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ECIC schools win at Silver Hoops Classic
Seventy-four players from the Erie County Interscholastic Conference, Niagara-Frontier League, the Monsignor Martin Association and the Buffalo Public Schools comprised three all-star boys basketball games for the Paul R. Missana Memorial 11th annual Silver Hoops Classics at the William J. Grabiarz School of Excellence. In the first game, the Alumni Memorial, the ECIC Division I-III all-stars knocked off the ECIC II-IV all-stars, 72-64. In the second game, the John Bellanti Memorial, an ECIC all-star team featuring players from all four divisions, squeaked out an 81-78 victory over the Niagara-Frontier League all-stars. In the third game of the tripleheader, the Paul R. Missana Memorial, the Buffalo Public Schools all-stars held off the Monsignor Martin Association, all-stars, 83-78.
Alumni Memorial ECIC I-III trailed ECIC II-IV, 16-11, midway through the first half before ECIC I-III went on a 14-5 run and never looked back. ECIC I-III led, 32-22, at halftime and extended the advantage to 45-28 in the second half. ECIC I-III's Amir Billups of Starpoint hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers for the team's first nine points of the second half.
ECIC II-IV closed the deficit to four and three later in the second half but could never go ahead. "The kids we put in to start the second half got off to a great start," said ECIC I-III and Depew coach Larry Jones, who was assisted by Williamsville North's Chuck Swierski. "When they got it down to six or seven, we were able to hit a couple of shots and bump the lead up." Williamsville North's John Piaggione and John F. Kennedy's Ben Walkow did not lead ECIC I-III and ECIC II-IV in points but earned game MVP honors. Piaggione was tied for third for team-high on ECIC I-III with nine points. Walkow was second on ECIC II-IV with eight points. "I didn't score much but I'm glad I got it," said Piaggione. "It means a lot." "I didn't really expect it," said Walkow. "I was surprised to even be here…It's a shame it's my last time playing high school basketball but it's an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life." Billups, the ECIC I-III sportsmanship winner, led ECIC I-III with 19 points. West Seneca West's Chris Wiltse fought through a twisted right ankle around the 12-minute mark of the second half to score 11 points. "I wasn't going to sit out," said Wiltse. "I had to come back in and play. There was no way I was coming out, not in a game like this." Stevens poured in nine points. "One of the kids on my high school team played in this game last year so it was nice to carry on the tradition," said Stevens. Some others from ECIC I-III who contributed were Cheektowaga's Marqus Redmond (six points), Maryvale's Jake Nowak and Cheektowaga's Terrance Mc- Cullough (five points each), Depew's Steve Karnyski (four points) and Kevin Dudkowski (one point). Amherst's Kurt Ebsary played but did not score. ECIC II-IV had five players close to double digits. Besides Walkow's eight, East Aurora's Sam Arnold and Holland's Bob Makin each had nine points and Hamburg's Dorian Myles and Ryan Brunner each scored seven. Makin won the ECIC II-IV sportsmanship award. Some other players from ECIC II-IV who scored were Iroquois' Paul Evans (six points), Sweet Home's Brian Pappagallo (three points) and Sweet Home's Marcus Johnson and Iroquois' Tom Lewis (two points each). ECIC II-IV was coached by East Aurora's Gary Schutrum and Lake Shore's Dan Gerkin. John Bellanti Memorial In "the O'Bryan Bowl", ECIC coach Archie O'Bryan of Iroquois bested Niagara-Frontier League coach Erik O'Bryan of North Tonawanda in the final coaching battle between father and son. Archie O'Bryan is retiring after a 34-year coaching career. To cap off the game, Archie's other son, Michael, served as one of two officials. "It's a win-win situation," said Archie O'Bryan, who was assisted by Maryvale's Mark Kensy and Pioneer's Mike Haskell. "Erik's happy for me. I'm happy for him. But this game should not be about the coaches but rather exposing the kids to good basketball." The NFLall-stars, led by Kenmore West's Edvin Ramulic, held a 41-33 lead at halftime