Williamsville South runs out of gas in A-1 finals
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville South's Frankie Pieri tries to find an open teammate during the Billies' 58-54 Section VI Class A-1 semifinal win over Kenmore East last Wednesday at Buffalo State Sports Arena. Also pictured is Kenmore East's Gary Jones. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase photos at www.BeeNews.com

Williamsville South was on the brink of winning its first Section VI boys basketball title in 16 years but too much full-court pressure defense from McKinley late wore down the Billies as South fell 70-55 in the A-1 finals on Saturday at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

South led most of the game and was up 53-50 with 4½ minutes remaining when McKinley went on a 14-0 run that the Billies could never recover from. The Macks, who won a section title for the first time in 26 years, faced Maryvale for the overall Class A championship on Tuesday at Buffalo State. The winner plays Section V's Aquinas at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena in the Far West Regionals.

"They just kept pressing and pressing then were beating us inside," said South coach Al Monaco. "They finally wore us down."

The Billies, who hadn't played in a section final since losing to Bennett in overtime in 1996, saw a 47-38 lead with 55 seconds left in the third quarter dwindle to a 47-47 tie by the end of the quarter. McKinley's Tamere Shannon scored six of the Macks' eight points in the run on offensive rebounds. Shannon finished the quarter with 10 points, 18 overall.

"I could just see we were wearing down and getting tired," said Monaco. "He (McKinley coach James Daye) runs in eight to nine players and we were not contesting shots or battling for rebounds like we were the whole game. That was, I thought, the real turning point of the game."

McKinley's pressure in the fourth quarter led to South turnovers and a big performance from Mansa Habeeb, who scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the final stanza.

South, who was a heavy underdog, played well, leading 21-18 after the first quarter with balanced scoring coming from Adrian Wood (seven points), Mark Coppola (six), and Scott Steimer (six points, first points of playoffs). Monaco said his team was so efficient on offense that McKinley was forced to change defenses from man to zone early in the second quarter. Ahead 33-29, McKinley ran off four straight points to tie the game at 33-33 at halftime.

"Nobody expected us to even compete," said Monaco.

Wood, who was double-teamed all game, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Frankie Pieri added 13 points and six rebounds. Coppola, a 5-foot-1 freshman point guard, had 10 points, eight assists and only committed three turnovers and had the crowd on their feet several times from his outstanding play.

Pat Pidgeon came off the bench and scored eight second half points, including two three-pointers, his second trey giving South a 47-39 lead.

Steimer added seven points.

To face McKinley, South, behind an outstanding performance from Wood, defeated third-seed Kenmore East, 58-54, in the A-1 semifinals last Wednesday at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Wood finished with a game-high 34 points and single-handedly kept his team ahead from the middle of the first quarter on. Wood opened the game with a jump shot and scored eight of his team's first 10 points. He finished with 19 in the first half as South went into intermission ahead, 26-25.

"I can't even describe it," said Wood. "I just did what my brother and father told me all the time - shoot the ball."

"I told him after we beat Hutch-Tech (in the quarterfinals) that that was his all-around best game," said Monaco. "This was his best game period. He carried us. We don't even come close to winning this game without him."

Wood also hit four three-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, had an assist, and held Kenmore East's Darryl King to 14 points.

"For us to win, we had to keep King to 15 points or under," said Monaco.

Wood's best play of the game did come on the scoreboard. With 1:06 remaining and his team ahead, 52-47, Wood, on a missed free throw from P.J. Coppola, forced a jump ball in South's favor battling for a rebound with two Bulldog defenders. Fifteen seconds later, Mark Coppola calmly sank the first two of five of eight free throw attempts over the next 40 seconds. He finished with seven points.

"He's an absolutely special player," said Monaco. "Believe it or not, he's such a competitor that that's who I would want at the line in the end."

Mark Coppola also finished with nine assists, many going to Pieri (nine of 11 points in second half) in transition in the second half. Coppola only turned the ball over twice.

Pieri also had eight rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Spencer McIntyre didn't score but grabbed eight rebounds and forced a steal.

Kenmore East had chances to come back but missed a ton of easy inside looks. East coach Jay Robbins said his team missed 10 layups in the first half. Their poor shooting continued in the second half with about four missed layups, including one from Anthony Johnson at the buzzer.

"I give them all of the credit," said Robbins. "They outplayed us and played better defense than us. We make some layups and it's a different story. The perfect capsule was missing an uncontested layup right at the end."

South finishes 13-10 after starting the season 0-4.

"It takes a really special group of kids to stay together after starting 0-4," said Monaco. "Their character really came through. This team is one of those teams that came together, knew their roles and played with emotion, heart and as a team. I hope they can look back and be proud of their accomplishments."

Monaco loses nine seniors, including Wood and Pieri and only returns Mark Coppola and Brian Webb. Wood finished the season with 416 points, sixth most in a season in school history. Wood, a four-year starter, finished third at South in career points (1,143) and steals (188).

"His leadership was outstanding," said Monaco. "Lots of people play said we overachieved but that was because he made everyone on our team better. In the four years he played, I don't think he's ever been without a smile on his face."

Pieri finishes with 685 career points (10th all-time) and 442 rebounds (third all-time).

Wood and Pieri will be playing on March 24 in high school basketball senior all-star games at the Grabiarz School of Excellence. Wood will play for ECIC against the Niagara-Frontier League; Pieri will play for ECIC II and III against ECIC I and IV.

Mark Coppola dished out 143 assists, second to '06 graduate Chris O'Connell (203) for most in one season.

The future does look bright for South. The school's JV team lost its first game of the season but ran off 19 straight wins.

"There's a great group of young talent coming up," said Monaco. "I'm looking forward to the next four years."

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com