By PAUL CIFONELLI
Gates-Chili head coach Jeffrey LaFave reminded his team at halftime about their 77-72 loss to Rush-Henrietta just five days ago. Even though the Spartans held a 35-27 halftime lead thanks to a 22-12 second quarter, the loss in the regular-season finale served as a reminder of why they need to play all 32 minutes hard.
“Less than a week ago, we had a 14-point lead with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter. That was a great lesson we learned that day,” LaFave said. “We lost the No. 1 seed, we lost the division title and it was a humbling moment for us. We talked about that at halftime, not allowing that to happen again.”
No. 2 Gates-Chili did exactly what their coach said in the second half. They won the third quarter 27-16, ballooned the lead to as much as 20 and ended up beating No. 3 Aquinas 79-68 to advance to the Class AA finals.
Devon Payton cans a triple for @GCSDSpartans to give them a lead. The Spartans are up 29-26 with 2:09 left in the first half. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/Y9EQyigxrA
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) March 12, 2021
The middle quarters were the decisive ones, as Gates-Chili outscored the Little Irish 49-28 in that time. Devon Payton, Cameron Brown and Spencer Glenn led the second quarter surge, then Adam Williams scored 11 third-quarter points after being held to four in the whole first half.
Aquinas had a good first quarter thanks to an aggressive, trapping zone press that forced four early steals. Those steals led directly to easy baskets or free throws, putting Gates-Chili in early foul trouble. Williams, Glenn and Kobe McCray all were on the bench for extended amounts of time in foul trouble. The bad start had LaFave slightly worried.
“We were still in the locker room,” LaFave said. “Hats off to Aquinas, they came out with a lot of energy and put us on our heels, but we were not executing early on. We called timeout, regrouped everybody and drew up exactly where people needed to be. As the game went on, it really wasn’t much of a factor after that.”
The Little Irish got out of their press in the second quarter once Gates-Chili began to break it regularly, then the Spartans’ stingy defense stalled all of Aquinas’ offense. According to LaFave, Blake Sipling’s energy off the bench was the spark that Gates-Chili needed in the second quarter.
“Blake Siplin came out with a ton of energy and was huge for us tonight,” LaFave said. “He played like a man that did not want this to be his last high school basketball game. He was really all over the defensive glass, which helped clear the boards.”
The fourth quarter turned into a back-and-forth game, with the pace picking up and both teams getting shots up at a good clip.
This Spencer Glenn layup put @GCSDSpartans up by 18 late in the fourth. They cruised past @AQBoys_Hoops 79-68. They advance to the Section V Class AA finals against @victorboysbball on Saturday. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/olepn7yzSD
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) March 12, 2021
Williams led Gates-Chili with 25 points, 21 of which came in the second half. Williams completed the double-double with 13 boards. Devon Payton led the Spartans through their first-half struggles, netting 14 points. Siplin and Glenn had 12 points apiece. Brown provided eight points and McCray and Andrew Newcombe both had four points. Newcombe added a team-high seven assists with just one turnover, while Brown dished out six dimes. Gates-Chili assisted on 23 of its 33 made field goals.
Jack Bleier paced Aquinas with 18 points, including three made threes. Damarius Owens scored 15 points, had two dunks and numerous blocked shots. Will Scanlon and Myles Blackwood both contributed 13 points, Robert McCullough and Wesley Henderson pitched in four points apiece and Mason Blackwood rounded out the Little Irish’s scoring with one point.
Jack Bleier makes a three immediately after the jump ball the two free throws. 5-0 @AQBoys_Hoops less than a minute in. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/S4nEwvs9og
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) March 12, 2021
Gates-Chili moves on to face No. 1 Victor in the Class AA finals on Friday at 6 p.m. at Victor. The game will serve as a tiebreaker, as the Spartans handed Victor its only defeat in their first contest, then the Blue Devils exacted their revenge later in the season.
“It’s the rubber match,” LaFave said. “I know Victor is looking forward to it. They’re probably excited that it’s in their place, but we’re pretty excited too. I think it’s going to be a great game and whatever team comes out and executes their game plan the best probably wins the game.”
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