By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BUFFALO, NY – Unable to get their offense clicking, the Olean boys’ basketball team’s season came to an end in the Section VI Class A2 semifinals, losing to Lackawanna 58-38
The Huskies arrived at the semifinals with all cylinders firing. After winning 11 of their 13 games before the playoffs, Olean narrowly took care of business in their first taste of postseason action, beating No. 6 Lewiston-Porter 59-56.
“It came down to execution. If you look at the stats in that game, they outscored us by 30 from the 3-point line but we were able to execute on offense and outscore them by 26 inside the arc,” said Olean head coach Tim Kolasinski. “Down the stretch, we were able to get the lead and still had to sweat out a desperation three at the end.”
Facing their former finals opponent, the Huskies came out ready to get to work. After Mykel Rivera scored the first points of the game at the line, Olean implemented a full-court-press that produced three consecutive Steeler turnovers. When Lackawanna eventually crossed half court, Olean kept them off the scoreboard with collapsing help defense which forced misses at the rim.
On offense, the Huskies’ hustle extended under the boards where they came down with several offensive rebounds and second chance points. However, their 5-0 lead wouldn’t hold for long as a Steelers’ triple – coming as their first points of the game around the four-minute mark – and subsequent second chance score would knot the game at five with just under two minutes left.
With their shots beginning to miss the mark, Olean leaned into their physicality. On cuts, offensive rebounds and drives to the rim, the Huskies drew contact and trips to the free throw line.
“We talked about how, when we played Lackawanna last year in the finals, we shot 33 free throws in that game,” said Kolasinski. “So between that and what we saw on film, we were pretty confident that we could be strong, get the ball to the rim, use some shot fakes and things like that to get to the line.”
Regaining the lead with their work at the line, Olean would take a 10-7 lead with a Caedyn Tingley backdoor cut and score at the buzzer.
Although Lackawanna had begun the game on shaky ground, it would only be a matter of time before they found their footing. Scoring on a pick-and-roll on their first possession of the second quarter, the Steelers would outscore Olean 6-1 in the early minutes to take their first lead of the game with five minutes left in the half.
Although the Huskies would respond with a pair of scores from Rivera, their offense began to falter. Giving up constant turnovers and missing key rotations around the perimeter, Olean’s foot was lifted from the pedal as they went scoreless for the final three and a half minutes. In the meantime, Lackawanna pulled away. Scoring both inside and out with fluid ball movement, the Steelers mounted a 10-0 run to end the second quarter that put them ahead 25-15.
“One of the keys going into the night was to limit paint touches and I think there were a couple times that we weren’t able to do that and it hurt us in the second,” said Kolasinski. “Then we were kind of out of sorts on the offensive end. It looked like we were a little confused.”
Caedyn Tingley pressures a Lackawanna ball handler during the Huskies’ loss in the Class A2 semifinals. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Despite ending the drought on their first trip down the court, it was hardly a confidence boost – Dominic Gionvine went 1-for-2 at the free throw line. They would continue to miss out on easy chances to chip away at the lead with more inconsistencies at the charity stripe – Olean shot 1-for-6 at the free throw line during the third quarter – as well as in close. The Huskies’ struggle would bleed over to the defensive end, where they allowed Lackawanna to build their lead to 14. By the end of the fourth, their collapse had led to a 44-26 deficit with one quarter remaining.
“Even if you go back to the first quarter, when we had the lead, there were opportunities to extend the lead and we just couldn’t do it. We couldn’t figure out ways to fight through whatever you want to call it, sloppiness, a little bit of lethargy, whatever it was,” said Kolasinski. “That kind of spilled over into the third quarter.”
Olean’s struggles would continue to handicap them as they would once again fall into a drought for the first two and half minutes. Missing shots in close, the Huskies would try to look outside to kickstart a comeback but nothing would fall as the lead would grow to 20 with five minutes left.
The Huskies would get one final push. Starting with a layup from Adrian Bohdanowycz and followed by a 3-pointer from Tingley, Olean would snap out of their dry spell for 10 unanswered points. Yet it was too little, too late. The Steelers would dash their comeback hopes with a 7-0 run of their own, putting the game out of reach for good. With just over two minutes left, both squads rotated in their reserves, ultimately accepting the outcome.
Sullivan Hoffman pulls up and shoots a mid-range jumper during Olean’s season-ending loss to the Steelers on Wednesday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
In the final game of the season, Rivera led the Huskies with 17 points, followed by Tingley with nine and Joe Mest and Giovine, who both scored three.
“We came together one last time as a team and I told them that this was one day out of a three and a half month journey that we had together as one. We certainly went on a little bit of a roller coaster ride but I’m really proud of this team as a whole,” said Kolasinski. “It feels like we came a long way and learned a lot. It’s just a shame for it to come to an end. Every season has to end, only the fortunate few end in a win, but the thing I really do feel bad for is, whatever the reason, I don’t believe this was our best showing. When you go out, you want to know you gave everything you had. I think they did, but for whatever reason we couldn’t put the pieces together tonight.”
AT BUFFALO
Lackawanna (58)
Ikegwuond 10 1-2 21, Moore 5 0-2 14, HInes 3 1-3 7, Douglas 1 2-2 4, Braxton 2 0-0 4, Mohsin 1 0-0 3, Stevens 1 0-0 3, Huff 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 4-9 58
Olean (38)
Rivera 6 4-6 17, Tingley 2 3-4 9, Mest 1 1-4 3, Giovine 1 1-4 3, Bohdanowycz 1 0-1 2, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Saxon 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 9-21 38
Lackawanna 7 25 44 58
Olean 10 15 26 38
Three-point goals: LK (6) Moore 4, Stevens, Mohsin, OL (3) Tingley 2, Rivera; Total fouls: LK 14, OL 11; fouled out: None.
