SALAMANCA — This time when the game grew tense the Salamanca boys’ basketball team locked in.
Showing how much they have evolved since a 5-point loss at Randolph in December, the Warriors put the Cardinals away with focused defense. The result was a satisfying 59-48 non-league victory against a bitter rival on Wednesday night before a standing-room-only crowd.
“We had a lead in the fourth quarter over there,” Salamanca coach Adam Bennett said. “It was early in the year and we didn’t handle that lead well. We gave it up, and they hit some shots. Here, the last five minutes of the game were our best five minutes.”
Lucus Brown put the finishing touches on the victory with a corner 3-pointer with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining. The bucket was Brown’s sixth from deep and wrapped up a 35-point night for the school’s all-time leading scorer.
The purple-clad Warriors supporters roared on a night when Salamanca held its annual Beat Cystic Fibrosis event to support senior Andy Herrick and raise money to fight the genetic disorder. With the gym packed, overflow fans were directed to the high school auditorium to watch a live stream of the contest.
Those watching witnessed the retirement of Herrick’s No. 30 jersey before the game.
“Tonight was Andy’s night, and Andy and Lucus are like brothers,” Bennett said. “They’ve been playing this game together since they were little kids. On the night that we retire Andy’s number and all of the emotion that is involved with that, Lucus had his back, especially early.
“Those two guys are special. They’ve changed our program. The whole team has, but those two guys lead the way. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Brown netted 17 of his points in the second quarter and had 25 by halftime to help the Warriors gain a 36-25 lead. They extended the advantage in the third quarter with defense, limiting the Cardinals to three field goals.
Randolph, however, quickly cut into the 14-point deficit. The Cards trailed by five after Carson Conley connected on three free throws. But they missed a 3-pointer that would have made it a three-point game and misfired on their next two shots
Herrick, who finished with nine points, scored inside to up the lead to eight, and moments later Brown’s final 3-pointer pushed it back up to 10.
The victory provides a fitting end to a regular season that saw Salamanca go 18-2 with 12 straight wins to close it. The CCAA West I champion is ranked No. 12 in NYS Class B and the favorite in the upcoming Section 6, Class B postseason.
“It was a gutsy effort on our part,” Bennett said. “We weren’t perfect, but we defended well, especially down the stretch. We rebounded the ball, and they’ve got a lot of size. We hit some shots early, but in the second half, it was about defense and rebounding. That’s what it takes to win in the playoffs. I’m proud of our effort defensively, especially in the last five minutes of the game to hold them the way that we did.”
The Warriors and Cardinals have had many intense contests in recent years, including the sectional Class C semifinal that Salamanca won last year. Wednesday was no different.
“This is a rivalry and because it’s a rivalry, there’s a lot of emotion that goes into it,” Bennett said. “But our guys have really bought into taking things one day at a time and getting better. We felt like with the schedule that we played and our league, which we really feel is the toughest (Class B) league in Western New York, we just felt like we’d be prepared. We were.
“It really doesn’t matter who we play at this point. That’s not any slight to any of our opponents. It’s just about us. We need to continue to work hard and play our game.”
Though Randolph (16-4) had its six-game winning streak snapped, it is in line for the top seed in this year’s C playoffs. Drew Hind and Carson Conley led the Cardinals with 14 points each.
AT SALAMANCA
Randolph (48)
D. Hind 4 4-4 14, Conley 5 3-5 14, G. Nelson 1 2-6 4, O. Nelson 1 2-3 5, Kelly 2 0-0 5, Huntington 2 1-2 6. Totals: 15 12-20 48.
Salamanca (59)
A. Herrick 4 1-2 9, Isaac 2 2-4 6, L. Brown 11 7-9 35, Galante 2 2-4 6, Ross 2 0-0 2, Hoag 0 1-2 1, A. Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 13-21 59.
Randolph 11 25 33 48
Salamanca 12 36 47 59
Three-point goals: Rand 6 (Hind 2, Conley, O. Nelson, Roan, Huntington), Sala 6 (L. Brown 6). Total fouls: Rand 21, Sala 17. Fouled out: Huntington (R).
JV: Randolph, 54-36
