Fallsnewspress.com - Warrior boys cagers win home finals over Padua

by Dean Raymond

Correspondent

Walsh Jesuit played good ball from start to finish as they defeated Parma Padua 61-52 Feb. 23 in boys high school basketball action.

Six points from senior guard Pat Ammar in the first quarter, including a three-point goal helped the Warriors to a 13-4 advantage after one quarter.

A layup by freshman forward Cassidy Brown increased the Walsh Jesuit lead to 22-11 with 3:55 remaining in the second period.

The Warriors (10-9) still had a double-digit advantage at 26-16 as Ammar laid the ball in with 1:13 left in the second quarter before a three-point goal by freshman guard Tyler Ptacek and a five-foot jumper from senior forward/center Ryan Trapp pulled the Bruins within seven points at the half at 28-21.

Sophomore guard Spencer Boyd then capped an 8-0 run by Walsh Jesuit with a 15-foot jumper at the 5:33 mark in the third period as the Warriors led 36-21.

However, Parma Padua (3-16) answered with a 10-0 run and trailed just 36-31 with 1:45 to go in the third quarter as junior guard/forward Nico Sidari completed a three-point play for the Bruins.

Sophomore forward Antoine Smith then converted consecutive three-point plays for Walsh Jesuit, while junior Kolton Snyder laid the ball in with 14 seconds remaining in the third period as the Warriors led 44-31 heading into the final quarter.

It looked as if Walsh Jesuit would cruise to victory in the fourth period as a layup from sophomore forward Trenton Donald gave the Warriors a 48-33 advantage with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter.

However, runs of 6-0 and 6-2 by Parma Padua pulled the visitors within five points at 50-45 as Sidari sank both free throws in a 1-and-1 situation with 3:13 to go in the game.

Walsh Jesuit answered with runs of 4-0 and 6-0 and led comfortably at 61-49 as Smith laid the ball in with just 0:10 remaining in the contest. Trailing 57-49 with 1:23 remaining in the game, the visitors turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions.

"I'm very proud of my kids," Warrior head coach John Norris said. "We had a lot of stretches where we did a lot of nice things. Different players stepped up, including Snyder and Ammar early in the game and [junior guard Garrett] Cona, Boyd and Smith later in the game. They all showed good leadership. Anytime you can end a four-game losing streak it's nice."

Ptacek led the Bruins with 15 points, including 10 in the fourth period while Sidari added 12 points (six in the fourth quarter) and junior forward/center Wes Williams had 11 points with five coming in the fourth period.

Ammar paced Walsh Jesuit with 14 points in the last home game of his career (along with fellow seniors Eric Illig and Matt Williams) while Smith scored 13 points (11 in the second half) and Snyder added 11 points (nine in the first half).

Padua ended up 18-of-49 from the floor for 37 percent, including 7-of-14 in the second quarter and 7-of-13 in the fourth period. At the line, the Bruins were 11-of-17 for 65 percent, including 5-of-7 in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors finished 23-of-64 from the field for 36 percent and 13-of-22 at the charity stripe for 59 percent, including 11-of-16 in the second half and 7-of-10 in the fourth period.

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