(Lancaster's Alec Tamburri scores two of 24 points in the Class AA semifinals)
Lancaster 71, Kenmore West 48
Last season, the Legends found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided Class AA semifinal against a team from the Niagara Frontier League. In its return to the arena where sectional titles are awarded, Lancaster flipped the script by taking a fast double digit lead on NFL tri-champ Kenmore West and coasting to a convincing victory to reach the Class AA Final on Saturday night.
"This is better than the first time we made it to Buff State because of all we've been through off the court with this team," said Lancaster coach John Otto. "Right from the beginning of the season they've been a family...they deserve it."
A 17-4 finish to the opening quarter got the co-champions of ECIC I comfortable on the big stage and everything started clicking. Vito Fulciniti scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the opening frame and canned four treys in the contest, along with a fancy behind-the-back dish to teammate Connor Duck for a finish. Teammate Alec Tamburri gave a great effort throughout, scoring 12 points in each half to finish with 24 in the game. Tamburri's three-point play to end the first half sent the Legends to the break with a 34-23 advantage.
A 10-0 run in the middle of the third quarter broke the game open for the Legends, as they took a 48-27 lead. A 3-pointer from sophomore Jakob Jerebko late in the frame gave Lancaster its largest lead of the evening at 54-30.
"We're trusting each other and trusting the process," Otto said. "We scheduled some hard nonleague games at the beginning of the year knowing they would help us out at the end."
LG Castillo added 11 points in the win for Lancaster.
The Blue Devils were led by Tyler Aquilina's 12 points, while Kyle Carpenter added 11 points in the loss.
Ken West 9 - 14 - 11 - 14 = 48
Lancaster 19 - 15 - 22 - 15 = 71
Point Totals
Lancaster: Vito Fulciniti 25, Alec Tamburri 24, LG Castillo 11, Jakob Jerebko 3, Tim Molik 2, Noah Speyer 2, Connor Duck 2
Kenmore West: Tyler Aquilina 12, Kevin Carpenter 11, Jahlel St. John 8, Kyle LaPlante 6, Tal James 5, Erick Rainey 4, Tyler White 2
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Niagara Falls 58, Jamestown 50
The defending champions of Class AA are headed back to the title game looking to repeat, but it took a balanced effort and a strong finish to the game to get past a scrappy effort from Jamestown. Tazaun Rose led ten Wolverines who reached the score sheet in the game with 15 points, one three 3-pointers and some clutch fourth quarter free throw shooting.
Falls fell behind 6-0 out of the gates, but an 11-3 finish to the opening quarter gave them an 11-9 lead. Baskets from Devin Sanders and Cortese Myles extended the Wolverine's lead to six points, but a big second quarter from Jamestown's James Rojas kept the lead from growing even larger. Rojas scored 11 of his 22 points in the stanza, with nine of his 10 first half free throws doing most of the damage.
"He had 10 points in the first half from the foul line and we put him there," said Niagara Falls coach Sal Constantino. "I thought we did a really poor job reaching & taking chances when we didn't need to."
The Red Raiders outscored Niagara Falls 20-9 in the third quarter, led by Marcus Rojas, who scored seven of his 11 points in the frame. James Rojas added six in the quarter that ended with an 11-3 Jamestown run to give them a 44-39 lead heading into the last eight minutes.
But the Wolverines' defense really clamped down during the crucial stretch run as they kept the Rojas brothers from scoring and rattled off a 17-2 run to take a 58-46 lead and run the clock out for the victory. Constantino credited his defense, particularly the effort from Myles on Rojas, as a key to the finish.
"In the second half I thought Cortese Myles did a great job," Constantino said. "We tried to deny him the ball as much as we could and when it got in his hands, tried to chase it out and make other guys make plays."
To defend the title, Niagara Falls will need to get past a red hot Lancaster team that has won its last four games by an average margin of 27.5 points, including a league-clinching win, a victory over Jamestown and two sectional games.
"We know we have a challenge ahead of us," said Constantino. "That's what this group wants, we don't want an easy road...we came in as the five seed and deservedly so."
The Class AA Final will tip on Saturday night at 8:45 pm.
Niagara Falls 11 - 19 - 9 - 19 = 58
Jamestown 9 - 15 - 20 - 6 = 50
Point Totals
Niagara Falls: Tazaun Rose 15, Cortese Myles 6, Devin Sanders 7, Syquan Ralands 6, Quaran Dubois 5, Josiah Harris 5, Marquise Miller 5, Tyler Sanders 4, Charles Lamar 3, Jamel Burton 2
Jamestown: James Rojas 22, Marcus Rojas 11, Ryan Holdridge 8, Matt Hill 5, Grant Moore 4
- centercourt
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