By PAUL GOTHAM
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Gerald Drumgoole led three in double figures, and the Irondequoit Eagles overcame ballhandling struggles to defeat West Seneca West, 67-49 in the NYS Class A Far West Regional, Saturday at Buffalo State College.
With the victory, Irondequoit clinched its second straight trip to the NYS semi-finals.
The Eagles held a West team, which came into the game undefeated, more than 33 points under their season average of 82.7 points per game. The Indians opened post-season play with a 100-point effort in a win over Grand Island followed by an 82-62 win over North Tonawanda. West scored 97 in a four-overtime win against Williamsville-South to take the Section VI title.
Irondequoit limited West to 5-of-33 (15.2 percent) shooting in the first half to take a 29-13 lead into the break.
“We very easily could have been up by more at half,” Irondequoit coach Chris Cardon said. “I was a little concerned with that because I thought our defense was right on. We had those 11 turnovers (in the first half).
“We had two-on-ones. We’re throwing it away. You don’t want to tell the guys they can’t take it. The second half we just had trouble with throwing it to the corner a lot, had trouble bringing it up.”
West was able to take advantage of an Irondequoit offense which committed 11 more turnovers in the second half, to cut the lead margin to eight at 46-38 going into the fourth quarter.
Juston Johnson paced West Seneca West with 22 points.
“To their credit, they were not undefeated for a reason,” Cardon added. “They have a lot of heart, and they do a great job with that.
They’re a really good team. They’re tough to stop. We persevered a little bit. Last man standing.”
Drumgoole scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor to go with 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Irondequoit to its second straight regional title.
“Even though in the second half we didn’t see it very much, I’m proud of how we’ve come together defensively,” Cardon said.
Teammate Patrick Thomas scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Robert Diaz-Judson added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“We didn’t play badly,” Cardon noted. “We just didn’t take care of the basketball. Usually we do well against pressure. That’s what they (West Seneca West). They’re good at it. Second half, I thought their defense definitely stepped up.”
Irondequoit (22-3) will play Amityville (XI) in the NYS semi-finals next Saturday.
IRONDEQUOIT 67, WEST SENECA WEST 49
IRONDEQUOIT (22-3)
Gerald Drumgoole 8-14 6-9 23; Patrick Thomas 8-16 0-0 16; Robert Diaz-Judson
5-7 1-3 11; Frederick June Jr. 3-5 1-2 8; Josh Stenglein 2-5 0-0 5; Tanner
Pioch 2-3 0-1 4; William Porter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 8-15 67.
WEST SENECA WEST (24-1)
Juston Johnson 9-26 4-6 22; Adrian Baugh 4-15 2-2 11; Mike Borton 3-4 0-0 6;
Alex Wayland 1-11 2-2 5; Nate Ryneic 1-6 0-0 3; Jesse Broad 1-3 0-0 2.
Totals 19-65 8-10 49.
Irondequoit……………….
West Seneca West………….. 5 8 25 11 – 49
3-point goals–Irondequoit 3-10 (Frederick June Jr. 1-3; Josh Stenglein 1-2;
Gerald Drumgoole 1-4; William Porter 0-1), West Seneca West 3-26 (Nate
Ryneic 1-5; Adrian Baugh 1-6; Alex Wayland 1-9; Jesse Broad 0-1; Juston
Johnson 0-5). Fouled out–Irondequoit-None, West Seneca West-None.
Rebounds–Irondequoit 44 (Gerald Drumgoole 13), West Seneca West 33 (Alex
Wayland 7; Adrian Baugh 7). Assists–Irondequoit 14 (Gerald Drumgoole 6),
West Seneca West 5 (Mike Borton 3). Total fouls–Irondequoit 15, West Seneca
West 16. Technical fouls–Irondequoit-None, West Seneca West-None.
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