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North Collins beats down Gowanda, 65-51

GOWANDA — The North Collins Eagles boys basketball team jumped out to an early lead and continued to score often en route to a 66-51 non-league victory over the Gowanda Panthers on Monday night in Gowanda.

North Collins was successful in their full court press, forcing multiple turnovers for uncontested layups. David Gullo and Christian Loretto played up front and they were quick to get into those passing lanes for steals where Loretto and Tyler Robinson were able to finish at the basket as they each scored eight points the opening quarter.

“The pressure worked to our advantage, especially early in the game,” said North Collins coach Jan Warren. “We forced many turnovers and did a great job getting into position to make our opponents passes difficult.”

Gowanda was unable to record a field goal in the first quarter as their four points came from the foul line, which gave the Eagles a 16-4 lead after one.

However, Gowanda was able to find the basket early in the second, as Aaron Colantino added a quick 3-point shot. Aaron Kohn added two layups as Gowanda pushed the ball in transition before Colantino nailed another 3-point shot. North Collins’ Robinson would then tally six consecutive points from steals in the frontcourt.

“We continued to play hard for the entire game,” said Warren. “Many times in the past, we would take a break at some time during the game and that would hurt us, but we continued to hustle every minute.”

North Collins kept up its intensity in the second half as well, where many members of the team made quality contributions. Tome Filkov added a basket and Hunter Petit made solid passes by seeing the open floor. North Collins defense was quick to their spots as they continued to get high quality shots from Gowanda’s mistakes. Gowanda’s bench also contributed as recent call up John Ondus added a three near the end of the game.

The Panthers were able to close the game on a 9-2 run with a little pressure of their own, but in the end, the entire Eagles’ team did their part to preserve the team’s victory.

“I am proud of what we did tonight,” Warren added. “We have a young team and they all contributed so that will give us some confidence moving forward. When we play hard, we play well and did a great job of moving the ball around. However, it is early in the season and there is some work we need to do especially with rebounding and to prevent picking up fouls in the backcourt.”

Christian Loretto led the Eagles with 25 points, six rebounds and four steals. Tyler Robinson added 24 points and ten rebounds while David Gullo contributed with 11 points, eight steals, and six assists. North Collins did not make a single 3-point shot during the game, but went 17-24 from the free throw line.

Gowanda was led by Justin Kohn with 15 points and seven steals while Dylan John scored 12 points. Aaron Colantino added nine points and seven rebounds while Nick Siragusa scored five points while recording 11 rebounds.

Both teams play each other again on Thursday, although that game will be played in North Collins to finish the home and home non-league series.

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