BY PAUL GOTHAM
WAYNE, N.Y. — Bill Thomson played a waiting game. The 19th-year head coach watched as his undefeated Wayne boys’ basketball team struggled through a second quarter that saw the Eagles come face-to-face with their largest deficit of the season.
Nearly buried under a wave of long-distance shooting, Wayne needed to make a halftime adjustment.
Mason Blankenberg posted a double-double and a relentless Wayne defense turned in a masterful second half to help the Eagles advance to Friday’s Section Class B1 title game with a 59-50 victory over Livonia.
Trailing by as many as nine points, Wayne authored a decisive 17-1 second-half run.
“In the first half, we were lunging and off-balance,” Thomson said of his defense. “We weren’t doing a very good job. Give credit to them, they hit some really big shots in the first half.”
As the shot clock expires, Alex Minnehan rattles in the 3. Going to the 2nd: Wayne 14 Livonia 13 pic.twitter.com/uymuvsJbWE
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 10, 2021
Wayne’s defense went on to hold Livonia to its second-lowest offensive output of the season and 15 points under its average.
“As coach said in the locker room, defense is going to win us the game,” Blankenberg stated. “Defense wins championships. That’s what we switched up in the second half to get the edge on them.”
Starting late in the third quarter and extending seven minutes into the fourth, Wayne held Livonia without a field goal over 13 possessions. The Eagles forced four turnovers during that stretch and did not allow any offensive rebounds.
“I tell you, they’re tough and strong, but it takes all five,” Blankenberg explained. “All five of us weren’t rebounding in the first half, but we all stuck to it and all boxed out.”
Livonia connected on a four 3-pointers during a 16-4 first-half run. The Bulldogs hit six overall from distance during the first 16 minutes.
A Sean Minnehan triple that tied the game at 38 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter represented the Bulldogs only successful attempt from long range for the first 15 minutes of the second half.
“They were methodical in their half-court zone offense and took what they could get,” Thomason noted. “In the first half, it was the baseline that we couldn’t take away. In the second half, we did a much better job of taking the baseline away, and we contested their two shooters.”
Thomson pointed to the play of senior guard Alex Bolt at the top of the Eagles 2-3 zone.
“We wanted to get over the high screen,” Thomson explained. “It was allowing (Alex) Minnehan to get in a crease and then attack the baseline. Then Mason had to come up and help and they broke us down on the baseline.”
Bolt changed that in the second half.
“We knew they had the two shooters (cousins Alex and Sean Minnehan) up top. When we were watching film, coach told us we had to defend the 3-point line pretty well. In their film, we saw that they screened the top of the zone. We knew we had to get up over that screen so that they didn’t have a clear lane to the basket, so they could dish it to end line. We knew what we had to do, and we just did it.”
Wayne’s offense found its rhythm at the same time.
Senior guard Charley Wiggins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Eagles a lead they did not surrender at 44-40.
“Mason came alive. He carried us in the first half,” Thomson commented. “I said at halftime, ‘we just won’t win this game if it’s all Mason.’ In the second half they trusted their teammates.”
Five different Eagles combined to hit six 3-pointers in the second half.
Blankenberg jump started the long-range attack early in the third. Two possessions later, Bolt found the measure. Devon Forrest hit a step-back three. After Wiggins delivered, Eli Schichtel added a trey of his own.
Blankenberg used a spin move in the lane to set up a jumper for the Eagles first double-digit lead of the game at 51-40. Two minutes later, the Eagles were sealing the win at the free throw line.
Mason Blankenberg uses the spin move in the lane to set up the jumper. Wayne has its first double-digit lead of the night. 51-40. pic.twitter.com/32lswkBWfA
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 11, 2021
“We had to put our minds to it,” Bolt said. “Five play as a team and come out with the win.”
One year after falling in the Class A2 semi-finals, Wayne will make its third finals appearance in five years having won the 2017 and 2018 Class A2 titles.
“It’s amazing especially coming back after last year losing in the semi-finals,” Blankenberg said. “Winning the semi-finals feels really good right now. It’s great to continue the tradition. It’s a true blessing.”
Blankenberg scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the double-double along with handing out five assists. Tyler Reynolds finished with 10 points. Wiggins added nine. Forrest had five points. Schichtel accounted for eight.
Mason Blankenberg swipes the pass and leads Tyler Reynolds for the layup at the buzzer. Heading to the 4th: Wayne 46 Livonia 40 pic.twitter.com/iE5fWYwJIr
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 11, 2021
Alex Minnehan and Shawn Minnehan scored 15 apiece for Livonia (11-2). Troy Galbraith added seven points. Michael Bean (6), Steffan Gwyn (4) and Chris Coyle (3) also scored for the Bulldogs. Livonia’s lowest offensive output of the season came in a 49-46 win over LeRoy.
Alex Minnehan convert the turnover into two points. Livonia 16 Wayne 14 pic.twitter.com/AABYn9ES2R
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 10, 2021
Wayne (14-0) will meet Batavia (14-0) in Friday’s Class B1 final.
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