By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — For the Allegany-Limestone boys basketball team, there’s not a much better way to cap off the regular season than with a win over the fifth-ranked Class C team in New York State after going 1-4 in its last five games.
The Gators just about did enough when push came to shove, fending off a second half comeback attempt from the Cardinals, who had only lost two games this season prior to the affair, and winning the contest 52-47.
After controlling the first half of play, A-L found itself under pressure from Randolph after the break. The Cardinals managed to claw their way back in the third quarter and entered the fourth just one point behind the hosts. And as the fourth frame dragged on, they managed to knot up the score at 45 apiece.
At this moment, A-L coach Glenn Anderson was reminded of his team’s recent game against Salamanca in which they let a lead slip and conceded a comeback victory.
But lightning would not strike twice.
Both sides saw a number of botched possessions and made a number of mistakes late on, but with not many being punished, the Gators were able to swipe back the lead and get their noses across the finish line first.
“I saw a team that has grown up a little bit,” Anderson said of his team’s performance against Randolph. “I think we had a similar situation against Salamanca, we didn’t make winning plays (then). It’s nice to see this group come around and come together and make those winning plays at the end. Even when (Randolph) missed that first 3 and we were down under 10 (seconds). I’m yelling, ‘No 3s,’ and everyone’s pushing out to the perimeter, there’s not a body inside the 3-point line. Those are the things we work on in practice all the time and it was good to see it translate.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Gavin Straub (21) goes up for a layup after losing two Randolph defenders. Straub finished with 13 points for the Gators. (Spencer Bates)
In those final moments, A-L was able to shut down Randolph’s Drew Hind, who was looking to hit what would have been the game-tying 3 with under 10 seconds left to play. The Cards went through a number of different sets, all that got Hind the ball, but it was the Gator defense that remained composed and stout and forced him to finish with his game-high 23 points and no more.
And while he normally stakes his claim on the offensive side of things, Anderson had to shout out Carson Kwiatkowski for the defensive job he did on Hind all night. He was able to force the ball out of the hands of Hind and kept his scoring from getting too out of hand.
“Drew’s good enough that he’s going to get his, but I think CK is a really underrated defender,” Anderson said. “If you look at the guys he’s defended this year, he’s done a really good job on guys. He made things tough for Drew tonight, and Drew’s fantastic. He made some unbelievable shots … he’s a great player.”
But Kwiatkowski still managed to get his points offensively, scoring a team-high 18 points for A-L. But behind him were two, just-as influential players in Gavin Straub and Ryan Callen, whom Anderson noted his team will need if they are to return to their true identity after its recent struggles.
“I saw leadership from Carson and Gavin,” Anderson said. “In your big games like that, you want your best players to show out a little bit and Carson definitely did that. I mean, on the first possession of the game, he gets a great look and just drills a 3. When you see him make those kinds of shots, you know what you’re going to get tonight. Gavin did a really good job finishing layups and making the easy ones. And Ryan, at the end, it’s a freshman growing up. We had to talk earlier this week, we put a lot on his plate when CK was out … and I think now that CK is back, (Ryan’s) more comfortable being able to catch and shoot with CK facilitating a little bit for him.”
Straub and Callen scored 13 points apiece for the Gators with the former completing a double-double with 16 rebounds, a statistic Anderson was also pleased to see go his team’s way.
“We were struggling last week and I thought … we got to get back to what we are, and it’s sharing the basketball, moving the basketball, defending and rebounding,” Anderson said. “I think we did all three of those pretty well.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Carson Kwiatkowski (13) gets an open 3-pointer up against Randolph. (Spencer Bates)
And because the Gators made good on checking off all those boxes, they secured a big, motivation-boosting win to close out the regular season. Something Anderson knows is pivotal heading into what is poised to be a competitive postseason.
“It’s huge, you get a great win like that against a really, really good opponent, that’s what you’re looking for going into the playoffs,” Anderson said. “Last week was rough, but this week we were kind of back to who we are. Carson’s looking healthy again and looking more like himself. It’s the right time for all that stuff to be happening.”
AT ALLEGANY
Randolph (47)
Hind 9 1-4 23, McElwain 4 0-0 12, Brooks 3 0-0 8, Nelson 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 1-4 47
Allegany-Limestone (52)
Kwiatkowski 6 2-2 18, G. Straub 4 5-6 13, Callen 5 0-1 13, Strade 2 0-0 5, Forrest 1 1-3 3. Totals: 18 8-12 52
Rand. 10 22 40 47
A-L 19 28 41 52
Three-point goals: Rand. 10 (Hind 4, McElwain 4, Brooks 2), A-L 8 (Kwiatkowski 4, Callen 3, Strade); Total fouls: Rand. 14, A-L 6; fouled out: None.
