Westhill and Bishop Ludden’s boys basketball teams each took separate Section III championship streaks into Sunday’s title games at SRC Arena, but only the Warriors emerged with its streak intact.
Of course, Westhill have stayed in Class B through its recent championship run, while the Gaelic Knights got pulled up two classes, from B to AA, making for a different set of opponents and far different challenges to overcome.
Still, Ludden almost pulled it off for the fourth year in a row, staying close to top seed Henninger in the AA sectional final before the Black Knights, led by Romero Collier and Shaitique Blatche, pulled away in the final 90 seconds to beat the Gaelic Knights 59-51.
Hours earlier, Westhill met a different – and happier fate in the Class B final, turning back Syracuse Academy of Science 66-43, a margin smaller than its two regular-season meetings with the Atoms, but still quite convincing as the Warriors claimed its third sectional title and sixth in the last seven years.
What this game showed, much to the alarm of future foes trying to deny Westhill another state and Federation title to go with the ones it earned in 2014, is that the Warriors don’t need big numbers from Jordan Roland to have its way with an opponent.
Applying its trademark man-to-man pressure to counteract SAS’s full-court game, Westhill roared out to a 21-4 lead by the last minute of the first quarter – without a single shot from Jordan Roland.
Instead, it was Ryan Roland lighting it up, with 10 first-quarter points (including a pair of 3-pointers and a steal and lay-up), which forced the Atoms to go after him for the rest of the game, and let other players shine.
SAS switched up its defense in the second quarter and put together a 12-1 run of its own, helped in no small part by Jeff Lobello going to the bench with his third foul early in the period. Though the Warriors restored the margin to 31-20 by halftime, enough of an alarm was sounded.
The moment Lobello returned in the third quarter, the getaway began. Less than 90 seconds into the half, Lobello lobbed a perfect alley-oop pass that Jordan Roland slammed home, launching a half where he would produce 10 points to work his total to 16 as Lobello also hit a pair of key 3-pointers, finishing with 11 points.
All along, senior forward Tyler Reynolds was a steady force. With a stream of strong moves to the basket and a wide variety of shots, the senior forward accumulated 22 points and sparked an 18-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, deciding matters.
While Westhill prepared for a Class B regional final Saturday at Colgate University’s Cotterrell Court against Section IV champion Chenango Valley, Bishop Ludden tried to upend Henninger in the same dramatic way that it had rallied past Nottingham in overtime in the semifinals on this same SRC Arena court the week before.
Again slow out of the gates, the Gaelic Knights fell behind 26-11 early in the second quarter, only to answer with a 9-0 run, again fueled by the trio of Jack Rauch, Zach Walser and Mika Adams-Woods. By halftime, Ludden only trailed by four, 28-24.
All through the third quarter, along with most of the final period, the pattern was the same. Ludden would sneak within striking distance, and Henninger would answer and maintain its slim lead, often with baskets from Collier, who finished with 21 points, and Blatche, who had 19 points.
Then, with 4:38 to play, Adams-Woods, who had 15 points on the night, hit a jump shot and pushed the Gaelic Knights in front, 47-46, the first time it had led since the game’s opening minutes, but it only lasted a few seconds before Collier hit a jumper to help the Black Knights regain the lead.
In what turned out to be the game’s decisive possession, Henninger, still clinging to a 52-51 lead, worked down the shot clock until Collier fired from 3-point range – and swished it with 1:35 to play.
Ludden could not answer. In fact, it was shut out in the game’s final 2:09 as the Black Knights pressed and forced turnovers to make sure that, unlike Nottingham, it didn’t let the Gaelic Knights spring another last-minute miracle.
Henninger advanced to the regional finals this Saturday at Colgate, while Ludden finished a remarkable 19-3 campaign that included a sweep of “Holy War” rival (and eventual sectional Class A champion) CBA, head coach Pat Donnelly’s 500th win late in December and, of course, the comeback against Nottingham just to reach the sectional title game.
Now Rauch, who had 18 points against Henninger, and Walser, who got 10 points in the sectional final, graduate, the last players linked to the 2012 state Class B championship team. But with Adams-Woods, Shikem Lee, Will Englehardt, Matt Hosek and lots of other young talents back in 2015-16, Ludden has a good chance to start another championship streak.
