Class AA
Jamestown 73, Clarence 61
Sophomore Zack Panebianco dropped 26 points, while Tommy Campion and Quinn Lee Yaw each produced 16 points to lead the Red Raiders back to the Class AA final for a fourth straight season.
After falling behind 5-0 in the game's first minute, Jamestown used an 18-2 run to vault past the Red Devils on the scoreboard and swing the momentum in its favor for the duration. Panebianco scored 10 of his 26 points over the last five minutes of the third quarter, part of a 14-4 Jamestown run that gave them its largest lead of the contest, 58-37.
Clarence never went away and clawed back to within nine points with just over two minutes remaining, but could never get any closer. Bryan Jost was on fire early and finished with 19 points to lead the Red Devils, while Ryan Funk scored 12 points and Emaure Williams added 11 points.
Niagara Falls 72, Kenmore West 62
Carlos Bradberry filled in for NFHS head coach Sal Constantino, who had family matters to attend to, picked up his first win as a varsity head coach, and didn't even pick up a technical foul along the way. JJ Wilkes was aggressive on his way to the basket and shot the lights out from the perimeter and the free throw line, enroute to a game-high 26 points. Ramir Burton poured in 19 points and Jermaine Crumpton added 17 points.
The Wolverines built a double digit lead late in the first half, aided by lack of Kenmore West big Quinton Campbell, who sat much of the half in foul trouble. After he checked back in to the game in the second quarter with two personal fouls, he was hit with his third at the 3:30 mark and before he could get subbed out, picked up his fourth with 2:21 to go in the half.
The Blue Devils made a run in the third quarter and pulled to within five points, thanks in large part to the play of Shay Cuadra, who scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the third. However, a five-point lead was too close for comfort as far as Wilkes was concerned, so he nailed a pair of treys in response to get Falls back up by double figures. A 3-pointer from Crumpton early in the fourth quarter put Falls up 60-45, its largest advantage of the game.
For the fifth time in the last eight seasons, Niagara Falls and Jamestown will slug it out in the headliner of Championship Saturday at Buffalo State, for the Section VI Class AA title. The Wolverines have won three of the four previous championship meetings, advancing past the Red Raiders to the regionals in 2006, 2008, and 2012. Jamestown's only title game victory over Falls came in 2011.
-centercourt
Leave a Reply to centercourtCancel reply