(Park's Dan Scott delivers the #BOOM heard throughout Buffalo on Thursday night / Photo: Larry Scheur)
Park 72, East 39
The question of where Dan Scott would play basketball this season was batted around Buffalo all summer. The Pioneers were delighted to be the team he chose to ball with, and on Thursday night in the finale of the 31st Annual Pastor-Cooper Showcase, fans got to witness first hand what all the buzz was about. Scott dished, defended, dropped treys, and delivered a thundering #BOOM that literally brought fans out of their seats and sent Daemen College into a brief frenzy. The sophomore, who already has an offer from Canisius College, finished with a game-high 26 points and earned Game MVP honors in the process.
"He gets like that, he'll just get hot," Park coach Michael Battaglia said. "He's got the whole package."
East hung around with the loaded Monsignor Martin squad that competes in Class A during the first half, thanks to a concerted effort on defense and the play of Willard Anderson offensively, who had 12 points of his team-high 19 points by halftime with his team trailing the Pioneers, 31-22.
Park put the game away in the third quarter with a 28-12 surge, led by Scott's 12 points in the stanza that included back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot, in the same minute, with the same result - swish! Late in the quarter, freshman Jaylen Stewart checked in and immediately showed off flashes of his skill set, by shaking his defender with a jab step and behind-the-back dribble, before burying a trey with the space his move created.
Joe Jones was a major presence inside and kept the Panthers from finishing in the paint all evening. Jones scored 13 points in the win and bent the rim on a pair of scores. Brandon Smith continued his solid play from last weekend, giving the Pioneers energy at both ends and scoring nine points.
Jerry Cooper Game MVP - Dan Scott (Park)
Point Totals
Park: Dan Scott 26, Joe Jones 13, Brandon Smith 9, Quentin Nnagbo 6, Noah Hutchins 5, Marques Lowe 5, Jaylen Stewart 3, Jordan Gompah 2, John Orogun 2, Cam Hennings 1
East: Willard Anderson 19, Justin Allen 10, Waunya Shaw 8, Anthony Stevens 2
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McKinley 55, Kenmore West 52
The Macks played their season-opener with a roster unfamiliar to casual fans, after graduating four starters from last season's Class A1 Finalist team. In the end, it didn't matter what the names were, they played McKinley basketball and closed out a hard fought game against a fun & fast Blue Devils squad.
Deon Spencer scored a team-high 18 points for Mack High, while Davonti Wardlaw, the team's lone returning starter, finished with 13 points and took Game MVP honors with an all around performance that pointed to him being the team leader. Kenmore West got a combined 35 points from its one-two punch of Tyler Aquilina & Tal James, with Aquilina finishing with a game-high 20. Those were all earned points, as the Macks were clearly aware he needed their attention defensively throughout.
"Tyler is a good player, I knew he was going to score and be the player they looked to," McKinley coach Zaire Dorsey said.
The game featured 12 lead changes and five ties. A 6-0 run in the third quarter by McKinley was the biggest scoring stretch eith team enjoyed after halftime, and was ultimately what gave the Macks the space they needed to earn the victory. After breaking a 30-30 tie to go up 36-30, McKinley never trailed again. The Blue Devils pulled on two occasions in the final frame and had life late in the game when the Macks missed some scoring opportunities early in the shot clock, but never managed a late lead.
"Second half, we didn't play as smart as we wanted to down the stretch," Dorsey said. "We're going to have to drill in their heads how important it is to share the ball, to know where the best shooter is on the court. There's a lot of work we have to do, but it's a group of new players."
Eight different players scored for Kenmore West and the team was without the services of a pair of its players in the regular eight-man rotation.
Jerry Cooper Game MVP - Davonti Wardlaw (McKinley)
Point Totals
McKinley: Deon Spencer 18, Davonti Wardlaw 13, Kavon Rogers 8, Joe Johnson 6, Emir Evans 6, Nakye Booze 4
Kenmore West: Tyler Aquilina 20, Tal James 15, Kyle LaPlante 5, Dylan James 4, Kevin Carpenter 2, Tyler White 2, Erick Rainey 2, Jake Poummit 2
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CCA 68, JFK 54
The Bears won the second half and only lost the opening stanza by one point, but it was an onslaught in the second quarter that made up the difference for CCA in the victory. The Crusaders dialed up the defense in the eight minutes before halftime, which led to some quick scores and a decisive 25-9 stanza.
"I changed defense and I think we found the right matchups," CCA coach Sil Dan said. "We put a lot of pressure on them, my guys turned it up a level and played really hard."
Josh Tyson scored 12 of his game-high 31 points in the second quarter, but was excellent all game. Ben Lekeuneu steered the vehicle for the Crusaders and was in control from his position at the point, repeatedly setting up his team with scoring chances. In the second half, JFK employed a triangle & two on the pair. That defense ended up demonstrating the basketball savvy of the pair, as neither forced anything and continually made good decisions against the extra defensive attention. Jared Moser benefitted for CCA, finding the space to knock down four second half 3-pointers and finishing with 12 points. Daniel Tyson added 10 points of the bench for the Crusaders.
"I think Ben and JT (Tyson) are tough matchups for a lot of guys," Dan said. "Ben is one of the quickest guards I've had."
The Bears got a balanced scoring effort, with four players finishing in double figures. Jordan Snyder led the way with 14 points, Nick Baker scored 13 points, while Brandon Kohl finished with 12 and Connor Ricotta added 10. JFK will benefit from the return of a couple key players later in the season.
Jerry Cooper Game MVP - Josh Tyson (CCA)
Point Totals
CCA: Josh Tyson 31, Jared Moser 12, Ben Lekeuneu 8, Daniel Tyson 8, Zach Miller 6, Alex Fink 3
JFK: Jordan Snyder 14, Nick Baker 13, Brandon Kohl 12, Connor Ricotta 10, Dalton Fischer 5
-centercourt
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