By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Wayne boys’ basketball program waited 68 years for their first Section V title.
The second championship didn’t take nearly as long.
Logan Blankenberg and Nick Carmichael combined for 22 second-half points, and Wayne took their second straight Section V Class A2 title with a 57-54 victory over the NE Douglass Panthers Saturday afternoon at the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial.
“It’s a great feeling,” Carmichael said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to get the one last year. Now we’re here again. We’ve won two.”
Carmichael’s bucket in the lane broke a 46-all tie with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The junior forward followed with a traditional 3-point play, and the Eagles did not trail again.
“Coach was trusting me,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done all year. I had to make a play, and I did.”
The 6-foot-5 forward’s production came right on time. After leading by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, the Eagles struggled in the second quarter and connected just one time from the floor over the eight minutes.
“Little buckets matter,” Carmichael said making mention of Wayne’s semi-final victory over Honeoye Falls-Lima in which the Eagles scored just 36 points. “That’s what won us these games. Sticking together won us the games.”
Tournament MVP Logan Blankenberg finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor including 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc. But the junior guard struggled with early foul trouble and picked up his second infraction midway through the second quarter.
Billy Thomson and Logan Blankenberg connect on the alley. End 1st Class A2: @WCSD_Athletics 20 NE Douglass 10 pic.twitter.com/HBVWgL1mxz
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 3, 2018
He came out of halftime and gave Wayne a spark to grab a double-digit advantage. He scored on the half’s first possession, found teammate Braeden Zenelovic at the free throw line for a jumper and followed with a catch-and shoot 3-pointer to push Wayne’s advantage to nine.
“I love that shot; it’s my favorite one,” Blankenberg said of the triple from the top of the arc. “I was off to the right. It’s a play where there are two double screens and I come off. I put my one foot down, catch and go.”
He followed with a jump hook in the lane for a 35-24 Wayne lead.
But as they have done in their two previous post-season wins, the Panthers rallied.
Jiahmere Mitchell converted on four straight free throws. Then Adonis Flagler drilled back-to-back triples to cut the deficit to three at 43-40 with six minutes remaining in the contest.
Mitchell connected twice more from the charity stripe. Flagler grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor for a layup to give the Panthers their first lead of the game at 44-43.
Blankenberg responded with another three, and Mitchell tied the game with a layup.
Wayne turned to Carmichael from there.
“We had been talking about it all game,” Wayne coach Bill Thomson said. “We wanted to get it inside. It almost cost us. That was our game plan. Nick came through. Logan was in foul trouble most the half. I’m really pleased because we found a way to win, and it wasn’t pretty.”
Carmichael finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go with a game-high 10 rebounds. Zenelovic added seven points. Thomson had five points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds. Tommy Bolt (3), Logan Holgdo (3) and Max LaRocco (1) rounded out the scoring for Wayne.
The Eagles connected on eight of 16 3-point attempts.
Mitchell paced NE Douglass with 18 points. Flagler had 15. Lamar Lovelace connected on three 3-pointers and scored 10 points. Trevion Miller added seven and Lonnie Watkins, Jr. four points.
Lamar Lovelace 3 and-one pulls NE Douglass within 5 of @WCSD_Athletics at 26-21 going into halftime. Class A2 final @BlueCrossArena pic.twitter.com/9s0ykPkR9A
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 3, 2018
NE Douglass converted 15 Wayne turnovers into a 19-14 advantage in points off turnovers. The Panthers had a 10-6 edge in second-chance points.
Carmichael and Thomson joined Blankenberg on the All-Tournament team. Flagler and Mitchell garnered spots as did Leadership Academy’s Rondell Watson and HF-L’s Dan Hayes.
Wayne will play the winner of the Greece Athena versus Irondequoit Class A1 matchup in Wednesday’s regional qualifier.
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