but could not hold off a second half flurry by the ECIC all-stars. Ramulic single-handedly put the NFLon his back, scoring the first 10 points for his team in the first half and 10 of the team's final 17 points in the second half, including one of his four three-pointers in the game to tie the game at 78-78 with under a minute remaining. Ramulic finished with a game-high 34 points and earned team MVP honors. "I wanted to come out and have fun," said Ramulic. "I thought we had a really good team. It would have been nice to have gotten the win." ECIC Sportsmanship award winner Jake Fladd (12 points) of Frontier broke the tie with 31.1 seconds. Sweet Home's Ali Ramadan (12 points) then stole the ball and Hamburg's Blake McLimans (seven points) made 1 of 2 free throws to secure the win for the ECIC. Williamsville East's Brian Wallden scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the second half to earn team MVP honors. "I think our team definitely picked it up in the second half," said Wallden, who will attend Penn State University in the fall. "We were real unselfish. No one player on our team was a ball hog. It was a team effort." Sweet Home's Jamel Werts (nine points), Depew's Greg Osika (six points), and Williamsville North's Josh Barrett (two points) were among players who scored for ECIC. Cheektowaga's Donte Parker played but did not score. Kenmore East's Anthony Johnson (four points) won the NFLsportsmanship award. Kenmore West's Tim Cammarata (10 points) and Kenmore East's J.R. Brown (four points) and Jemere Daniels (three points) were among those who also scored for the NFL. Paul R. Missana Memorial The Monsignor Martin Association all-stars were 0-10 lifetime against the Buffalo Public Schools all-stars but the MMA tried their best to cause an upset. The MMA trailed by as many as 13, 36-23, in the first half before going on a 17-4 run to head into halftime tied at 40-40. In the second half, Buffalo Public was down by as many as nine and chipped away at the deficit to take a 73-72 lead after a basket by Lafayette's Charles Tubbins. The lead changed hands three more times before McKinley's Chandler Williams hit a layup to put Buffalo Public ahead, 77-76. Williams extended the lead to three with a put back layup. Cardinal O'Hara's James Ewing swished two free throws with 35 seconds remaining but Lafayette's Jeff Curry made an unbelievable scoop layup to seal the win. "They made some shots, a few unbelievable ones, and we got some open looks at the end that didn't drop," said Cardinal O'Hara coach and MMA all-star coach Sil Dan. "I don't think anyone expected us to compete with them as well as we did. We showed what the Catholic league can do. Everyone who paid three dollars admission got their money's worth." The game meant a lot to Dan. When he got back into coaching, four of the MMA players, St. Joe's Matt Spitler and Phil Maiarana and Canisius' Andrew Wingerter and Justin Volk, he coached during AAU travel. One reason why the MMA all-stars came close to pulling off the upset was Dan put players from the same team on the court at the same time. "When I picked the team, I looked for kids that played hard together," said Dan. "We practiced a couple of times and I really think it helped our camaraderie." St. Joe's Phil Scaffidi, who played with high school teammates, Maiarana and Spitler, said felt playing with familiar faces helped team chemistry. "I was excited all three of us could do it and represent our school the best we could," said Scaffidi, who finished with nine points. Young earned MMA MVP game honors with 14 points. Niagara Catholic's A.J. Roberts (nine points) won the MMA sportsmanship award. Maiarana and Ewing (11 points each), Spitler (seven points), Nichols' Jim Regan and St. Francis' John Schichtel (five points each), Nichols' Matt Donahoe (three points), Wingerter and Cardinal O'Hara's Matt Brady (two each) also added points. St. Mary's of Lancaster's Mike Brown competed but did not score. Performing Arts' Jerome Hunter led all Buffalo Public Schools scorers with 12 points and earned team MVP honors. City Honors' Abram Miller scored 10 points and picked up the sportsmanship award. |
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