(Frontier's Brandon Dunz takes a swipe at a driving Matthew Reagan of Hamburg)
Lake Shore 64, Lackawanna 51
The Eagles fell behind quickly at the start and gave up a late first half run, but had everything figured out over the final two quarters to earn a victory in their season opener and advance to the Town of Hamburg Lions Club Tournament championship game on Tuesday night.
Lackawanna's Noble Smith (11 points) scored his team's first six points as the Steelers jumped out to a 9-2 lead just three minutes into the contest. After Lake Shore made a run to take the lead into the second quarter, Lackawanna again strung together a strong push heading into halftime, scoring eight unanswered points for a 27-25 advantage at the break.
Jonathan Park tied the game to start the third frame for the Eagles and followed it with a three-point play that put his team on top for good. The Lake Shore big man was consistent throughout and showed off his well-rounded game at both ends, seemingly delivering a big play or bucket every time his team needed him. Park scored a game-high 28 points.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lackawanna's Noah Grabar (team-high 17 points) cut the Lake Shore lead to just two points midway through the final stanza, before a 15-4 Eagles' run to close the game and seal the victory. Jay Brueckl put the game out of reach with a long range bomb late, while Ajay Cybulski was everywhere during the stretch run and scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.
"He's a momentum guy and gets pumped up," Lake Shore coach Brett Lyford said of Cybulski. "In the fourth quarter when we needed him to, he made shots. We played well together in the second half, didn't make the stupid pass, ran our offense through, and got the ball down low to Jonathan (Park). When we did that, he finished."
Lake Shore: 14 - 11 - 18 - 21 = 64
Lackawanna: 13 - 14 - 12 - 12 = 51
Point Totals
Lake Shore: Jonathan Park 28 Ajay Cybulski 17 Josh Buchanon 9 Jay Brueckl 8 Ryan Utley 2
Lackawanna: Noah Grabar 17, Noble Smith 11, Robert Rice 10, Jeremiah Caviness 5, Abdul Hamid Albaneh 4, Alfonzo Rivera 2, Carlton Threeths 2
**** **** ****
Frontier 35, Hamburg 26
Call it a defensive battle or a night where both teams struggled offensively - each would be appropriate for the contest between Frontier & Hamburg, the first game of the season for both. The Falcons never gave up a double-digit quarter to Hamburg, staying disciplined and active in their zone, and earned a date with Lake Shore in Tuesday night's tournament championship game. The consolation game between Lackawanna and Hamburg will open the evening at 6 pm.
"Opening night, you always think everyone's going to forget their lines and fall off the stage," Frontier coach Gary Domzalski joked.
Kyle Ebert's second basket of the game in the opening quarter put Frontier ahead and they never trailed the rest of the way, despite the Bulldogs tying the contest on three different occasions in each quarter that followed. Ebert led the way for his team and was the game's only double figure scorer, finishing with 13 points. Alex Hiam's 3-pointer in the fourth quarter gave Frontier a seven-point lead, which was the largest of the game at the time. With points coming at a premium throughout, Hiam's trey seemed to put the game out of reach.
Brandon Dunz scored five points for the Falcons and was a difference maker all evening with his rebounding and defensive presence in the middle of the zone.
"It was sloppy, but I told the kids we played great defense," said Domzalski. "On nights when you're not shooting so well, that can win it for you."
Jacob Genzel finished with a team-high eight points for Hamburg and delivered the play of the night when snuck behind the defense and rocked home an alley-oop lob with force.
Hamburg: 9 - 4 - 6 - 7 = 26
Frontier: 13 - 6 - 3 - 13 = 35
Point Totals
Frontier: Kyle Ebert 13, Alex Hiam 8, Ben Taylor 7, Brandon Dunz 5, Tyler Bailey 2
Hamburg: Jacob Genzel 8, Mark Henry 7, Nathan Severson 5, Andrew Genzel 2, Max Haney 2, Matthew Reagan 2
-centercourt
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