(Lew-Port's Jernard Jackson elevates for the game-winner / Photo by Harry Scull @hsjrphoto)
Lew-Port 68, Starpoint 67
Jernard Jackson scored a game-high 29 points, including the game-winner with seven seconds left, to advance the Lancers to the Class A2 Championship against Amherst on Saturday at 3:30 pm.
Starpoint's Christian Nodine broke a tie game with 2:25 remaining, scoring inside to put his team up 65-63. With 54 seconds remaining, Nodine added a pair of free throws that pushed the Spartans lead to 67-63. On the ensuing possession, Jackson drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and proceeded to connect on all three attempts to make it a one-point game with 31 seconds on the clock.
Lew-Port then sent Starpoint to the stripe, where it missed a pair of tosses. After the Spartans secured the rebound off the second miss, they were again fouled and awarded two more free throws. Again, both shots missed the mark. The rebound off the second miss this time would result in a jump ball situation, which gave the Lancers the ball under their own basket, with just 15 seconds left, down one. Jackson took the inbound pass and went coast-to-coast, pulling up on the right side of the baseline and letting the winning shot fly.
Lew-Port coach Matt Bradshaw didn't call a timeout after the jump ball situation, opting to let Jackson work his magic instead.
"Sometimes coaches get in their own way," said Bradshaw. "When you've got a guy like Jernard, are you going to draw up a better play than giving him the ball and letting him create his own shot."
Lew-Port jumped out to 26-11 lead by early in the second quarter, with Jackson and Dawson Bailey (24 points) starting fast for the Lancers.
"I'm surprised we were able to jump out to the lead that we did," Bradshaw said. "They took some outside shots that didn't score and we were able to transition and get some buckets early."
However, by halftime, the Spartans had closed the gap to 10 points, and then made it a five-point game heading into the final stanza. Nodine finished with 27 points and 27 rebounds in a herculean performance on the big stage, refusing to go down without a serious fight. Teammate Brock Kroening was also fierce throughout, finishing with 18 points and adding 15 boards.
"I knew they had a run in them," Bradshaw said. "They're tough, you could see the way they rebounded and chased loose balls that they'd be back in it."
Starpoint coach Ben Scaffidi was classy in defeat, and exuded pride in the group of seniors he will lose after this season - a core that took the program to Buff State in back-to-back seasons, after a 14-year drought.
"They've achieved a ton and did a great job to get us here the last couple of years," said Scaffidi.
Point Totals
Lew-Port: Jernard Jackson 29, Dawson Bailey 24, Dylan Milbrand 7, Donald Allender 4, William Duff 2, Dylan Morissette 2
Starpoint: Christian Nodine 27, Brock Kroening 18, Ben Walters 8, Adam Lasal 7, Derek Clemons 7
*******************************************
Amherst 64, Maryvale 45
TC Brown (23 points) and Amadi Ikpeze (21 points) combined for 69% of Amherst's scoring, as the third ranked large school in WNY advanced to the Class A2 Championship for a fifth straight season. The Tigers will face Lew-Port at 3:30 pm on Saturday.
"A lot of our success is no shock, it goes through those two," said Kensy. "But we have great guys off the bench and I feel our deepest team in my seven years here. It's our fifth straight year we've been there and we only have one sectional championship to show for it...it's our next goal to accomplish the next hurdle."
Maryvale was able to to keep that game at the pace that favored them as the Flyers remained committed to their game plan, but the size, depth, and overall talent of this season's Amherst squad proved too much. The Tigers methodically built their lead over four quarters, gaining the most separation during a third quarter stretch.
Nick Foster spear-headed a 15-2 run for Amherst turned a 13-point lead into a 26-point margin, as he hit a pair of treys during that span, while Brown drained another.
"Nick's our glue guy, but he can also knock down threes," said Kensy.
The Tigers have now won 15 consecutive games and will arrive at the Class A2 final with a 21-1 mark, but anything less than finishing strong just won't cut it for Amherst.
"The group of kids that I have worked very hard all off-season and all season," Kensy said. "One of our sayings is never satisfied."
Point Totals
Amherst: TC Brown 23, Amadi Ikpeze 21, Nick Foster 8, Nathan Woldu 6, Da'Shawn Hines 3, Brian Fulford 2, Jaylin Rose 1
Maryvale: Floyd Remley 10, Ray Blackwell 8, Ted York-Brown 8, Mark Bailey 7, Andrew Crombie 3, Dylan Casey 3, Isaiah Warner 3, Adam Meyerhofer 2, Marcus Ford 1
-centercourt
Comments