The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Chittenango boys top VVS in overtime
Bears overcome deficit to advance to Class B final against Westhill
Regulation was not enough for the Chittenango and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the Section III Class B semifinal.
Trailing 29-20 at halftime, Chittenango rallied to take the lead late in the fourth, but VVS was able to force overtime with seven seconds remaining in a thrilling contest.
In overtime, the Bears used a trio of 3-point plays to seal a 6962 win and punch a ticket to the Carrier Dome to take on perennial powerhouse Westhill.
Senior guard Zach Falkenburg led the Bears and all scorers, netting a game-high 26 points to go with eight boards and six assists.
Matt Lanphear, who coach Tom Clancy called an unsung hero, came up big for Chittenango, posting a 14-point, 12- rebound double- double. Sharpshooter Dylan Voutsinas also finished with 14.
“Matt Lanphear made a couple of huge plays for us. We lost all of our big guys to foul trouble, so he really had to play big inside. He bailed us out tonight; he’s very versatile,” Chittenango coach John Clancy said.
After shooting a combined 1-of-11 from 3-point land in the first half, the Bears went 8-of-17 in the second half and overtime to key the win.
“We did not expect him to shoot the ball that well,” VVS coach Andy Cossette said of
Lanphear’s performance. “I think he made 18 or 19 3- pointers all season. He had four tonight that were killers.” Limited to two points in the first half, VVS senior f or ward Andrew Roden posted 18 second half points en route to a game total 20. Roden added 12 boards for a double- double. Fellow seniors Jake Engler, 14 points, and Nate Palmer, 13, joined Roden in double figures. After a back- and- forth first quarter, the Red Devils grabbed a nine- point, 29-20 edge heading into the halftime intermission. VVS appeared poised to run away with the contest after Roden went off in the opening moments of the third, scoring 14 straight points for the Red Devils and converting two old fashioned 3-point plays in the process, to help the No. 2 seed out to a double- figure lead. Chittenango kept chipping away though, pulling within seven on a Paul Wood shot from beyond the arc. Palmer knocked down a pair of free throws for VVS on its next possession to push the lead back to nine at 46- 37, but Lanphear splashed home a 3- pointer of his own to cut the deficit to six points entering the final quarter of play. “I think what hurt us a little bit was my two big guys [ Roden and Davey Moffett] got in foul trouble. I had to take them out of the game at the end of the third,” Cossette said. “They both picked up their third foul, and that seemed to help Chittenango get some open shots and offensive rebounds. I think that made a big difference.” Falkenburg connected on a runner to open the scoring in the fourth, and Wood came up with a steal as VVS attempted to bring the ball up the court on the ensuing possession to bring the Bears within four and force a VVS timeout ut of the timeout, Chittenango failed to score and Roden knocked down a long 2-point jumper with 6:29 to go for a 48- 42 Red Devil lead. Wood answered with another 3- pointer for the Bears, and Falkenburg added a steal off of the press and a lay- in to bring Chittenango within a point at 48- 47 as the contest grew more physical, both teams landing in foul trouble. Palmer broke free of the Chittenango fullcourt press and set Moffett up for a contested shot in the paint to extend the VVS lead back to three, 50- 47, before Zalkenburg drilled a long- range shot to tie things up at 50- all with 3:20 remaining in the contest. “We make sure our practices are game- intense. Come game time, we are used to it and we just have to power through and persevere,” Falkenburg said of the Chittenango comeback against an aggressive Red Devils defense. Following a series of missed shots by both sides, TJ Horodnick split a pair of free throws, to give VVS a one-point edge with 1:41 left. Falkenburg answered for the Bears on the ensuing possession, drawing contact on a drive through the lane for a trip to the charity stripe, where he knocked down both tries for a 52- 51 Chittenango advantage. Horodnick secured a huge offensive rebound on VVS’ next trip down the floor, and Engler rewarded the effort on the glass with a 3-pointer to put the Red Devils back on top, 54- 52, with under a minute left to play. Wood buried a corner three for Chittenango at the 36- second mark to help the Bears retake the lead, 55- 54. VVS survived the next Chittenango possession and had the ball with seven seconds left in the contest. The Red Devils went back to their work horse, feeding Roden in the post, where he drew a foul and earned a trip to the line with three seconds remaining. Roden knocked down one- of-two to send the contest to overtime. The Bears would not .be denied in four-minute extra period. Lanphear rose up for a foul line jumper to put Chittenango up 52- 50. Voutsinas followed with a corner 3- pointer to help the Bears out to a 60- 55 advantage before Roden got VVS on the board, splitting a pair of tries from the foul line to pull the Red Devils within four. Falkenburg came right back down the floor, converting an and-1 play to grow Chittenango’s lead to 63- 56. With 1:46 left on the clock, Palmer connected on a long-range try to cut the Red Devil deficit to four at 63- 59, but Wood answered with a backbreaking corner 3-pointer to put Chittenango up 6659. VVS could not find the bottom of the net on its next possession, and the Bears went on to a 69- 62 win. “Paul is as talented as anybody we have. He has kind of bided his time; he’s made some big plays for us. We had so many guys in foul trouble tonight, we really needed him. He stepped up and made some big plays,” Clancy said. “I am really, really happy for him.” The Bears have a week to prepare for Section III juggernaut Westhill as Chittenango seeks an upset of the No. 1 seed in the bracket and revenge for last season’s 67- 41 loss in the championship game. “We have to come out strong because we know they are going to be ready to play,” Falkenburg said of Westhill. “They have a bunch of shooters that can make shots, and we’re going to have to come out and play our best to have a chance.” Clancy has been preparing for a rematch since the Bears left the Carrier Dome a year ago. “We worked for this the whole year. That’s why we played a brutal schedule,” the he said, adding that Chittenango has not won the section in basketball since the 1970’s. “This group wants to be the one to break that streak.” VVS closes the season with a TriValley League, Pioneer Division title and a 17- 5 overall record but comes up one game shy of the Carrier Dome. Six Red Devil seniors, five of them starters, are set to graduate in June, and Cossette hopes the players coming back can emulate the work ethic that made VVS a threat on the hardwood the past two seasons. “Definitely going to miss them. They put in a lot of hard work the past four years. I could not ask for much more from them. They gave all kinds of effort all season long. The program will definitely miss them, but I hope the juniors and sophomores that were up this season learned something and come out and put in the hard work they have to do to be competitive.”