I-Prep hasn't lost a league game in Yale Cup II in the last two seasons.  In an athletic division, the Presidents may boast the most athletic team in the city's smaller division, and they have some significant size as well.  To challenge themselves and in an effort to have his team as ready for a sectional run as they can be, I-Prep head coach Shaun Ryan schedules some tough nonleague games, like the two his squad opened with at the Lockport tournament this year, facing the hosts from Class AA and then St. Joe's the following night.  Last night, the Presidents welcomed in another opponent, the defending Class A2 champs, Cheektowaga.  With the Warriors lineup neutralizing the athletic advantage I-Prep often has over teams, the game came down converting in transition, converting around the basket, and Cheektowaga having the most athletic player on the floor, who also turned in a career performance.

 

Dominick Welch scored a career-high 34 points, leading Cheektowaga to a 79-66 win at I-Prep, who is ranked #11 in NYS Class D.  

 

Cheektowaga got out to a quick start, taking an early 10-2 lead, and increasing that advantage to 30-15 midway through the second quarter.  The Presidents made a run before halftime, getting scoring from Xavier Maye, Terrence James, and Jeffery Townsel, to cut the Cheektowaga lead to 36-27 at halftime.  I-Prep was playing well against the competition from ECIC III, holding its own on the glass, particularly the rebounding of Maye, and ran well with the Warriors in transition.  The biggest difference over the first two quarters was I-Prep missing easy shots inside – layups, putbacks, etc., the Presidents just weren't finishing.  

 

The Warriors picked up their defensive intensity to start the third, which generated some offense and pushed their lead on I-Prep to 48-33 midway through the quarter.  Zak Ciezki sparked his team on the offensive end, and benefited from the pace Cheektowaga was bringing in the second half, scoring nine points over the first portion of the third.  Then it was Welch's turn, as he dunked in transition, hit his free throws, and knocked down a 3-pointer late in the stanza, giving his team their biggest lead of the game to that point, 57-38.

 

"We want to create as much as we can from our defense",  Cheektowaga coach Pat Cullinan said.

 

"If we can pick up our intensity on defense, we can force teams to shoot it when they don't want to or do things quicker than they wanted to", said Cullinan.  "We can get out in transition and create mismatches on the other end".

 

Cheektowaga has a skilled and athletic lineup that is well suited for creating mismatches.  They're a team that seems to be at its best when playing aggressive, but loose, and willing to take some chances.

 

"At times, we gamble too much and make some silly mistakes, but I think in the long run, that's going to benefit us because we're learning what we can and can't go for",  Cullinan said.  "And we've got Dom and Stephen Parker waiting to intimidate shots when they do get by you."

 

The final eight minutes were very entertaining.  James swished a '3' for I-Prep and Maye followed it with two points to get their team back to within 12 points in the first minute of the fourth, and the Presidents were eyeing a comeback. But Welch kicked off a 12-0 run to put the game away when he answered with a three-point play.  Patrick Plummer added his own 'And 1' right after Welch's.  Then the highlights began.  

 

Welch got loose for another dunk, before Ciezki found him for a third slam, a lob that Welch threw down two-handed.  On the other end, James got hot.  On three different trips up the court, James pulled the trigger from long range and showed off his touch, connecting each time.  

 

Besides his career high 34 points, which was spread out very evenly throughout the game, Welch had 13 rebounds & four blocks, was 11/13 from the charity stripe, dunked three times, and was a treat to watch in an uptempo game.  Ciezki finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, & five assists, for Cheektowaga, Devon Camel added 8 points & seven boards, and Drequan Trotter had six rebounds & four assists.

 

James & Maye scored 23 & 22 points respectively for the Presidents.  Townsel added 10 points.

 

-centercourt