Worth the trip
It was worth the trip, and then it was worth the wait.
I headed up to Newfane to see the Panthers' 80-65 victory over Wilson Tuesday night. It was my first trip to the "Panther's Den," where the tipoff had been moved back from 7 p.m. to 8 -- unbeknownst to me until they stamped my hand (with a blue Panther paw). However, the prime-time start was appropriate since it was such a big game: the signs on the door said there were no more tickets left for the matchup between the rivals for first place in the Niagara-Orleans League.
The atmosphere for the game was outstanding. "Where would you rather be than right here, right now, for a matchup for first place?" asked the public address announcer as Newfane's "Blue Zone" student section roared.
The bleacher full of students wore blue t-shirts with "Blue Zone" on the front and "6th man" on the back. There were guys with their chests painted. There was a blow-up likeness of NBA star Ben Wallace next to the bleacher -- and he too was wearing a "Blue Zone" t-shirt. They bleacher-bounced like Duke's Cameron Crazies, exchanged fun taunts with the Wilson fans in the opposite corner and wow, were they loud. (The Newfane administrators also did a good job policing them, at one point removing some hand-made signs in the name of sportsmanship).
The Panthers gave their fans plenty to roar about. With 6-foot-6 senior forward Dave Shuey spending much of the first half on the bench with foul trouble, senior guard Trey Sherrie led the team with 21 of his 30 points in the first half. Sherrie hit two three-pointers during a 16-point second quarter, while senior guard Ryan Linhart knocked down two open threes as Newfane took a 38-28 lead at the half. In the third quarter, it was senior Nick Vona's turn. He hit two threes as he scored 13 of his 19 points in the period, which ended with Newfane up, 55-47.
Ethan Baker (20 points, 10 rebounds) hit a three-pointer to help Wilson come within six points early in the fourth, but the Newfane guards stretched the lead again: Vona hit a jumper, Sherrie converted a sneaky baseline drive before what could have been the highlight of the game. A steal by reserve Adam Bailey on the defensive end turned into a three-pointer by Sherrie that made it 70-59. The "Blue Zone" section -- standing the entire game -- reacted to the shot by collectively all falling back to their seats, as if Sherrie's three-point bomb actually exploded. Great stuff.
When Shuey's traditional three-point play made the score 73-60 with a little over two minutes left, it was a reminder that the Panthers' performance was all the more impressive with their big man in foul trouble for much of the game. Sherrie had a great scoring touch on drives to the basket, while he, Vona and Linhart all showed that they can't be left alone on the perimeter
The Panthers are definitely a team to watch in the playoffs; they are most deserving of their current No. 2 seeding position in Class B-1 behind Olean.
Wilson's Baker was impressive as well as the 6-2 sophomore scored inside and out, while Brennan Moxham did a good job at the point -- particularly for a freshman. Senior Doug Edwards' passion can provide great things for the Lakemen, but Tuesday night he fouled out late in the third quarter and he was rightly hit with a technical foul for yelling at a referee as he left the court.
All in all, a great high school game: two well-coached, hard-working teams, a packed, loud gym and one of the best student sections in Western New York.
---Keith McShea
