Cougars get physical
Cougars too much for Black Knights, take Divsion 2 matchup, 76-39Article Photos
By JOE ECKSTROM OBSERVER Sports Reporter
The Cassadaga Valley Cougars' physical presence was too much for the Silver Creek Black Knights, as the Cougars routed the Black Knights 76-39, in Class C high school boys' basketball. Cassadaga Valley's Barry Mason and B.J. Monacelli both stepped up, giving their team support both mentally and physically.
"Our players know that we can win or lose to any team on any given night," Cassadaga Valley coach Rich Clifford said. "We definitely had some of our players step up and provide the team with some much needed leadership."
Silver Creek got off to a slow start after getting into foul trouble early.
"Our starting center didn't play and one of our other big guys was out with an injury," Silver Creek coach Gene Kuberka said. "That forced us into some difficult match-ups and we were forced to compensate by making some fouls we didn't want to make."
The Cougars came out strong, as they started the game on a 7-2 scoring run. Despite the big start by the Cougars, Silver Creek was able to keep the game from getting out of control, going on an 8-2 run of their own.
Even though the Black Knights were only down 22-14, at the end of the first quarter, the quarter belonged to Cassadaga Valley's Barry Mason, who had 14 points in the first half alone.
A part of Mason's 14 points were three opportunities to complete three-point-plays. Mason knocked down two of his three foul shots in the first quarter apart of a much improved foul shooting performance from the Cougars.
"In the last couple games we've been struggling with free throws," Clifford said. "Our goal was to shoot 25 free throws. We went 23-for-37 as a team. That's by the far most we've attempted and the most we've made, so I think we did a great job drawing fouls."
Cassadaga Valley started to pull away with the lead in the second quarter, outscoring Silver Creek 18-7, in the quarter.
"Cassadaga is a very physical team," Kuberka said. "They executed very well. They have a very good point guard in Monacelli, who seems to always be able to find Mason down low, who is a tremendous scorer."
Besides having 10 points for the Cougars, Monacelli had five assists which was a part of his exceptional play-making ability.
"We've always preached to our players that an assist is just as good as making a basket," Clifford said. "B.J. had an amazing game. He's just so willing to set everyone else up, before he even thinks about taking a shot. That's the sign of a great point guard."
Already being faced with a 19 point deficit, the Black Knights came out of the locker room in the second half looking to shoot the ball, but the team was plagued with turnovers and missed baskets.
"At times we had pretty good ball movement," Kuberka said. "We took some bad shots , but even when we were taking good shots, we weren't making the baskets we should have been."
The Cougars poured on the points in the third quarter 20-8, giving them a 39-point advantage. Cassadaga Valley was able to gain a near 40-point advantage behind another big quarter by Mason, who scored eight points in the third quarter.
"Barry played unbelievable tonight," Clifford said. "More importantly he didn't force up any shots he should have. He's a tough matchup for anyone to cover, which led to him being able to draw a lot of fouls."
Mason led all scorers with 33 points and also tacked on 10 rebounds in a dominating performance.
However, in the fourth quarter Silver Creek was able to get their offense to be more productive, scoring 13 points. Pat Fuller contributed with eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter. Also, having a good performance for the Black Knights was Cody Hehir who netted 11 points.
"Cody Hehir was very aggressive offensively," Kuberka said. "It was nice to see him drive the ball and try to create some points."
Other Cougars who contributed in the big win were Joe Martinez who had five points and five assists, Jake Lancaster with six points and seven rebounds and Dylan Walsh with seven points.
