(Middle College's Gary Foster and the rest of the Kats are back in the Far West Regional / Photo by Harry Scull)
Williamsville South 52, Amherst 42
Greg Dolan's basket in the closing seconds of the opening quarter gave the Billies the lead for good, as South earned a return trip to the Far West Regional in Class A. The Billies will take on Batavia at 7 pm on Saturday night at Buff State, with a trip to Glens Falls on the line.
South used a 12-2 run that began on Dolan's last basket of the first quarter, to take control of the Tigers, gaining a 23-14 lead by the midway point of the second quarter. The Tigers would never get any closer than three points for the rest of the game.
Dolan scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the final stanza after the Billies took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. Amherst got within five points with 2:41 remaining, but South extended its lead after that, with Dolan and Matt Foster hitting key free throws and Ryan Philipps converting a key basket late.
South's defense was spectacular throughout - a consistent team effort carrying out a well-devised game plan.
"They did a good job of keeping us out of the paint," said Amherst coach Chris Kensy. "We beat one guy, there would be another guy we’d have to go through. That goes to their disciplined defense and hard work."
Dolan opened the game guarding TC Brown, who scored 17 points, but was largely held in check. Cody Sanford also drew that assignment for the Billies, and the fellow sophomore teammate of Dolan's did not disappoint, working hard to remain in position and adding to the frustration the South defense was able to present.
Philipps had the game's most courageous performance, sharing time with Matt Foster (12 points), as the two were charged with covering Amadi Ikpeze. Philipps gave up significant size, but still embraced the challenge as he, along with Foster, actively defended the post and denied entry passes. Ikpeze scored just three times from the field in the game.
This was probably more special because it's a rivalry and we don't really play them," South coach Gabe Michael said. "Everyone around Williamsville and Amherst wanted this game. It was definitely more sweet because of the rivalry"
Point Totals
South: Greg Dolan 19, Matt Foster 12, Graham Dolan 7, Myles Hall 6, Jordan Buell 6, Ryan Philipps 2
Amherst: TC Brown 17, Amadi Ikpeze 11, Nathan Woldu 6, Nick Foster 3, Jaylin Rose 3, Brian Fulford 2
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Olean 54, Fredonia 45
The Huskies defeated CCAA I league rival Fredonia for a third time this season, to earn a trip to the Class B Far West Regional against Wellsville at Buff State, on Saturday at 3:30 pm. This will be the eighth trip to the state quarterfinals in the last ten seasons. The Huskies have reached this point in each of the last eight seasons they have been classified as a 'B' school.
Ben Eckstrom scored nine of his 17 points for Olean in the opening quarter, as the Huskies came out firing and built a 20-12 lead after eight minutes. After a 3-pointer from Monty Shoemaker (10 points) pushed the lead to 23-12 to start the second frame, the Hillbillies scored the next six points over a very defensive stanza and were about to head into the locker rooms down 23-18, when Eckstrom scored just the second field goal of the quarter - but an important one - a 3-pointer as the half expired, giving the Huskies a 26-18 lead.
Elijah Ramadhan heated up in the second half, scoring 15 of his 17 points over the final 16 minutes, allowing Olean to take a double figure lead into the fourth quarter. The cushion was important, as the Hillbillies kept coming, to the tune of four 3-pointers from Jarod Burmaster, who led the way with a game-high 19 points in the loss. Fredonia got as close as six points in the fourth, but scores from Eckstrom & Ramadhan, along with a pair of free throws by Jake Cavana, restored a 10-point Olean lead.
“Fredonia is a very good team, very well coached,” Huskies coach Jeff Anastasia said.
Point Totals
Olean: Elihah Ramadhan 17, Ben Eckstrom 17, Monty Shoemaker 10, Jake Cavana 7, Derek Schmidt 3
Fredonia: Jarod Burmaster 19, Patrick Moore 10, Michael Pucci 8, Eric Swoyer 3, Lucas Voss 3, Jovany Ruiz 2
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Middle College 69, Olmsted 62
After seeing its season end in Rochester last season, Middle College has endured a season of high expectations and returned to the Far West Regional in Class C for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. The Kats will face a team similar to them, Early College, at Buff State on Saturday, with a trip to Glens Falls hanging in the balance.
The senior laden squad from Yale Cup I received balanced contributions from all five starters and its sixth man. Four players finished in double figures for the Kats, as Jojo Staton & Billy Rivera scored 14 points, while Gary Foster & Amir Jemes added 13 points each. Brian Johnson came off the Middle College bench for a change and gave his team a nine point effort.
Foster wowed the crowd with a second quarter dunk, and added a pair of long assists to a streaking Jemes in transition.
"Gary passes the ball very well - it's one of the things he does best," said Middle College coach Randy Rich.
Middle College led by eight points after one quarter and increased to a 13-point lead in the second quarter, before a 10-2 run to close the half got Olmsted to within five points. After enjoying their finest quarter in the third and taking a 52-38 lead into the final stanza, the Kats' lead stretched to 16 points midway through the fourth.
Olmsted's Brandon Roach, who finished with a game-high 29 points, wasn't ready to concede with his Owls facing their largest deficit. The senior scored 17 of his points over the game's final four minutes, and twice had his team within four points with under two minutes remaining.
Despite being less than thrilled with the overall performance of his team, Rich summed up why his team has a good chance to keep their run going and make a fourth appearance at Glens Falls since 2014.
"They're very talented," said Rich.
"We've got to jump on teams early, we got to execute our plays, we got to run the fast break," Foster said. "We can't have those close games, because when we get to running, we're up."
Point Totals
Middle College: Jojo Staton 14, Billy Rivera 14, Gary Foster 13, Amir Jemes 13, Brian Johnson 9, Lorenzo Truitt 6
Olmsted: Brandon Roach 29, Master Radford 12, Christian Barnes 9, Carr-Johnson 3, Kaelan Clouser 3, Anthony Mendrysa 2, Parham 4,
-centercourt
I agree with CC that the difference in the South-Amherst game was the game plan and the effectiveness of South’s defense on Amadi Ikpeze and TC Brown. Of note, Matt Foster and Ryan Philipps played behind Ikpeze most of the game as opposed to continually fronting him which other teams did in the 2 games I saw of Amherst this year. Playing behind him did not allow him position for offensive rebounds which in the 2 games I saw made up a lot of his points. In addition, playing behind Ikpeze did not allow many lob passes which he often converts into easy baskets. South put Greg Dolan on Brown but Amherst did not put Brown on Dolan. That key match-up went in South’s favor. With Dolan playing with 2 fouls, Cody Sanford, unconcerned about foul trouble, defended Brown even more aggressively than Dolan including an open court steal that led to a South basket. Without Ikpeze or Brown playing a major factor in the game Amherst just did not have the offensive production to keep up with South.
Posted by: CloseOut | Friday, March 04, 2016 at 12:53 PM