Class A1 Semifinals 2017: South & NT move on

(Devin Degree & South are back in the Class A1 Final / Photo: Harry Scull,Buff News)

 

Williamsville South  63, McKinley 51

The two-time defending overall Class A champions shook off a sluggish start and methodically built a lead to end McKinley's season for a third straight season and advance to a fourth consecutive Class A1 Final.  The Billies traded leads with the Macks in the opening frame and went into the locker rooms at halftime with a narrow four-point lead.

 

"We didn't do a lot of the things we needed to do in the first half," Williamsville South coach Gabriel Michael said.

 

Dakota Wiley started with the hot hand for the Billies, connecting on a pair of early 3-pointers and scoring 12 of his 20 points in the first half to keep his team ahead.  Greg Dolan heated up early in the second half, piling up 10 points in the third quarter and finishing with 17 of his game-high 26 points in the final two stanzas.

 

"Dakota carried us through the first half and Greg carried us through the second half," Michael said.

 

South created a cushion on the scoreboard with an 9-1 run to open the second half to take a double figure lead.  A three-point play, followed by a 3-pointer from Dolan late in the third quarter got the Billies to their largest lead at 12 points.  McKinley made a run back into the game in the final frame to cut the South lead to just four points, before a trey from Devin Degree sparked a 10-2 burst that sealed the game for the Billies.

 

"That's a good win against that team," said Michael.

 

The Macks were led by Emir Evans and Kavon Rogers, who scored 13 & 12 points respectively in the loss.

 

McKinley    11 - 12 - 10 - 18 = 51

Will South  11 - 16 - 18 - 18 = 63

 

Point Totals

Will South:   Greg Dolan 26, Dakota Wiley 20, Cody Sanford 5, Devin Degree 5, Mark Worthy 5, Adam Braniecki 2

McKinley:  Emir Evans 13, Kavon Rogers 12, Nakye Booze 11, Davonti Wardlaw 7, Deon Spencer 6, Jaylon Windsor 2

 

********          ********          ********    

 

North Tonawanda  64, Grand Island 34

The Jacks bolted out to a 16-2 lead on fellow Niagara Frontier League foe Grand Island and never allowed the Vikings to make a game out of it, advancing to the Class A1 Final for a second time in three seasons under head coach Ryan Mountain.  The commitment and execution of North Tonawanda's 2-3 zone defense was on full display and never looked better, as the Jacks made penetration extremely difficult and pushed the perimeter shooting of the Vikings way outside.

 

"Grand Island is a better basketball team than that," Mountain said.  "It wasn't their night."

 

Trevor Book and Rory Farkas led a very balanced attack from NT, with each finishing with a game-high 12 points, while doing equal damage in the first & second halves.  Seniors Brandon Casterline and Alex Quinn each scored nine points for the Jacks, who had nine different players enter the score book on the evening.  North Tonawanda has the luxury of multiple players on its roster capable of coming in and contributing with no drop off.

 

"Strength in numbers has been our motto for the entire year," said Mountain.

 

The win sets up an intriguing matchup between WNY's top-ranked large school in Williamsville South and one of the best NT teams in recent memory that earned a share of the NFL title and arrives very battle-tested.

 

"South's averaging 71 a game & we're averaging 69...South's giving up 51 a game and we give up 49," Mountain said.  "That's an 18-point difference either way, so it's about as even a matchup as we can ask for in the finals."

 

South and North Tonawanda tip off at 6:30 pm on Saturday night at Buff State.

 

Grand Island      5 - 11 -   6 - 12 = 34

N Tonawanda  16 - 13 - 16 - 19 = 64

 

Point Totals

North Tonawanda:  Trevor Book 12, Rory Farkas 12, Brandon Casterline 9, Alex Quinn 9, Vincent Tripi 7, Patrick Milbrand 7, Alex Johnson 4, Zack Woodard 2, Jordan Fox 2

Grand Island:  Derek Callen 10, JB Wilkes 8, Cam Sionko 8, Liam Carey 5, Garrett Robinson 3

 

- centercourt

Comments

[StateChamps2003]

Will South should have beaten McKinley by a lot more. A very sluggish start where they couldn't buy a bucket didn't help and either did the officiating who I thought called a very close game with a lot of borderline calls being made. McKinley benefited from this the most with South's big man, Branieki being in foul trouble the entire game. McKinley's FT shooting was terrible and couldn't capitalize on their chances.

McKinley just didn't have it this year. Their best player, Wardlaw, was held in check by Dolan all game. McKinley turned the ball over a ton. I didn't understand the constant on ball pressure McKinley was giving Dolan. He's way too good for that, especially when being pressured by smaller guards. Michael once again getting the best of Dorsey.

The Grand Island vs. NT game was a complete snooze fest. Grand Island was terrible and NT is the most mechanical team I've seen in the playoffs. They play a well organized 2-3 zone and really pack it in. Nothing special about either team. Everyone in the gym seemed like they just wanted that game to wrap up to get to South Park/Cheektowaga.

[CloseOut]

Overall, I think the officiating if fine but agree that some seem to call a lot of early tic-tack fouls which really can change the complexion of the game. I think part of the issue is going to a 3 man crew for the play-offs. It seems like some feel obligated to become part of the game by making early calls. Personally, I would rather stay with a 2 man crew as they use all season which would mean that only the most highly rated officials would be at Buffalo State.

[PJB]

Certainly South seems to be the better team in A-1 but
NT's zone will be a little different look than South is used to from top teams. When South played Park, the Park zone gave them some trouble. Albeit that NT does't have the length of Park down low, South has to be aware of settling for standstill 3's, shooters need to be in rhythm when shooting. Their perimeter shots need to come via penetration and kick outs.

NT's size on the interior could give South trouble also, similar to what McKinley's size did. With Lombardo hurt South is thin down low.