THE VIEW FROM CENTERCOURT | Western New York Boys High School Basketball

Olean buries East early and often

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It took me two hours to get there and about two minutes to get my answer…yes, Olean is going to be that good this year.

 

Olean jumped all over East in the first minute of the game and then continued to assert itself throughout, in an 80-51 rout Thursday night.  The Huskies outshot East, 10-0 from beyond the arc, led by double-digits for more than three quarters, and  showed outstanding ball movement and unselfish play all game.  Nick Schmidt and Wil Bathurst each finished with 20 points, while Max Portlow added 16.

 

Schmidt and Bathurst each drilled a '3' from the same spot in the first 45 seconds of the game, igniting the Huskies 10-0 run out of the gate.  Leading 24-9 early in the second quarter, Bathurst threw down one-handed slam during a 2-on-1 break that drew a roaring ovation from the full house.  Olean built a 19-point lead twice during the quarter and led 41-27 at halftime.

 

The Huskies continued their dominance throughout the second half and built a 36-point lead, before sending in five reserves with just over four minutes to play.  Upon entering the game, senior Jake Perry connected from downtown to put Olean in front 80-44, before a series of Panther free throws over the final minutes gave way to the final score.

 

Daquann Griggs scored 14 points to lead East, while Rashaan Brown finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks.

 

The stage is now set for a battle between what are sure to be the two top-ranked small schools when the polls come out on Tuesday.  Olean will visit St. Mary's on Tuesday night for a scheduled 6:30 pm tip, as part of the MMA/ECIC Challenge.

 

-centercourt

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 responses to “Olean buries East early and often”

  1. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    I was at Joe’s last night to check out Dallas Jesuit. It did not take long for DJ to impress. They started fast right off the opening tip, hitting four straight threes inside the game’s first three minutes to open up a 12-2 lead from which Joe’s never recovered. DJ proceeded to extend their lead throughout the first quarter, largely due to great ball movement, superb finishing in transition, both at the rim and from the outside, and solid team defense and rebounding. Yes, Joe’s did not shoot well, but the length at the 1-5 really hampered Joe’s ability to run their consistent offense.
    Reggie did well when he got the ball down low, but consistently getting him the ball in dangerous positions in the first half proved very difficult. To me, DJ just showed a different brand of basketball not seen across the entire state. This is not to say they would be the best team in the state, or even an elite team, but they do what they do very well and it was clear Joe’s did not know what was coming there way.
    DJ plays extremely well as a team, some of the most unselfish basketball I have seen at this level.

    Reply
  2. StateChamps2003 Avatar
    StateChamps2003

    I hate to say this because I’m a big backer of Yale Cup basketball but this might be Coach Bryant’s worst team in years, possibly ever.
    Going back to the late 90’s when he was starting out at Traditional he always had go to players and pretty much All-WNY players on his team. Starting with French, Jacobs and George, then he had Don Juan Tyson, then he had Lazar Hayward, then he had Jamaal Webb, then he had Dallas and Domo, and last year he had Fisher. This year he has three very promising underclassmen, two sophomores and a freshman (I don’t have their names handy). Dare I say it that this might be a rebuilding year for Coach Bryant.
    I think East will be competitive in the Yale Cup and probably make it to Buff State now that they drop down a class but expectations for this East shouldn’t be as high as in years past.

    Reply
  3. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    The sophomores are Jonathan Lewis & Tyree Tyson, and the freshman is Damone Brown.
    I agree about the Panthers compared to the level of years past, but I still think they will be right in the mix for the Yale Cup and could be the second best team in all of Class B.
    Olean is just at another level, which is ridiculous considering how young they are.

    Reply
  4. Division1 Avatar
    Division1

    Dallas Jesuit showed the kind of ball movement that you almost never see in wny. Too many teams around here have one or two guys stay on the floor all game long that are preoccupied with getting there shots. Trust and team chemistry trumps gumslingers at season end. DJ also 10 games into there season and doesn’t include 2 international games. That being said Joes stayed in that zone way to long when you could see early in warmups that they were shooters. Quite a few of threes came from the trailer on the secondary break. Hope Joes guards picked up on the fact that on the kickouts Reggie gave them due to doubles and triple teams that instead of settling for the rushed 3 or going cross court for another contested 3, that they should have instantly gone right back into Reggie because the help would be gone and single coverage could not stop him. Bad result but felt last half was even and Joes grew as a team in last 2 and a half quarters.

    Reply
  5. coach Avatar
    coach

    D 1, exactly the problem in WNY and that is why we got thumped in Binghamton over the summer. Too much me not enough we. The 25 point final spread, even scoring in the second half, was misleading as DJ played their second 5 a good part of the third and all of the fourth. WNY hoops has a “fundamentals of the game gap”. A lesson was delivered last night.

    Reply
  6. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Exactly, there were no “OOOH and AAAH,” plays from DJ…they just did just about everything well. They were just a few steps faster and much more disciplined in their fundamentals. I was impressed with DJ’s undersized post player that came off the bench. He showed very strong offensive rebounding ability for his size.
    DJ also plays a 29 game regular season schedule…imagine how much better the teams in NYS would be if that were the case here.

    Reply
  7. coach Avatar
    coach

    18 game regular season is a joke for a season of almost 4 months. All the $$$ wasted in NYS and we can’t come up with the funds to pay the refs for more games. That problem is compounded at modified, frosh and JV when good fundamentals are taught and learned. Don’t get me started in the city where there is only a combo JV program which is another outrage. Added together it’s no wonder WNY is not a tour stop anymore for big time recruiting, except for the occasional standout. Go back and look at Keith’s decade of the 70’s All WNY teams and see where the kids went to play in college, compare that to the past decade. Our kids are getting the shaft!

    Reply
  8. coach Avatar
    coach

    Just took my own advice here is a college list of the 70’s team colleges just from memory. Maryland (2), Syracuse (3), Canisius (7), Niagara (6), Tennessee (2),Oklahoma St. New Mexico, Providence, South Carolina, Michigan, Wake Forest, Hawaii, Texas Tech, St Bona and I know I missed some. There were a whole bunch of guys from the 70’s that were D II scholarship players as well. This all from about 50 players! There has been a major slide down over 30-40 years. And keep in mind the number of D I hoops programs has doubled over those years. Sad!

    Reply
  9. WNYHOOPS Avatar
    WNYHOOPS

    Duke and UNC as well in the 70’s for two of Jamestown’s best Don Johnston and Terry Chili.

    Reply

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