Lancaster traveled to Orchard Park for a highly anticipated showdown for the top spot in the league. The game did not disappoint.
The first quarter was a physical battle. To their credit the refs were allowing the teams to play and not calling many fouls despite the physical play. The focus of Lancaster's defense seemed to be to stop Orchard Park big man Seth Joba from taking over the game. The 6'7" Senior always had a player in his face and when he did get the ball a number of players would collapse around him. Unfortunately for Lancaster he was able to find open teammates who hit a number of open 3s. Lancaster held tough and trailed 19-14 after the first quarter.
The entire first half was a game of small runs. Orchard Park would score a few baskets to get a 6-8 point lead and Lancaster would respond to tie the game up or take the lead back. Orchard Park hit a couple tough baskets late in the half to give them a four point lead, 30-26 at the half. Noah Kimble led Lancaster with 10 points in the half.
The second half seemed a little different, as the refs started calling a tighter game. It still remained a physical battle, but the refs began calling fouls that they were not calling in the first half. The 3rd quarter was a back and forth battle. Each team traded baskets until Orchard Park hit a shot as the buzzer sounded to go up 46-44 at the end of the quarter.
In the 4th quarter the Quakers showed why many have them ranked as the top large school in WNY. Lancaster had done a great job keeping Orchard Park from getting offensive rebounds for 3 quarters, but in the 4th the Quakers attacked the glass and got a number of second chance points. Those second chance points helped Orchard Park build a double digit lead. Free throws down the stretch sealed the deal and gave Orchard Park a 67-55 victory.
Noah Kimble led the Legends with 20 points and had 7 rebounds. Joe Harrington had a double-double, scoring 11 points and adding 11 rebounds. Ryan Corcoran added 8 points. Channing Francis scored 6 points and had 3 assists. Jack Harrington had 4 points. Ryan Andolina and Matt Mazur each had 3 points. The next game for Lancaster is Wednesday, as Jamestown comes to town.
Photos courtesy of Casey Harrington
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