By SPENCER BATES
BUFFALO — The goal for the Allegany-Limestone boys basketball team this season was to compete for a Section 6 title and, according to coach Glenn Anderson, they did just that despite falling to Wilson 56-47 and coming up just short of a 20-point comeback in the Class B2 Final.
The Gators, who reached the B2 title game after defeating Eden 70-63 in the semifinal, found themselves in a deep hole early after having been on the receiving end of Wilson’s offensive blitz which put them in a 23-2 hole after the first quarter.
It was not the kind of situation Anderson was hoping to see his side in after eight minutes of play. But instead of rolling over, A-L found its legs and got a foothold in the game after some early buckets in the second quarter. This was just what it needed, as the team, according to Anderson, embraced the identity it had built and developed throughout the season. One of grit, one of perseverance, one of resilience.
“I’m proud of the way we’ve battled all season, (this game was) kind of a microcosm of what we were dealing with for a lot of the season,” Anderson said. “Getting into a (23-2) hole, that’s a big deficit to overcome against a good team, and we kept scratching and clawing. We gave ourselves a chance at the end, if a couple more shots go, if we get a couple more stops, who knows. But it’s kind of the story of our season. … And these guys and their resiliency and their ability to just keep fighting is awesome.”
Part of what led to the large deficit A-L faced in the first place was the fact the Lakemen managed to take the Gators’ go-to man, Carson Kwiatkowski, out of the game. After scoring 37 points in their semifinal win, Kwiatkowski netted just two points in the first half of play and eight through three quarters.
Allegany-Limestone’s Collin Forrest (5) puts up a 3-pointer while a Wilson defender tries to close him down late. (Spencer Bates)
But even as A-L’s top-scorer on the season struggled to get a clean look at the basket for the most of the game, it was the role players around him that led the charge as it looked to claw it way back into the contest.
Gavin Straub, Collin Forrest and Caleb Strade finished with 12, 10 and eight points respectively and made big impacts before Kwiatkowski was able to hit his stride late. Anderson attributed the ability of the “others” around Kwiatkowski to manage that load to the time that they were forced to do so during the weeks in the regular season Kwiatkowski sat out with an injury.
“That time without Carson made everyone else better,” Anderson said. “And it’s, quite honestly, probably what got us to this situation anyway. Those guys (kept) us going, because we didn’t really get CK going until late when he, finally, saw a couple 3s go. … I can’t say enough about those guys. They’re all really good in their roles and, as a coach, that’s all you can ask for from those guys.”
Straub, specifically, excelled in executing the duties of his role on the afternoon, taking away the interior presence of Wilson’s Shamus George. Having scored 23 points for the Lakemen in their semifinal game against Salamanca, Straub held George without a field goal for the duration of the game, scoring just three points, all from the charity stripe, against the Gators.
“Gavin gives me the same thing every single game,” Anderson said. “He’s always going to work hard, he’s always going to rebound, he’s always going to defend as well as he can. He’s a big, strong kid and physical. I think him and Shamus are pretty similar. I thought our teams were pretty similar: Neumann-CK, Shamus-Gavin, and then the role players that just do a really good job in their role and do everything their team needs them to do. I thought it was a pretty even matchup outside the first six minutes.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Gavin Straub (21) rises up for a put-back attempt while taking contact from Wilson’s Shamus George (30). (Spencer Bates)
A-L cut the deficit to just six points in the dwindling minutes of the game in the wake of Kwiatkowski’s resurgence on the scoresheet. However, with a handful of drained free throws from the game’s top-scorer in Aidan Neumann, who finished with 27 points for Wilson, the affair was put to bed and the Gators saw their season reach its conclusion.
“Give all the credit in the world to Wilson,” Anderson said. “I mean, the 1-3-1, we knew they had it, we worked against it in practice, but (Ryan Hough), he’s a freak of an athlete. Their speed on the wings was a little faster than I was anticipating, even after seeing them a couple times. You got to give all the credit to them. And, you know, I should have done a better job getting us ready to see it … but, I mean, hindsight is 20-20.”
The loss marked the end of the road for nine A-L seniors, who Anderson credited with making an incredible impact on the program during their careers.
“They kept carrying the torch,” Anderson said of his seniors. “I mean, I think we’ve been pretty good here for quite a bit. We’ve been on a good stretch and it’s all due to the players and what those guys bring to the table every day. They kept the standard high. The goal was to get here to compete for a section title, and they did.”
AT BUFFALO
Allegany-Limestone (47)
Kwiatkowski 4 4-5 15, G. Straub 6 0-2 12, Forrest 3 2-2 10, Strade 3 0-0 8, Callen 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 6-9 47
Wilson (56)
Neumann 8 8-12 27, Hough 2 4-8 11, Frerichs 3 0-0 8, Martin 2 0-0 5, George 0 3-4 3, Lepsch 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 15-24 56
A-L 2 15 26 47
Wils. 23 30 38 56Three-point goals: A-L 7 (Kwiatkowski 3, Strade 2, Forrest 2), Wils. 7 (Neumann 3, Frerichs 2, Hough, Martin); Total fouls: A-L 19, Wils. 10; fouled out: G. Straub (A-L).
