(MST Seneca's Earl Howard is met at the rim by Josh Workman of BASCS)

As I sat watching the JV contest while waiting for the big dogs to come out at MST Seneca on Wednesday night, I felt like I was at McKinley.  Fans were celebrating every basket scored in a lopsided game as if the outcome was hanging in the balance and really pumping up the volume, much like I experience every time I attend a game at McKinley.  The trend continued through the entire varsity contest as well.  The Wolves had a sizable crowd to play before in their season opener and their fans were beyond supportive.  As the final minute of the game ticked away, a raucous chant broke out…"Wolves' House, Wolves' House."  Now maybe most Wolves live in dens, but with fans like the ones at MST Seneca, it's no surprise the big dogs come inside to protect the house.

MST Seneca got scoring contributions from nine different players and never trailed in the game, earning an 82-51 victory over visiting Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School (BASCS).  The game was the season-opener for both squads.

"It was a great team win and a good way to start our season," MST Seneca coach Scott Kirsch said following the game.  "Our guys were amped to play all day."

Both teams came out flying around the hardwood and treated fans to an early track meet in the game's first five minutes.  With the score knotted at 11-11, Earl Howard swished his second 3-pointer of the opening quarter to break the tie and ignite an 11-2 finish to the frame.  Howard scored nine points during the run, all on treys, making it a total of four from long range in the first eight minutes to get his team out to a 22-13 lead.

"They might have come out a little over-excited," said Kirsch.  "Obviously in the home gym, it was loud so everyone wanted to score points and have them cheer."

Two minutes into the second stanza, the Wolves ripped off a 14-1 run that included 10 straight points, to take a 21-point lead.  Six different players scored during that spurt, which pushed the score to 39-18.  BASCS responded with four-point from Sean Johnson, and followed that up with a three-point play converted by Ibrahim Osmani to get the deficit back to 14 points.  A basket from Howard interuppted the momentum that the Wolverines were starting to gain and that led to an 8-2 finish to the first half, pushing the MST Seneca advantage back to 20 points, 47-27 at the break.

Rather than fold at halftime, BASCS came back out fighting in the third quarter.  Osmani led a comeback effort with a combination of scoring and dishing off after penetrating.  The quick dribbling guard scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the frame, that included a 3-pointer and a three-point play.  Late in the third, the Wolverines had cut the MST Seneca lead to 13 points, before allowing the last two buckets to go to the Wolves, which sent the game to the fourth quarter with MST Seneca leading 61-44.

"We didn't stay focused," BASCS coach Gerald Briggs said.  "We used a lot of energy to get back into it and didn't keep our foot on the gas."

The Wolves allowed just seven points the rest of the way, while scoring 21 points over the last quarter to put the game away.  Jason Chapman continued to show limitless endurance down the stretch, beating guys down the floor and scoring eight consecutive points for his team. 

 "He's active & long and brings a lot of energy," Kirsch said of Chapman.  "Now that he's a junior he's understanding more why we do certain thing sand you can really see the wheels start to turn."

MST Seneca scored the final 12 points of the game to close it out in style.  But it was Kareem Ruffin's 3-pointer in the final minute to sent the crowd into a frenzy and brought on the chant "Wolves' House".

"They had a good, positive energy in the gym," said Briggs.

Howard led the way for MST Seneca with a game-high 25 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block.

"With Earl it's nice because he can do a little bit of everything,"  said Kirsch.  "When they went box & 1, we put him in the post.  When we had him outside he was knocking down his shots and as the game went on, now they have to jump out to take that three away and he's able to use his drive and finish."

Chapman finished with 21 points, hauled in 10 rebounds, blocked three shots, dished two assists, and had a steal.  Daryl Costner scored 12 points for the Wolves, while Diallo Gray had five assists and four steals to go with his four points.  Marquel Hampshire scored six points to go with his five steals and five rebounds.

Point Totals