Williamsville South ran out of steam in Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A Far West Regional, as the Billies fell at the hands of Section V’s Wayne Eagles 69-61.
After a Billies run to begin the third quarter, Wayne responded, regaining a 7-point lead on a 3-pointer from Richard Miles with 2 minutes 30 seconds left in the frame. Miles added two more 3-pointers inside the final minute of the stanza to make it a 50-39 Eagles lead with 30 seconds remaining until the fourth quarter.
The surge created by the Eagles guard was all Wayne would need as it salted the final 8 minutes of play away before sealing up an 8-point win. The Eagles advance to the state final four where they will meet Glens Falls next Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Cameron Blankenberg led the Eagles to victory with a game-high 31 points, while Aidan Twist finished with 17 points, and Miles added 16 points. Carter Lampke scored a team-high 24 points for the Billies, who finish the season with a 19-6 record.
Wayne had control of Saturday’s regional contest early on, securing an 11-7 advantage before a 9-0 run from Williamsville East gave the Billies a 16-11 lead to begin the second quarter. The Eagles responded with a run of their own, and with 1 minute remaining in the half, Blankenberg threw down a slam dunk which increased Wayne’s advantage to eight points.
The Eagles entered the break with a 33-24 lead, but Williamsville South came storming back, trimming its deficit to two points on a couple of free throws from Lampke with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
That’s when Miles’ sharp shooting made it an 11-point game before Lampke answered on a 3-pointer of his own with 10 seconds left in the quarter to cut the Wayne lead to 50-41. But with 1.4 seconds remaining in the third, Blankenberg was fouled in transition and headed to the free throw line for two shots. He made one of two, and the Eagles entered the fourth with a 10-point advantage.
Williamsville South refused to go away to begin the fourth, cutting the Wayne lead to six points with 5 minutes 57 seconds to go. But as they had all game long, the Eagles responded in king, as a 3-pointer from Aidan Twist made it a 12-point game with 4 minutes 30 seconds to go.
That was all she wrote for the Billies.
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