Sweet Home clinches share of league title
Boys basketball
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home's Jamel Werts goes up for the bucket as Hamburg's Caleb Sarkikey falls to the ground. Sweet Home beat Hamburg, 58-53, last Thursday at Sweet Home. The win gave the Panthers a share of the ECIC Division II title.

Everything had to fall in place over the last week and a half for the Sweet Home boys basketball team to earn a share of the ECIC Division II crown and that's exactly what happened.

Hamburg lost its last two league games, including a 58-53 contest last Thursday at Sweet Home, for the Panthers to clinch. Both teams finished 8-4 in league play.

"To be co-champs, especially with the up and down year we've had, is a really satisfying feeling," said Sweet Home coach Paul Schintzius. "Our backs were against the wall and we stepped up and played well. The kids weren't ready to let the league title go."

Sweet Home played a great first half. After taking a 15-14 lead after the first quarter, the Panthers played a dynamite second quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs, 21-7, to take a 36-21 advantage into halftime.

"We really pressed their guards and it seemed to bother them," said Schintzius. "Our offense was generated by our defense."

Hamburg's best scoring threat, Blake McLimans, who scorched Sweet Home for 29 in a Bulldog 63-54 home win on Jan. 22, was held to 12 points and scoreless in the second quarter, thanks to the defensive work of Marcus Johnson. Johnson had been out for the last couple of games with a nagging thigh contusion. Johnson finishes with seven points and had a ton of rebounds, said Schintzius.

Hamburg cut its deficit after the third quarter to 46-35. Hamburg never took the lead in the fourth quarter.

The free throw line was the story of the game. Sweet Home made 17 of 19 attempts. Both starting guards, Brian Pappagallo and Jamel Werts, were 15 of 15 (Pappagallo - 8 of 8; Werts 7 of 7).

Pappagallo finished with a career high 21 points.

"For him to score his career high in a game of that magnitude was big," said Schintzius.

Werts finished with 15 points. Ali Ramadan tossed in 10.

Hamburg guard Dorian Miles scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half.

Sweet Home's other game was a 64-45 home loss on Friday against Frontier, the No. 4 large school in Western New York.

Frontier led from the get-go, going up 16-5 after the first quarter. The Falcons went ahead, 31-21, at halftime. Sweet Home drew to six in the third quarter but trailed, 49-34, at the end of the quarter.

Grant Rapp (18 points), Jason Norsen (17 points), and Jake Fladd (12 points) paced Frontier's triple-headed inside presence.

Ramadan (13) and Pappagallo (11) scored in double figures for Sweet Home.