Buffalo tops Rochester; wins in battle for Western NY & BCANY Chip
JOHNSON CITY, NY- It all boiled down to a pair of Western New York teams to decide the champions from the BCANY Summer Hoops Festival on Sunday as some of the best from Rochester squared off against some of the best from Buffalo for bragging rights, and the right to call themselves the best in New York this year.
Early on it looked as if Rochester would take control, but with the likes of guards Noah Hutchins (The Park School '19), Julian Cunningham (Bishop Timon '19), and Jalen Bradberry (Niagara Falls '21) leading the way in the second half it was the group from Buffalo that pulled away and took home the title with a 79-75 victory.
Out of the gate the momentum was on the side of the boys from Buffalo as nearly everyone had it going from behind the arc. Mike Schmidt (Olean '19) was able to hit on two of his first three from long range, with Cunningham and Tyler Hind (Randolph '20) each also connecting in the opening 7 minutes of the game.
The tide didn't start to shift until young athletic stud Tahjae Hill (Hilton '20) came on and didn't just beat the Buffalo defenders off the dribble, he was able to show much improved range and bury three first half three's, giving Rochester a 31-30 lead with 2:55 left in the half.
Kobe Long (McQuaid Jesuit '20) was another athletic Rochester guard who was able to beat Buffalo up the floor for easy looks, and with Gerald Drumgoole (Irondequoit '19) beginning to impose his will in the paint, Rochester would take a 36-34 lead into halftime.
Trailing at the half isn't something teams look forward to or crave but it was a position Buffalo had to at least feel comfortable in as they trailed Suffolk by 6 at the half in the semifinals and trailed in two of their three pool play games at the break which meant that overcoming another deficit was not at all out of the question.
That's where Bradberry came into play as with the Rochester defense closing in on Hutchins and Schmidt on drives, the rising sophomore was able to send in back to back triples with 12:20 to go in the game to put Buffalo back on top.
Buffalo may have taken a lead, but they struggled to pull away as Drumgoole extended out and showed solid range, while Hill continued to have a strong showing after 13 first half points for his Rochester team. Each time though they got it to a one possession game it was either Hutchins or Cunningham coming up with the big shot to stem the tide.
In what may have been the biggest moment of the game, Buffalo would culminate a 7-0 run when Cunningham finished with his left hand on a drive past two defenders while getting fouled, putting Buffalo up 73-63 with 2:33 to play and seemingly giving his team an insurmountable lead.
It wasn't quite over yet though as Logan Blankenburg (Wayne '19) quickly was able to come up the floor and bury a three, doing that on back to back Rochester possession late, but Hutchins would come up clutch again from the FT line to ultimately put things away. Long hit a three for Rochester as time expired but it only made the final score a bit closer as Buffalo won their first ever Boys BCANY Summer Hoops Festival title in downing Rochester, 79-75.
A balanced effort for Buffalo was led by Hutchins as he had 17 points in the championship win after scoring 28 points in a come from behind semifinal win over Suffolk as well. Cunningham would add 14 points, with Bradberry adding 12 in a great weekend for the team from Section 6.
Rochester in the loss had a balanced attack as well with Hill leading the way with 16 points, though Miles Brown (NorthStar Christian Academy '19) added 15 points, while Drumgoole chipped in with 13 in the defeat for a game and strong overall Section 5 squad.
