By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — The Allegany-Limestone boys basketball team rounded off its season at home with a comfortable 72-46 Section 6 Class B2 first round win over Silver Creek.
The Gators put on a clinic on the defensive end of the floor, shutting down the Black Knights early on, and wasted no time putting the full range of its offense on display, knocking down 3s with their typical efficiency, but also slicing their way through the paint.
“Coming in, we knew the emphasis had to be on defense,” A-L coach Gelnn Anderson said. “I think we have an appropriate amount of fear of everybody. As well as we played last week, a week before that we weren’t playing so great. So it’s nice to be trending in the right direction as we kick off the playoffs here.”
The victory was big for the Gators, who, from here on out, will either play on the road or at neutral locations, but not solely for the reasons of moving deeper into the postseason, but also because of the historic performances from Carson Kwiatkowski and Gavin Straub.
Kwiatkowski, with a 3-pointer which he drained in front of his team’s bench in the third quarter, reached the 1,000-point mark for his high school basketball career, making him the first-ever basketball player at A-L to reach that mark, the crown jewel for a historic career that was nearly put out of reach with a mid-season injury. But the resolve he showed to work his way back onto the court and to reach the historic mark in the final home game of his high school career had Anderson emotional after the game.
“It’s huge, watching the amount of work he puts in is crazy just,” Anderson said. “It’s emotional for me because this is something we didn’t think was going to happen. A month ago, we thought he was done, we didn’t think 1,000 was a possibility, didn’t think the 3-point record, the scoring record was a possibility. So for us to get through that and him to get that is huge.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Gavin Straub (21) attempts a put-back layup against Silver Creek. (Spencer Bates)
Straub’s night to remember saw him record the first ever 20-point, 20-rebound game in the history of Gators basketball. His presence on the boards, specifically on the offensive side of the floor, where he grabbed 12 rebounds, was pivotal to the team’s offensive output.
“(Gavin’s) an animal, I told him over the summer, ‘every shot is a potential pass to you, that’s where I want your mindset to be,’” Anderson said. “He loves rebounding. This might be his second or third 20-rebound game of the year, which is ridiculous, and usually half of them are offensive. Of his rebounds, 12 of the 20 were offensive. That’s ridiculous, it’s so many extra possessions and easy buckets. It’s huge for us.”
And while the night will go down in the history books as testament to Kwiatkowski and Straub, Anderson gave ample amount of credit to the players around them that made the win possible.
Collin Forrest, Ryan Callen and Caleb Strade were each significant in drawing attention away from Kwiatkowski and Straub, knocking down a shot, or driving to the rim on any possessions in which Silver Creek took their eyes off the trio.
“It was a nice mix, that whole first half I thought we spread out the scoring pretty well,” Anderson said. “Collin had a great first first half, he got a nice, easy bucket to start, hit a 3 from the corner. Caleb knocked down a 3. Ryan knocks down a 3. I mean, when we get all guys hitting on all cylinders like that, we’re pretty good.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Ryan Callen (3) attempts a 3-pointer while being closed down by a Silver Creek defender. (Spencer Bates)
And speaking of Callen, the freshman’s presence off the ball was seemingly the most influential. In the minutes that he was on the floor, it gave Silver Creek another shooter to have to worry about. And while he only hit one 3-pointer on the night, his presence opened up so many more opportunities for those around him.
“He spaces the floor really well,” Anderson said of Callen. “I think, early on, he settled into his role, he knows what he has to do. When he needs to go off the bounce and score a tough bucket, he can, but we use him to space the floor a little bit when Carson’s driving. Not many people want to leave Ryan, and if they do, you’re gonna pay for it.”
And as A-L ran up the score in the second half, Anderson, with a smile painted on his face, was able to empty his bench, getting some players good minutes in their final home game of the season in front of a packed crowd.
It is the moments like that, he noted, that make his job worth it.
“I mean, that’s as good of a last game at home as you can draw up for our senior guys,” Anderson said. “Everyone gets on the floor, we had a couple buckets from guys that don’t get a whole lot of time, the crowd’s going nuts. That’s fun. That’s one of the best parts of coaching.”
But his and his team’s job is not yet done for the year, A-L won’t have much time to dwell on the win with just one day until its next game, a quarterfinal matchup at MST Prep on March 1 at 12 p.m.
AT ALLEGANY
Silver Creek (46)
White 10 2-3 25, Eick 6 0-0 13, Hoelzle 2 0-0 4, Brennan 2 0-0 4, Deloney 0 2-2 2, Duelek 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 4-7 46
Allegany-Limestone (72)
Kwiatkowski 8 3-4 22, G. Straub 9 3-3 21, Forrest 5 1-2 12, Strade 3 1-2 9, Wilczewski 2 0-0 4, Callen 1 0-0 3, Amore 0 1-2 1. Totals: 28 9-13 72
SC 10 22 34 46
A-L 22 38 63 72Three-point goals: SC 4 (White 3, Eick), A-L 7 (Kwiatkowski 3, Strade 2, Forrest, Callen); Total fouls: SC 10, A-L 11; fouled out: Hoelzle (A-L).
