Pickin' Splinters

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Lyons makes late run, clinches back-to-back regional berths

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Stephen LeBrecht finished with 16 points and six rebounds in the win. (Photo: JENNIFER LAEMLEIN)

By PAUL GOTHAM

BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. — Little more than three minutes had elapsed in Wednesday’s Class C regional qualifier at Bloomfield High School, and Lyons coach Dean Schott II had two starters on the bench.

Senior point guard Mikey Briggs was sidelined with an injury. Sophomore big man JJ Johnson joined his teammate “on the pine” after picking up his second foul.

Four minutes later, Lyons (22-2) had a lead it did not surrender.

“My guys are tough,” Schott said after his squad defeated Byron-Bergen, 61-45 to clinch a spot in the New York State Far West Regional. “JJ plays three minutes in the first half. No Mikey. And we’re leading at halftime? If you told me that, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

The Lions turned in a defensive gem holding the Bees to more than 17 points under their season average of 62.3 points per game. The 45 points matched a season low from mid-January and was only the second time this season B-B was held under 50 points.

“We were sticking with all of the shooters,” Schott said referring to Byron-Bergen guards Brody Baubie, Colin Martin and Brendan Pimm. “The plan was we weren’t going to leave Baubie. We weren’t going to double and triple-team (on Braedyn Chambry in the post) and let those guys get wide open looks like other teams were letting them.”

In the end, that plan resulted in a 12-2 run to close the game.

“We knew coming in that we were going to get some open looks, and we were going to have to make them,” said Byron-Bergen head coach Roxanne Noeth. “We just didn’t. They didn’t go down tonight.

“They’ve (Lyons) won 22 sectional championships for a reason. There’s no doubt about it. They have it.”

The regional-clinching run was the third such spurt of the night for Lyons which held off the Bees early in the second half.

Stephen LeBrecht and Devyn Williams combined for seven points in an 8-2 run to close the first quarter for a 19-13 Lyons lead.

Lyons led by as many as seven in the second quarter, but the Bees cut the deficit to four at halftime. Pimm’s rebound and putback to start the third quarter made it a two-point game at 30-28.

Lyons responded with a 10-2 run. Jaheim Morris grabbed an offensive rebound and converted for a 40-30 lead – the first double-digit advantage of the game.

“I still liked our chances going into the fourth,” Noeth said. “We just had to make timely shots.”

Baubie connected on back-to-back threes (Byron-Bergen’s first 3-pointers of the night) early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to six at 49-43 with 5:45 left in the game.

“We were in a 2-2-1, and it was working great then Baubie got free for those two,” Schott said. “I called timeout, and said ‘back to man-to-man.’ We weren’t leaving anyone open any more. We were one-on-one with one helper inside on Chambry. That was Dez Bell. They had to find the open guy.”

Lyons held B-B to one field goal for the remainder of the contest.

Johnson snapped the 6-0 Byron-Bergen run with a bucket in the lane and followed with 1-of-2 from the free throw line. The 6-foot-6 center grabbed two of his five rebounds in the closing moments.

Williams finished with a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds and six steals. LeBrecht had 16 points and six rebounds. Morris scored 12 and grabbed seven boards. Dez Bell handed out six assists.

The team’s most consistent free-throw shooter, Briggs entered late in the game to help seal the victory. He converted 1-of-2 from the line.

Chambry, the all-time leading scorer in Bryon-Bergen boys’ basketball history with 1,223 points, finished with 13 points. Martin had 12. Baubie scored 10. Byron-Bergen (20-5) had won 10 straight entering play Wednesday.

With the win, Lyons sets up a rematch with reigning state champion Randolph (21-2). The Cardinals defeated Lyons, 57-47 in the 2023 NYS Class C quarterfinal.

The appearance in regionals will be the 12th for the Lyons program.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Lions. A 6:30 PM tip-off is scheduled Friday at Buffalo State College.

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