Prep Talk

Thursday the "other" game I would have gone to see went to triple overtime.

Tonight there were two "other" games I was considering, one which went to overtime (Canisius beats St. Mary's) and one which went to the final seconds (Maryvale over Depew).

But I'm not complaining. After getting some work done in the office, I decided to make the trip up north to Youngstown to see two All-Western New York candidates who I might not get to watch for the rest of the season.

Aaron Davis had a very good all-around performance to help North Tonawanda to a 68-62 win at Lew-Port as the Lumberjacks fended off Lancer standout scorer Robby Seyler. Both players did what they do: Davis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists while Seyler had 38 points.

A close game early became NT's as it spent the middle quarters steadily building a lead -- 12-10 after one quarter, 31-24 at halftime and 49-37 after three. NT started the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 56-39 lead.

Several times, Davis grabbed big rebounds on the defensive end that were followed by good outlet passes, while he had some tough rebounds on offense that he turned into putbacks.

NT built its lead through balanced team play, particularly in that third quarter. One of their best showings was a possession in which it quickly passed the ball about nine times, resulting in Pat King finding a streaking Davis down the lane for a driving layup.

Derrick Bloomfield provided a spark on several plays, including a nice fast-break finish in which he brought the ball down and then back up in midair. Justin Hromowyk had several nice inside moves, including a couple off nice inbounds plays.

Seyler showed how dangerous he could be by scoring 21 of his points in the fourth quarter, including his team's first 18 of the period.

It's quite impressive to watch a player that the whole gym knows can score still be able to do just that, which is probably the highest compliment a scorer can be paid. NT coach Erik O'Bryan consistently called out Seyler's name, but the lanky guard nearly single-handedly brought Lew-Port back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit.

During his fourth-quarter run, Seyler hit a three, a fadeaway jumper, and several off-balance finishes on drives to the basket. He grabbed rebounds on the defensive end that became one-man fast breaks. He got to the line as well, hitting two free throws to bring Lew-Port within 61-55 and a three-point play to make it 64-60 with 25 seconds left.

The closest Lew-Port would get was 65-62 on two free throws with 16 seconds left. A free throw by Kevin Miller made it a two possession game at 66-62. NT struggled at the foul line, particularly in the fourth The Jacks were 4 for 18 in one stretch. Yikes.

NT's O'Bryan joking to Lew-Port coach Pat Krawczyk during the dismal display: "Next time you should just foul us the whole game."   

Check out the rest of the scoreboard at the high school home page. There will be more details on Friday night's games in Saturday's paper.

Let us know if you were at a game (I've been beaten to the punch already by a St. Mary's at Canisius report). And how about Cardinal O'Hara beating St. Joe's? 

---Keith McShea