(Williamsville South's Cody Sanford was feeling it on Friday)
Williamsville South 68, Amherst 40
The Battle of Main Street wasn't much of a battle, with the Billies scoring the first six points, never trailing, and never being threatened throughout the game. Greg Dolan scored a game-high 29 points as part of an all-around performance for the four-year varsity standout playing in his final game at Amherst.
South 16 - 20 - 18 - 14 = 68
Amherst 11 - 12 - 11 - 6 = 40
Point Totals
Williamsville South: Greg Dolan 29, Cody Sanford 14, Devin Degree 14, Ethan Heil 5, Robert Richards 4, Josh Foster 2
Amherst: Daesean Ashley 13, Chris Patterson 5, Jake Mullen 5, Ja'kye Womack 4, Aden Clemente 3, Tyler Ross 3, Xavier Lewis 3, Charles Kilgo 2, Jackson Tan 2
Records
Williamsville South: 5-2, 2-0 / Next game at Chaminade Tournament Wednesday, December 27th
Amherst: 4-2, 2-1 / Next game vs. Sweet Home Thursday, December 28th
Player of the Game
Greg Dolan - Williamsville South
Unsung Hero of the Game
Ethan Heil - Williamsville South
Key Stats
Williamsville South: Greg Dolan 6 assists, 5 rebounds, & 5 steals / Devin Degree 5 rebounds & 3 assists / Ethan Heil 3 assists
Key Runs
Williamsville South opened the game with a 10-2 lead, used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to take a 50-29 lead, and opened the final stanza with a 14-0 blitz to double up the Tigers at 68-34
3-Pointers
Williamsville South (8): Devin Degree (4), Cody Sanford (2), Greg Dolan, Ethan Heil
Amherst (6): Tyler Ross, Aden Clemente, Daesean Ashley, Xavier Lewis, Chris Patterson, Ja'kye Womack
Coaches Quotes
Gabe Michael - Williamsville South
On the play of Cody Sanford & Devin Degree:
"Cody & Devin were both excellent tonight and when Cody & Devin play excellent, we're a pretty good basketball team."
On sharing the ball:
"We passed the ball so well and this team's becoming so unselfish that the passing keeps getting better."
On Cody Sanford's impressive performance at the offensive end:
"We talked about being aggressive and he had that look in his eyes like 'I'm gonna go'. If Cody can give us 11 to 15, that takes us to the next level."
Chris Kensy - Amherst
General thoughts on the game:
"They were aggressive, they were physical, and we kind of backed down and took a backseat. The effort wasn't there tonight."
Random Smatterings:
- Ethan Heil started to look comfortable and confident right before my eyes tonight. The junior got the start again last night and was a contributor on the court, which is exactly what the Billies need.
- Cody Sanford has always been an excellent defender and an aggressive rebounder, and some games he looks like a scorer as well. Last night was one of those games, as Sanford had a great aerial finish and a couple confident treys in the face of the defense.
- I saw the ref stop the game to tell the South bench to sit down. The action was near the bench at the time and was probably in the interest of player safety. I had just never seen that before.
- The Battle of Main Street theme was a great concept and goes a long way toward getting fans even more up for the games. And the shirts sold to fans from both schools was also a great idea.
- I'll go out on a limb and suggest that Amherst has WNY's only coaching staff that rocks orange pants.
- Amherst's Charles Kilgo looks like James Harden. I tweeted a picture of him. He has the best high school beard in the area!
- The game showed exactly who both teams are. South has three starters back, including a two-time First Team selection in Dolan, and played like an experienced, confident, and cohesive team. Conversely, Amherst looked like a team with five new starters that lacks big game experience. I don't think the Tigers will keep their league title streak in tact this season, but I won't be surprised if they win another crown in Class A2. There's enough talent there that the sting of this loss, combined with the program Kensy has built should have them in the sectional mix in March.
- Merry Christmas!
-centercourt
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