Seniors step up for Sweet Home boys hoops
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home's journey to a possible New York State Class AA championship began with a convincing 67-44 home win over Lockport on Friday in the Section VI quarterfinals.

The Panthers jumped on the Lions early, leading 20-11 after the first quarter, and outscored Lockport, 22-8, in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

Sweet Home coach Paul Schnintzius got great balanced scoring from his seniors, led by Terrell Rankin's 20 points. Senior Ali Ramadan, who has been for six weeks because of academic reasons, banged inside for 12 points and six rebounds and helped classmate Glenroy Carr score 11 points and haul in 18 rebounds. Senior Eric Schnirel added 10 points.

Point guard Steven Roberts (four points), another senior, set the tone early by stealing the ball twice from Lockport's Derrick Herring, scoring once and assisted to junior Josh Parker (six points) for a layup.

"The seniors stepped up," said Schintzius. "This is kind of our time of the year. Last year laid the groundwork and this year we had a good regular season and won our league. I think they're focused on having the same run we had last year. They came out strong and ready to play."

Schintzius was also happy that every one of his players who dressed saw playing time.

"In a sectional game, I didn't anticipate to play everyone on my roster," he said. "We didn't play as well as I would have liked in the second half but they never got closer than the final score."

The win puts Sweet Home (17-4) in the semifinals against Orchard Park (17-4), who gave Sweet Home its only two league losses, at 6 p.m. Thursday at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

"We're really looking forward to it," said Schnitzius. "This is the kind of game where if anyone got revenge and a little bit of payback on our mind, it's us."

If Sweet Home wins, the Panthers, ranked 23rd in New York State, could face top-seed Niagara Falls in the AA finals at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, also at Buffalo State. The Wolverines (19-2), seeded first in the AA bracket and ranked third in the state, plays Jamestown (18-4) after the Sweet Home-OP game.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com