(Lucas Theisen gets the reverse to go for St. Francis)
Class A - St. Francis 57, St. Joe's 45
A strong start at the defensive end for St. Francis that didn't yield a single field goal in the opening quarter helped the team jump out to a commanding 13-2 lead. The Red Raiders had four players finish in double figures and never trailed in the contest, despite competing without the services of senior Bo Sireika, who missed with an injury.
After going to halftime trailing by a score of 26-15, St. Joe's jumped right back into the game in the third quarter. Keith Norward scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the frame for the Marauders to get his team within a bucket, 35-33. But Frannies got refocused at the defensive end for the stretch run and allowed just three scores from the field the rest of the way to advance to the Manhattan Cup semifinals. The Red Raiders will face the top seed from Canisius at the Canisius College Koessler Center at 6 pm on Friday night.
Following the game, St. Joe's head coach Mark Simon announced his retirement from coaching, following 18 seasons with the Marauders. During that time, Simon led St. Joe's to six Manhattan Cup Championship games, where his teams won four titles. In addition, Simon's teams won two CHSAA state championships. I quickly learned in my first season following the WNY HS hoops scene that Mark Simon was one of the good guys and have considered him a friend ever since. He has been a true gentleman and a class act throughout his 18 seasons & 307 victories, which rank fifth all-time among boys coaches in the Monsignor Martin Association.
St. Francis 13 - 13 - 9 - 22 = 57
St. Joe's 2 - 13 - 18 - 12 = 45
Point Totals
St. Francis: Justin Poumpey 12, Amiel Collins 12, Josh Palmer 10, Lucas Theisen 10, Dorion Ivey 7, David Bartholomew 6
St. Joe's: Keith Norward 17, Jack Capen 10, Trey Boling 6, Kevin Durkin 4, Will Ostrowski 2, Amari Gordon 2, Charlie Carlone 2, John Galvin 2
***** ****** ****** ******
Nichols 58, CCA 50
The Vikings trailed CCA into the second quarter of Tuesday night's play-in game, before a 12-2 run to close the first half gave them the lead for good. Chris Stineman (team-high 18 points) and Aidan Horan (13 points) each scored five points in the second quarter, with Horan finding Stineman in the lane for a two-handed finish that resulted in a three-point play. Freshman Hugh Purks came off the bench to bang from the perimeter during the run, with Nichols knocking down three treys in the stanza.
The Vikings would add three more from downtown in the third quarter, two coming from Jonathan Goodloe, who finished with 13 points. Goodloe netted eight in the third frame, while Stineman scored nine. Nichols advances to face Cardinal O'Hara in the Manhattan Cup semifinals on Saturday night at the Canisius College Koessler Center, 6 pm.
Josh Tyson led the Crusaders with a game-high 19 points in the loss, while Ben Lekeneu scored 14 points and Zach Miller finished with 10 points.
Nichols 8 - 21 - 21 - 8 = 58
CCA 12 - 12 - 18 - 8 = 50
Point Totals
Nichols: Chris Stineman 18, Aidan Horan 13 , Jonathan Goodloe 13 , Trent Banaszak 7, Hugh Purks 3, Ryan Peterson 2, Jake Bair 2
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