Barth posts career highs, North wears down Clarence
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

As the Williamsville North boys basketball team's record keeps improving, Spartans coach Chuck Swierski knows he will be getting the best that other teams can offer, especially early in games.

That's what happened in the Spartans' home win last Friday over Clarence.

North (10-1, 4-1) trailed, 18-16, after the first quarter but tightened up its defense to go ahead, 35-27, at halftime. The Spartans pulled ahead in the second half to win 71-47.

"I compare a game like this to a boxing match," said Swierski. "They brought everything at us and tried to knock us out early in the first round but once we got threw it, we were fine."

North, like it has all season, wore down its opponent as the game went on. They were at its best in the fourth quarter, outscoring Clarence, 19-5, including the first eight points. Junior Alex Barth, who had career highs in points (22) and rebounds (16), tallied the final three points of the run. His last points were a three-pointer that extended the Spartans' lead from 13 to 16.

"He was easily the best player on the floor that night," said Swierski.

His twin brother, Steve, scored six of his 12 points in the fourth.

The Barth twins also held Clarence's best player, Greg Stevens, to four points, all in the first quarter.

Senior Alex Ullrich added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Senior Josh Barrett chipped in eight points and made it tough for Clarence's point guard to get its offense going.

North, ranked ninth in the latest Western New York large school poll, takes a five-game win streak into Saturday's road game at 1:30 p.m. at Niagara-Wheatfield. The Spartans host Jamestown at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

Amherst Central

The Tigers' offense continues to struggle.

Amherst held Pioneer to 52 points but could only score 45 in a home loss last Friday at Amherst High School.

The Tigers got a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds from sophomore Nico MacLean and 15 points and nine rebounds from senior Kurt Ebsary but its next closest scorer, Viron Hale, had only four points and 10 rebounds. Amherst shot 28 percent (17 of 60) from the floor.

"At the beginning of the season I said we're going to need five or six guys scoring eight points and we're not getting that," said Amherst coach Mike Chatelle.

Pioneer's Lucas Haskill and Mitchell Boldt combined for five three-pointers in the first quarter to help the Panthers jump out to a 17-11 advantage. Pioneer finished the game with nine threes.

The Panthers extended its lead to 29-25 at halftime and 38-34 after three quarters. The closest the Tigers could cut its deficit was 48-45 with 1:30 remaining.

It was Amherst's first game in 13 days. The Tigers (2-5, 1-3) have to wait a week until its next game, a home contest versus Springville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. It's the second of five consecutive home contests.

For the Tigers to have success, the team must continue to play defense.

"I sound like a broken record but we have to play defense because if we stop doing that, we're going to be in trouble," said Chatelle.