×

Marauders take care of Griffins in B-1

SPRINGVILLE — Dunkirk’s Shamon Stewart, a 6-foot, 3-inch senior, did it all Friday night, routinely found open teammates from his spot in the post, lofted hook shots over Springville defenders and then, like all well-rounded basketball players do, got back on defense, where he used his size to dominate the glass.

The end result was a stat line that read: 23 points, 15 rebounds and three assists in the No. 5 Marauders’ convincing 69-49 win over the No. 4 Griffins in their Section VI Class B-1 boys basketball quarterfinal.

“He is a smooth operator,” Dunkirk head coach Jack O’Brien said. “He is comfortable with a lot of people around him. He has a very, very high basketball IQ. The way he can tip the ball on rebounds and he just sees open parts of the court and he makes the game look a lot easier than it is.”

In the opening quarter, it was a neck-and-neck game as Springville was down 16-12. In the second frame, however, Stewart began to take over, starting with a reverse layup down the baseline that resulted in a traditional three-point play, which was repeated by Tyreek Buchanan-Ruiz on the Marauders’ next possession.

“It was just happiness,” Stewart said of his and-one reaction. “I don’t really get to the free throw line that much. When I get to the free throw line, I get happy.”

The Marauders doubled their first quarter lead at one point during the second quarter, holding a 32-20 edge, before quadrupling it, 36-20, as the teams went into the break.

It was Dunkirk’s guards on the top half of the 2-3 zone that created havoc. Though the ball may have gotten to the weak spots of the zone, the Marauders collapsed and blocked passing lanes effectively to shut down the Springville offense.

In the third, two players took over, with Springville’s Mason Goodridge netting eight points of his team-high 17 points to lead the Griffins while Darnell Butts nearly doubled that effort, as the Marauders’ junior poured in 13 of his 18 points on the night during that stretch.

“He works hard,” Springville head coach Greg Miller said of Goodridge, a sophomore. “He is passionate, loves the game, works hard. He showed a lot of good things (Friday). He wants to lead.”

The pivotal moment in the third quarter came when Butts, bringing the ball up the court double-teamed, brought the ball behind his back and lost it to a third defender. His hustle pushed him to continue and dive on the ball. O’Brien called a time out shortly after, and the Dunkirk fans erupted as the game was getting out of hand on the scoreboard.

The quarter was competitive, however Dunkirk outscored the Griffins 22-16. The game came to a brisk end with the final quarter going Springville’s way as it outscored Dunkirk,, 13-11.

For the Marauders, Butts added four assists to go with his 18 points while Devaun Farnham-DeJesus chipped in 11 points in the win.

For the Griffins, Tyler Kostelny netted 12 points and Adam Pruitt scored six of his own.

Dunkirk moves on to the semifinals, where it will face No. 1 East Aurora, a 47-34 winner over No. 8 Burgard Friday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Buffalo State.

No. 2 MST Seneca 52, No. 10 Fredonia 39

BUFFALO — Fredonia saw its boys basketball season come to an end Friday night, as the No. 10 Hillbillies (8-15) fell to No. 2 MST Seneca (17-4), 52-39, in Section VI, Class B-1 quarterfinal action at City Honors.

After battling the Indians to a 21-all tie at halftime, the Hillbillies fell apart in the third quarter when the home team switched defenses.

“We did a great job in the first half breaking their zone, which is their go-to defense,” Fredonia head coach Greg Lauer said. “And then they came out in man-to-man, but we panicked at times with the ball and let it overtake us in the third. We battled back and got it to within six at one point, but we just couldn’t get over that final hump.”

Fredonia turned the ball over 33 times on the night, with 23 of them coming in the second half.

“We just turned the ball over too much,” Lauer said.

Earl Howard had a game-high 17 points while Domonic Prince and David Anderson added 14 and nine points, respectively.

For Fredonia, Lucas Voss had a team-high 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds, Nate Shuart had eight points and a team-high 18 rebounds and Reid Tarnowski added five points and as many assists in the loss.

The Indians will face No. 3 Newfane, a 78-53 winner over No. 6 Depew Friday night, in the semifinals on Monday night at Buffalo State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today