North boys take first in tourney, fall to Frontier
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville North's boys basketball team had a lot of good vibes after winning the Sports Alumni Tournament at Bennett High School last week.

"It was a great bus ride home," said North coach Chuck Swierski. "I've got a great group of kids who work together, and they're seeing all of their hard work from playing three nights a week over the summer pay off. They were excited and they should have been. It was fantastic."

North defeated South Park, 64-48, in the first round last Monday and host school Bennett, 62-49, in last Tuesday's final. The Bennett win was North's fourth victory and second tournament win in five days. North won the Dick Harvey Tip-off Tournament at Kenmore West on Dec. 7 and 8.

North opened leads in the first quarter of both games (21-10 over South Park; 16-10 over Bennett) and cruised to victory.

Swierski implemented a half-court pressure mixed with a man-to-man defense in the second half against South Park, which he felt changed the pace of the game. North outscored South Park, 14-5, in the third quarter, to go ahead, 42-25, after three quarters.

North used a half-court trap against Bennett and built a 37-24 halftime advantage and 38-23 advantage after three quarters.

Alex Ullrich was named tournament MVP. Against Bennett, the senior forward not only scored 10 points but also grabbed 13 rebounds despite working against two players from Bennett who were 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7, Swierski said. Ullrich also blocked four shots.

"Bennett is a very athletic team, and he did a good job of handling two of their big guys," said Swierski. "Down low, he was the difference. He played a real smart game of positioning his body and getting in the right angles."

Ullrich was one of three Spartan starters who scored 10 points and one of five who hit double digits. Junior Alex Barth and senior Josh Barrett each scored 10 points. Senior John Piaggione scored 13 points. Sophomore Jim Gaines, who started the tournament in place of Steve Barth, who broke his nose, added 11.

Barrett, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 14 points against South Park. Alex Barth had 15 points, including 10 in the second half, 11 rebounds and four assists. Gaines started and scored nine.

"Considering I told him he would start a day before the tournament, he handled it great," said Swierski of Gaines.

For all of the positives the Spartans took out of the tournament, it was not enough against Frontier last Friday at home. North fell, 72-58.

"They're fundamentally very good," said Swierski of Frontier. "They don't make a lot of mistakes. Defensively, they're never out of position and offensively, they make their free throws and layups. Things that worked for us against other teams didn't versus them. We'll learn from the game and move on and see what happens later."

The rematch is Jan. 25 at Frontier.

North jumped out to a 11-3 lead early in the first quarter after Piaggione knocked down threes on back-to-back possession, bur Frontier, ranked fourth among Western New York large schools, closed the gap to 13-12 after the first quarter and built a 33-28 halftime lead and 56-40 advantage after three quarters.

Six-foot-five Grant Wrap and 6-foot-6 Jason Norsen, who both competed for the Western Region at last summer's Empire State Games, scored 17 and eight points, respectively, for Frontier. Swierski said Norsen probably had six blocks and double figures in rebounds.

Piaggione led North with 17 points. Barrett and Gaines each scored 10 points. Steve Barth started and wore a protective mask.

North (5-1, 1-1) played at West Seneca West on Tuesday, but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. They play at Lancaster at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.