North wakes up, defeats Lancaster, 65-43
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

It took until midway through the second quarter for Williamsville North to get going against Lancaster last Friday at home but once they did, it was all Spartans.

Tied at 16-16, North outscored Lancaster, 16-5, over the last four minutes of the first half to lead 32-21. They won 65-43.

The win improved the Spartans' record to 8-2 in ECIC I and 15-2 overall.

North opened a 4-0 lead but Lancaster tied the game. Carlos Serrano scored an inside layup late to give the Redskins a 13-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, North's Alex Barth exploded for 10 of his team-high 15 points in the Spartans' run, which included a three and a two-point basket, to push North's lead to 23-19. They led, 32-21, at halftime.

North coach Chuck Swierski said a switch on defense from man-to-man to a 1-3-1 trap in the second quarter led to the Spartans' second quarter success.

"We used it for five or six possessions and it got us more active," said Swierski. "It gave them a different look and gave us a different feel. It did its job and we went to man the rest of the way."

"We locked up on them, put pressure on the ball and they couldn't get to the basket," added Alex Barth, who also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. "Alex Ullrich was especially great inside."

Ullrich finished with six points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Back-to-back threes early in the third quarter by Josh Barrett (11 points, four steals, two rebounds) extended the Spartans' lead to 41-23. Alex Barth stole a pass and passed it to Mark Balsom for a layup at the third quarter buzzer for a 47-33 North lead.

The Spartans, like they have all year, outscored its opponent in the fourth quarter, this time 18-11 in the fourth.

"We seem to be in better conditioning than other teams," said Alex Barth. "It's where we usually beat a lot of teams."

Steve Barth added nine points. Jim Gaines had seven points and eight rebounds. John Piaggione chipped in seven points.

North didn't shoot great, making 43 percent of its two-pointers, 31 percent of its three-point shots and 62 percent of its free throws. But they caused 13 steals, grabbed 42 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.

"We're not always the prettiest team but we play hard and when we play hard, good things are going to happen," said Swierski.

Matt Brehm led Lancaster with 10 points.

North opened the week by routing West Seneca West, 71-23, last Tuesday.

It was senior night and Swierski said Piaggione volunteered to sit out the start of the game for other classmates to get time on the floor. Senior reserves Joe Greenwald, Jack Jagodzinski and Matt Antalik played with regular starters Ullrich and Barrett. Greenwald scored the first points of the game and finished with six, Jagodzinski poured in for the game a career-high 13 points and 10 rebounds and Antalik added over the game 10 points and seven rebounds.

"They work just as hard as the regular starters; they just don't get the minutes, press, or accolades," said Swierski. "On this night, they were kings."

Piaggione entered the game around the midway point of the first quarter. Piaggione finished with two points but had a smile on his face for the entire game, said Swierski.

"He was playing with his buddies," said Swierski. "He could have scored more but was looking to set up his teammates. It was a great moment."

Swierski said every player on the roster scored at least two points. Steve Barth had 10.

"It was a complete team effort," said Swierski. "It was almost like a perfect storm where everything we did seemed right and everything West Seneca West did didn't seem to work."

North used a solid man-to-man defense to lead, 17-4, after the first quarter, 42-8, at halftime, and 56-17, after the third quarter.

"We didn't give them a second opportunity," said Swierski. "When they got a shot off, everybody boxed out and rebounded well."

North, ranked 10th among Western New York large schools, played at Clarence on Tuesday but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. They don't return to action until Tuesday, Feb. 12 when then play at 7:30 p.m. at Williamsville East. The Spartans close out the regular season with a game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Jamestown.