When the Williamsville South starters came out of the game during the fourth quarter of the Billies 61-46 tournament championship win over Williamsville North, they congratulated each other and really relished in the moment before sitting down.  It was the first time in the seven-year history of the Williamsville Holiday Basketball Tournament sponsored by the Jolly Boys, that South earned the right to hoist the winning hardware.  The runner-up Spartans had dominated the annual tourney by winning it for the first five years.

It became very clear early on to all those in attendance, that bragging rights around the Williamsville community meant a lot to both North and South.  A very physical and intensely played game yielded three double-fouls before the teams even reached intermission.

Leading by two near the end of the first quarter, the Billies used a 14-1 run to blow the game open, highlighted by a big time block by Kevin O'Connell who turned it into an assist to the always fast-breaking Phil Stasiak.  Williamsville South lead by 15 points at the break and by as many as 24 during the fourth quarter.  Despite the margin between the teams on the scoreboard, the game was very entertaining and hard fought by both teams.

Joe Licata lead the Billies with 24 points, O'Connell finished with 16 points, and Stasiak ended up with 11.  Nick Konotopskyj and freshman Sterling Taplin each registered 10 points for the Spartans.

Williamsville North reached the championship game by defeating Newfane the night before, 69-56.  The Spartans were all over the Panthers early and built a 25-8 lead at the midway point of the second quarter.  During the third quarter, an 11-0 Panther run cut the North lead to 43-40, but Taplin dashed any hopes of a comeback with a pair of baskets and a great steal and assist to teammate Jonathan Safir.  Taplin lead Williamsville North with 18 points, Brandon Maranto scored 17 points, and Edwin Young added 13.  Rohn Pierce acored a game-high 19 points for Newfane and Dan Hambruch added 15 points.

The Billies won in the opening round of the tournament against St. Francis, 76-65.  South held a large lead for much of the game and got everyone into the game early in the second half.  Despite being outmatched, the Red Raiders  played hard the entire game and refused to go away.  Sophomore Cory Cullen showed great energy off the bench for St. Francis, and lead his team with 12 points.  The Billies were lead by 21 points from Licata, on seven first half 3-pointers.  Stasiak scored 19 points and O'Connell finished with 16 points.

St. Francis downed Newfane in the consolation game, 62-55.  After trailing throughout the first half, the Red Raiders traded leads with Newfane for most of the final 16 minutes, before pulling away late.  It was a strong two-day showing for St. Francis, capped off with a good win over the Panthers.  Chris Miller lead St. Francis with 20 points and Mark Cassidy added 15 points.  Rohn Pierce took game-high scoring honors with 22 points, while Dan Hambruch scored 16 for Newfane.

Tournament MVP – Kevin O'Connell, South

Sportsmanship Award – Joe Licata, South

All-Tournament Team

Phil Stasiak, South

Sterling Taplin, North

Jonathan Safir, North

Chris Miller, St. Francis

Rohn Pierce, Newfane

** Phil Stasiak became the all-time leading scorer at Williamsville South during the Billies win over St. Francis, surpassing Mike Mitchell's 1321 career point total.  The milestone basket came off an inbound play designed for Stasiak, resulting in a lay up.

** Joe Licata became the all-time Section VI leader in 3-pointers, eclipsing the mark held by Ritchie Campbell.  Licata tied the mark with a NBA-range bomb against Williamsville North and broke the record from a spot on the left wing in front of a large contingent of Licata's family members.

** Joe Licata surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career on December 18th at Jamestown.

** The Spartans were without 6-4 starter Farhan Hussain for both games of the tournament, as he was out of the area.

** The Billies won the tournament despite horrible production from the free throw line on both nights.  They went 11 for 28, followed by 11 for 31.  That's a two-day total of 22 for 59, or 37 %.  Maybe they should back up to the 3-point line when fouled.

-centercourt