By PAUL GOTHAM
HONEOYE FALLS, N.Y. — At the start of the fourth quarter Monday night, Matt Young’s Livonia Bulldogs faced a five-point deficit.
Having led by as many as 13 in the second quarter, their eight-point halftime advantage evaporated less than four minutes into the third stanza. They had turned the ball over as many times (3) as they had field goals during the eight minutes.
Livonia, though, opened the fourth with the ball and didn’t waste much time finding their rhythm. The Bulldogs worked the ball inside to Steffan Gwyn, and the junior big man delivered.
Nine possessions later, Livonia had a six-point advantage and was on its way to a 64-53 win over NE Douglass in the championship game of the 2019 Cougar Classic.
“We had to do something different against their 1-3-1 (defense),” Young said of the effort to get the ball into the post. “We ran the opposite guard through the baseline and posted the big guy up on the block, and it worked for us.
“We knew we had to do something other than just our 2-1-2 offense against that defense.”
Four different Bulldogs found twine during the run. Gwyn led the way with six points.
“We always tell the guys, ‘let’s try to avoid the valleys,'” Young said. “‘Peaks and valleys. We peaked which was good, but maybe we’re in a little lull here. We don’t want to go into a valley.’ We’ve been preaching that the last couple years with these guys.”
Gwyn converted a steal and layup. Troy Galbraith scored on a putback before Noah Fasso went the length of the floor for a layup.
Livonia had a lead it did not surrender.
“Just proud of the way these guys came back. They were resilient when they got down by five. We had some big-time baskets from some big-time players.”
Alex Minnehan found Gwyn with a diagonal pass through the NE Douglass defense for another bucket. Minnehan followed that a 3-pointer. The junior guard who scored 17 points in the first half managed to connect on just one field goal during the third quarter.
Alex Minnehan gets the steal and layup to give @LivoniaBball an early 9-6 lead. pic.twitter.com/ZH9c7geLS5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 31, 2019
“In the first half I shot pretty good, but there in the third quarter I cooled off,” Minnehan said. “What the great teams do, when one guy loses the touch or goes cold the other guys pick it up. That’s what we did.”
Gwyn finished with 10 points inside and eight rebounds. Galbraith added 12 and 11 rebounds.
“When we can get it to the inside, it draws attention,” Minnehan explained. “It helps the balance of our offense and really opens things up for everybody.”
Alex Minnehan has 10 points including this drive. End 1st: @LivoniaBball 21 NE Douglass 10 pic.twitter.com/tnlqD90ipb
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 31, 2019
Minnehan led all scorers with 25 points. The junior added five rebounds and five assists. Shawn Minnehan connected on a 6-of-6 free throw attempts late in the fourth quarter and ended the game with 10 points. He also handed out three assists. Noah Fasso chipped in with seven points.
Trynzeir Parker calls glass, gives NE Douglass its first lead of the night at 34-33. pic.twitter.com/0vLPBGoCOw
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 31, 2019
Adonis Flagler paced NE Douglass with 28 points. The senior accounted for 12 points to lead the Panthers’ third quarter rush in which they outscored Livonia, 20-7. Trynzeir Parker added. Jayden Berry had seven points while Jason Jones (5) and Manny Rivera (3) rounded out the scoring for NE Douglass. The Panthers were without starting forward Nic Jeanty who was one the sideline wearing a walking boot. He joined Lamar Lovelace who is still sidelined with a hand injury.
Jason Jones goes the length of the floor for 2, but NE Douglass trails @LivoniaBball 26-19 pic.twitter.com/j0pF4D0ZGv
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 31, 2019
Proceeds from the two-day tournament raised $1,300 for the Kristine Brassie Scholarship Fund.
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