwora turned in a Showcase-high 32 point/17 rebound performance in Park's win over Middle College. Photo by Larry Scheur)
Park 79, Middle College 64
Ethan Cottrell got the 2016 Park season started in style, throwing down a contested one-handed slam & converting the And1 to open the game's scoring. The play would set the tone for a heavyweight Showcase finale between two teams with state championship aspirations this season. Park never trailed in the contest, thanks to a 21-point first half Jordan Nwora, who made it look easy on his way to a 32 point & 17 rebound performance. The Pioneers were without Joe Jones, who will miss a couple weeks due to injury, while the Kats did not have the services of point guard Amir Jemes.
Game MVP - Jordan Nwora
Point Totals
Park: Jordan Nwora 32, Kyle Harris 17, Ethan Cottrell 10, Noah Hutchins 9
Middle College: Fred Foster 24, Billy Rivera 14, Brian Johnson 10, Jojo Staton 9
McKinley 67, St. Francis 52
The Macks opened came right out of the opening tip with their usual trademark speed, intensity, & pressure defense, which often takes teams some time to adjust to. The Red Raiders fell behind by 10 points in the opening quarter, scoring just four points, and were never able to recover. McKinley led by as many as 16 points and never let St. Francis get closer than eight points (which only happened one time) the rest of the way. The Macks started five seniors and looked every bit the part of the McKinley basketball teams that WNY has enjoyed and respected during head coach Zaire Dorsey's tenure. Keyon Johnson, who was injured much of last season, showed a great touch from the perimeter, while Kesean Fisher looked explosive when attacking the basket.
For the Red Raiders, freshman point guard Julian Cunningham is going to be a star. He was smooth handling the ball, strong near the basket, and showed a poise well beyond his years. Senior John Steven Zhu and sophomore Bo Sireika are both high effort players, who kept attacking all game and never allowed McKinley to run away with the game.
Game MVP - Keyon Johnson
Point Totals
McKinley: Keyon Johnson 16, Shaquan Jones 13, Avius Outlaw 11, Raquan Goree 8
St. Francis: John Steven Zhu 16, Julian Cunningham 13
St. Mary's 68, Tapestry 63
The most competitive boys game of the Showcase was between these two top 10 small schools. While the Lancers never trailed in the game and led by as many as nine points on two different occasions, most of the game saw the score separated by just two to four points. Standouts Takal Molson (St. Mary's) and JaQuoine Fogan (Tapestry) each took center stage for their team and at one point, combined to score 16 straight points in the game, with Fogan canning three straight triples. Cam Dunning ran the floor well for the Lancers picked up some points in transition, which was important as Tapestry kept up the pressure all game, which kept the pace moving swiftly.
Game MVP - Takal Molson
Point Totals
St. Mary's: Takal Molson 24, Cam Dunning 14, Joseph Stoj 8, Kayson Hill 7
Tapestry: JaQuoine Fogan 22, Christian Russell 14, Khoron Burton-Ferguson 8
Timon 89, East 54
The Tigers had their talent and depth on full display, as new head coach Des Randall opened his coaching career with a victory over an East team that has won six consecutive titles in Section VI. Timon methodically built a double digit lead before halftime and continued to pour increase its advantage throughout the second half. Joe Harrison was consistent all game and hurt the Panthers with both his shooter's touch and energy. The additions of freshman point guard Juston Johnson, who transferred from West Seneca West after playing varsity there as an eighth grader and Davion Warren from McKinley, allowed Timon to bring junior William Lamar off the bench after starting for two seasons as the floor general. His presence in the game was immediately felt upon checking in, scoring a team-high six points in the opening quarter. The Panthers were typically tough-minded and scrappy, but they are a young squad with just two seniors, and were without one of their top talents in sophomore Moses Hughes.
Game MVP - Joe Harrison
Point Totals
Timon: Joe Harrison 21, Davion Warren 19, Quinton Lamar 17, William Lamar 12
East: Willard Anderson 16, Takeylo Burts 11
Kenmore West 65, Depew 39
The Blue Devils were fired up to start their season and jumped all over Depew in the early going. Before the Wildcats were even able to settle in and deal with the defensive pressure, Kenmore West had raced out to a 31-12 lead in the first 13 minutes, that included four breakaway dunks from Aaron Tucker - three of which he produced off his own steal. Depew found its shot to start the second half, connecting on three treys to open the scoring, two from Ryan Guay and the other from sophomore Chad Biersbach. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 15 points, but junior Tyler Aquilina, who had a good all-round performance for the Blue Devils, scored nine of his 14 points in the second part of the third quarter to re-establish Kenmore West's sizable lead, making it 49-29 heading into the fourth.
Game MVP - Tyler Aquilina
Point Totals
Kenmore West: Tyler Aquilina 14, Aaron Tucker 14, Tal James 11
Depew: Ryan Guay 10, Matt Poblocki 8, Jakob Grant 8
West Seneca East 66, Olmsted 53
The Trojans got 13 first half points from senior guard Ed Radka, along with three treys from Dan Picciano, as they built a 20-point lead on the Owls, leading 42-22 at the break. Olmsted turned up its intensity to start the second half and looked like they wanted to play defense, resulting in a comeback of sorts, as they were able to get back within three points in the third quarter. However, thanks to the all around play and hustle of Dominic Farszmil and good decision making of seniors Radka, Picciano, and Jake Klubek, West Seneca East absorbed the Owl's best shot and then closed out the game in the fourth quarter.
Game MVP - Dominic Farszmil
Point Totals
West Seneca East: Ed Radka 22, Dan Picciano 15, Dominic Farszmil 10
Olmsted: Brandon Roach 17, Christian Barnes 12, Master Radford 8
**Tournament director Paul Santora was delighted to be able to present the David Cooper Memorial Scholarship to West Seneca East's Ed Radka, who Santora said was a very well deserving recipient for the award and a great kid. Santora took over as tournament director following the unexpected and sudden passing of his brother-in-law, David Cooper three years ago.
-centercourt
Observations from the MEC/Park game:
- Nwora is a player. My preseason pick for WNY POY. He does it all, shoots, drives, rebounds, plays smart defense and his size is a problem for most opposition. Foster looked lost trying to guard him.
- Speaking of Foster...probably the most talented player on the court last night but probably the laziest as well. Constantly the last person up the court on offense, never boxes out, one too many times caught standing on defense with his hands on his hips, stands bout 30 feet from the hoop calling for the ball when he could easily be working in the post for easy buckets and maybe, possibly, getting the other teams players in foul trouble and getting easy points from the line. The one play he did get the ball in the post, guess what happened...an easy bucket.
- Is it just me or do coaches not have their players spend enough time practicing free throws. All game (and all tournament for that matter) kids were missing free throws.
- Nwora might be the best player on Park but Anderson and Harris make that team go. Great tenacity, b-ball IQ and they let the game come to them.
Posted by: StateChamps2003 | Friday, December 04, 2015 at 03:36 PM