By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BUFFALO, NY – Behind Carson Kwiatkowski’s 37 points, the Allegany-Limestone boys’ basketball team was able to earn redemption as well as a shot at the Section VI Class B2 championship with a 70-63 win over Eden.
Although injuries hamstrung the Gators mid-way through the season, A-L arrived to the postseason at 12-8, earning the seventh seed in the Class B2 bracket. Splitting their playoff action at home and abroad, the Gators took down No. 10 Silver Creek in the first round before tackling No. 2 Math Science Technology Prep in the quarterfinals. Their success set the table for another shot at Eden, the team that eliminated A-L in the same round a year prior.
“I think the guys were happy (to see Eden.) One of the things CK said was ‘rematch,’” said Allegany-Limestone head coach Glenn Anderson. “I think the guys were excited for that and I was excited to get the taste out of my mouth from last year.”
Matched up as two efficient and fast scoring squads, the game got off to a quick start. Both would find ways to build up their side of the scoreboard, but from two different approaches. For the Gators, they continoulsy found easy lanes inside, capitalizing on swift drives or drive-and-dishes to the low post. Kwiatkowski and Gavin Straub carried the load early, combining to score A-L’s first 12 points.
The Raiders, on the other hand, looked outside. Led by Kobe Genco, Eden would relentlessly find gaps in the Gators’ defense with fluid ball movement, creating looks on the perimeter which they took full advantage of. While A-L tacked on points inside, Eden did the same from the outside, knocking down five triples in the first quarter – Genco would cash in on three alone. Through the first eight minutes, the Gators could eek out just a one-point advantage.
Both teams continued to score tick-for-tack in the second quarter, however, in bunches at a time. After a few rocky possessions to start the quarter, A-L would spark a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. The effort was led by Kwiatkowski and Caleb Strade, who came away with big steals as the Gators built a 25-21 advantage.
Unable to lean on their prolific shooting, the Raiders probed inside. Still crisply moving the ball with ease, Eden found several drive-and-dish short corner jumpers alongside running floaters to counter with a 6-0 run of their own. With just over two minutes left in the half, Eden managed to retake the lead, albeit, at 27-25.
Kwiatkowski would end the half for A-L with drive followed by his second 3-pointer of the game, but Eden fired back with a score in the post and split trip to the line, leaving the scoreboard deadlocked heading into the half.
“At halftime I wasn’t trying to look at the scoreboard. I was trying to look at who’s getting the easier buckets and we were getting layups and I thought (Eden) was making some contested threes,” said Anderson. “We just wanted to stay the course. I thought we were getting easy buckets, good looks so when you got a guy like Carson, I just get out of the way.”
Defensive stops continued to be a rarity through the early minutes of the second half, with neither team able to pull ahead by two possessions. Each attacking the paint, they would each earn their fair share of trips to the free throw line yet struggled to convert.
Midway through the period, A-L gave the keys to Kwiatkowski. With Eden up by three, Kwiatkowski would light the Raiders up, connecting on back-to-back triples at the start of his hot streak. Coming away with steals and offensive rebounds, the junior phenom would score 13 of the Gators’ 19 third-quarter points – including hitting three consecutive 3-pointers – as they pulled ahead by three with one quarter to go.
Carson Kwiatkowski soars to the rim during a fast break during Allegany-Limestones’ win over Eden in the Class B2 semifinals. Kwiatkowski would score 13 of his 37 points in the third quarter. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“In one one of our timeouts I just said (to Kwiatkowski), ‘hey, we’re just going to go motion, let me know what you want to get to and I’m not going to call sets,’” said Anderson. “(Eden) had everything scouted so well anyway. Every set we called out they were getting in position to stop it so our best look was motion and the best look was get the ball to 13.”
A-L’s momentum would carry into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Raiders 6-1 through the first three minutes of play. Although Eden would eventually find their rhythm, the Gators would weather the storm as they maintained a two-possession advantage.
As Eden began to run out of time, they struggled to break the back-and-forth battle and with just a minute left, were forced to send the Gators to the free throw line. Strade would push A-L’s lead back up to six with 22 seconds left, but the Raiders would chip it back down to three from an offensive rebound and made shot from beyond the arc. With just 14 seconds remaining, A-L’s trip to the championship hung in the balance.
Facing a smothering full-court-press, the Gators would thankfully get the ball to freshman Cooper Wilczewski. Rising to the occasion, he would knock down both shots at the charity stripe before coming away with a game-sealing steal on the subsequent Raiders’ inbound. Colin Forrest would take the bonus free throws, going 1-for-2, however Strade would come down with the offensive rebound, putting the final nail in Eden’s coffin. After flawless crunch time execution, te Gators were heading to the finals.
“The biggest thing for us was that we didn’t let them get down into a halfcourt set and get a three off,” said Anderson. “We had a bunch of big offensive rebounds. I didn’t think we rebounding particularly well in the first three quarters but Caleb came up huge, Gavin had a couple big ones late. Everyone that hit the floor contributed. I can’t say anything more about our guys and our composure and our will to finish this one tonight.”
Scoring 52 percent of the Gators’ points with the help of six 3-pointers, Kwiatkowski ended with a game-high 37 points. Strade finished with 11 points, Gavin Straub tallied with seven, followed by Forrest with six.
Colin Forrest breaks through traffic for a look at the rim during the Gators’ win over Eden on Thursday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
A-L will enjoy one day off before competing in the Class B2 championship on Saturday. There, they will take on No. 4 Wilson (16-4). That game will take place at Buffalo State University at noon.
“(Wilson) looked great against Salamanca. I went to see them early in the year against Akron and I thought they looked very solid,” said Anderson. “We’re excited to be back in the finals on Saturday and looking forward to the challenge.”
AT BUFFALO
Allegany-Limestone (70)
Kwiatkowski 13 5-9 37, Strade 3 5-8 11, G. Straub 3 1-2 7, Forrest 2 1-2 6, B. Straub 2 0-0 4, Wilczewski 1 0-0 3, Callen 0 2-2 2. Totals: 24 14-23 70
Eden (63)
Genco 8 1-1 22, Wakelam 8 1-4 19, Williams 3 2-2 9, Krencik 3 1-2 8, Mason 2 1-2 3, Weynard 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 6-11 63
A-L 18 30 49 70
Eden 17 30 46 63
Three-point goals: A-L (8) Kwiatkowski 6, Wilczewski, Forrest, ED (9) Genco 5, Wakelam 2, Williams, Krencik; Total fouls: A-L 12, ED 16; fouled out: Krencik (ED)
