HENNINGER TOO MUCH FOR RAIDERS-TAKE SECTION III CLASS “AA” BOYS HOOPS CROWN
Henninger’s Romero Collier (4) slips past Proctor’s Kerion Barton (23) early on.
Jeff Pexton-MHTS/PGI Photo
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The Henninger Black Knights boy’s basketball turned the dream surroundings of the Carrier Dome into a virtual nightmare for the Proctor Raiders today, taking home the Class “AA” Section III title by a score of 60-34.
To say that second seeded Henninger was on top of every facet of its game would be a gross understatement.
The Black Knights shot the ball with proficiency, rebounded at both ends of the court, pressured a listless Proctor team into turnovers and hit their free throws.
A sure sign of a long Raider night was the fact that Chris Simmons, leading scorer, could not get a good look in side. Simmons averages fourteen points per game and only scored two points all game long.
Proctor’s Narinon Harvey (10) left, has his pocket picked by Henninger’s Chris Hicks (12) late in the contest.
So what else is there? Well, for starters, it gave the Knights a ticket to NYSPHAA Regional play on March 9th at Onondaga Community College.
To say that fourth seeded Proctor was not clicking on all cylinders, or playing to any of its strengths would also be an understatement.
How off the mark was Proctor today? Well the biggest symbol of the team’s troubles came in the second quarter tonight. It started when senior big man, Naronn Harvey, found himself alone with the ball and the basket and when the guy known for a his ability to slam it with style instead jammed the ball right into the rim and directly into the jaws of the Henninger defense, marking yet another turnover for the Raiders.
The Black Knights scored double digits in every quarter of this game. The Raiders only got out of single digits in just one quarter, scoring fifteen in the fourth.
It was just too little, too late for any hope at a Section III banner this year.
Henninger avenged last year’s Section III championship loss to Proctor with the win in front of a big crowd at the Carrier Dome.
Four of Proctor’s starting five were members of the 2012 Raiders team that knocked off Henninger on this very same court last March.
Henninger’s Romero Collier (4) gets a little Jordanesque as he goes over Proctor’s Clifford Tracy (40) and Joe Sullivan (50).
The Black Knights started to stretch their lead and flex their muscles early on, building a 19-7 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
Ahmad McKinney scored six points in the opening period to pace the Knights.
Guards Franky Vigliotti and Romeo Collier set the defensive tone early on as well, badgering the Raiders at every dribble.
The second quarter didn’t treat the Raiders with any kindness either, as the Black Knights stretched the lead to 29-13 at the intermission.
Marquane Silvers and McKinney were responsible for eight of the Black Knights twelve second quarter points, which all came from being fed down low where they found little resistance from the Raiders bigs .
During the half time break Proctor head coach Norm Stamboly was not about to offer any excuses for his team’s play when he spoke with ESPN Radio 99.1 FM. The longtime coach said that while he did not believe his Raiders were completely out of it, a huge turnaround in nearly every facet of the game was going to be needed if the Section III crown was going to be successfully defended by his team.
Anyone in the building today that has seen Proctor play before had a feeling that the Raiders had a run in them and that the second half was probably going to be a better.
Unfortunately for Proctor and their fans, that run never came.
Henninger roared to a 44-19 lead after three quartes, paced by the scoring of Silvers, McKinney and Collier, who combined for twelve of Henninger’s fifteen third quarter points.
Conversely, proctor managed just six points in the third, four of which came from the hand of Clifford Tracey. Tracey continued to battle his way out scoring ten of his fourteen points in the final eight minutes of play.
Henninger got points from seven different players in the fourth quarter to put this game away by a score of 60-34.
Section III “AA” All Tournament Team from Left: Ahmar McKinney (Henninger), Naronn Harvey and Clifford Tracy (Proctor) Phil Allen (West Genesee), Romero Collier (Henninger) MVP and Coach of the Year Erik Saroney (Henninger).
Tracy nailed three 3 pointers in the final quarter for the Raiders, who finished the season at (12-9).
Fan’s expected a much closer contest, as the two longtime rivals split during the regular season.
The last three Class “AA” championship games,including the one today at the Carrier Dome, have featured the Black Knights and Raiders playing one another. In five of the last seven years, it’s been Henninger and Proctor in the “AA” finals.
The win improves Henninger’s record to (18-3).
Proctor’s Clifford Tracy and Naronn Harvey joined West Genesee’s Phill Allen and Henninger’s McKinney and Collier (MVP) on the All Tournament team for Class “AA”.
Henninger 60 Proctor 34
1 2 3 4 Total
Proctor 7 6 6 13 34
Henninger 19 10 15 16 60
Proctor:
Clifton Tracy-14
Naronn Harvey-4
J’Von Evans-4
Kieron Barton-3
Nigel Dunkley-3
Ephraim Wright-2
Chris Simmons-2
Nashon Brown-2
2013 CLASS AA Champs-Henninger Black Knights!
Henninger:
Marquane Silvers-18
Ahmad McKinney-15
Romero Collier-10
Keith Tyson II-8
Franky Vigliotti-5
Keisean Scott-3
Christopher Hicks-2
Freeman-Holdby-2
