Niagara Falls boys hoops too much for Sweet Home
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home's Marcus Johnson, right, races down the court while Niagara Falls' Davon Marshall is on his trail during the Panthers' 85-62 loss in the Section VI Class AA semifinal last Thursday at Buffalo State Sports Arena. Also pictured far left is Sweet Home coach Paul Schintzius. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Niagara Falls' offense kept coming at Sweet Home, and the Panthers didn't have enough answers in an 85-62 Section VI Class AA semifinal loss last Thursday at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

The second-seeded Wolverines (23-1) used four players in double figures to build a 12-point advantage over the sixth-seeded Panthers by halftime and a 20-point cushion after the third quarter.

"They come at you in waves," said Sweet Home coach Paul Schintzius. "Our two keys coming into the game were to rebound and stop their transition, and we did neither. They're on a mission."

Niagara Falls went on to beat Jamestown, 78-55, for the AA title last Saturday at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Niagara Falls had plenty of motivation to face Sweet Home. The Panthers upset the Wolverines, 66-64, for the AA title last year, and nobody on the Falls' team forgot.

"This past week, I kept telling them 'remember last year, remember last year,'" said Niagara Falls coach Giolio Colangelo. "The guys shook their heads and were like 'yeah, we remember coach'."

"He didn't have to remind us," added Kelvin Agee Jr., who scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half. "Everyone at Niagara Falls knew Sweet Home beat us last year. We were calling it a rematch. It showed what we should have done last year when we underestimated them."

"We were in a difficult spot," said Schintzius. "They have four of five starters back (only one missing is Johnny Flynn, who plays at Syracuse University) from last year and other than Ali (Ramadan), we really didn't have anybody back who saw the floor."

Sweet Home never held the lead but played tooth and nail early with the Wolverines, trailing, 18-13, after the first quarter. A layup by junior Donald Watkins cut the Panthers' deficit to 20-18 early in the second quarter, but Niagara Falls' senior Rahshon Tabb (17 points) buried back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to seven, 26-18.

Baskets by Ramadan and Jamel Werts clawed Sweet Home back into the game, 26-22, but Niagara Falls responded with a 13-5 run to close out the first half ahead, 39-27.

"Once we started making baskets in transition, the flow of the game started to pick up and that works to our advantage," said Colangelo.

"We could not slow them," said Schintzius. "They are so good on the backboard, and couple that with them shooting the rock the way they did and their transition game, they were more athletic than we were."

Niagara Falls scored five points in the first minute of the second half and never looked back, leading 62-42 after the third quarter.

Besides Tabb and Agee, senior T.J. Crittenden and sophomore Davon Marshall scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and Michael Crumpton and Eric Spanbauer were close with nine each.

Niagara Falls hit nine threes to Sweet Home's three.

The Panthers had four players in double figures, led by Ramadan's 18. Werts and Marcus Johnson each scored 13. Watkins added 12. Keon Williams added four points. Brandon Hudson made a basket.

Sweet Home finished 13-10 and as co-ECIC Division II champions.

"We had our ups and downs," said Schintzius. "Some guys saw varsity experience for the first time. To get a piece of the league championship and a trip to Buffalo State win and a tough game at North, I'm not unhappy. Whenever you're a competitor, this certainly hurts, but I tip my hat to the better team."