Amped up: First day of basketball season stirs emotions
West Greene鈥檚 Ian Van Dyne puts up shot against Albert Gallatin during Friday鈥檚 Falcon Fest at Brownsville. Van Dyne led the Class 1A Pioneers with eight points in an 87-31 loss to the Class 4A Colonials. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
West Greene's Kaden Shields shoots a 3-pointer against Albert Gallatin during Friday's game at Brownsville's Falcon Fest. Shields scored seven points in the Class 1A Pioneers' loss 87-31 loss to the Class 4A Colonials.
Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Aiden Black defends against West Greene鈥檚 Lane Allison during Friday鈥檚 game at Brownsville鈥檚 Falcon Fest. Black scored a game-high 29 points in the Colonials鈥� victory. Allison scored five points for the Pioneers. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
West Greene coach Jim Romanus talks to his players during a timeout in Friday鈥檚 game against Albert Gallatin at Brownsville鈥檚 Falcon Fest. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Rob Ramsey was making his head coaching debut when his Brownsville boys basketball team took the court for the nightcap of a season-opening, four-game slate of games at Falcon Fest last Friday night.
Jim Romanus of West Greene, on the other hand, was beginning his 46th year on the bench and 12th with the Pioneers.
The one thing they and most high school coaches have in common is their great anticipation of that first official game.
鈥淚 was very nervous,鈥� admitted Ramsey, whose Falcons defeated Beth-Center, 66-30. 鈥淚 was just trying to go over everything in my head, thinking about it all day. It was a little nerve-wracking but once the ball tipped off I felt a lot better.鈥�
Romanus, who saw his team fall to Albert Gallatin, 87-31, knew his Pioneers faced a tough task in the Colonials but still couldn鈥檛 wait to get the first game underway.
鈥淚 love coaching,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淏ut I hate losing.
鈥淚 always look forward to the first game to see how we do. I love execution. When I see the plan that we put together in practice come to fruition on the court that is very satisfying to me. It鈥檚 seeing our kids get better and seeing that they know what鈥檚 right and wrong and how to play the game. Those are important things.鈥�
Shea Fleenor began his 11th season as head coach at Albert Gallatin but his reaction as opening day looms is always the same.
鈥淚 was a wreck all day,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淚t started last night. I keep saying the year that I don鈥檛 feel like this prior to the first game is probably the time for me to hang it up.
鈥淢y big fear was are we ready? Did I do everything I could to get them prepared?鈥�
Turned out Fleenor鈥檚 Colonials were just fine for their opener.
鈥淲e played well tonight,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought our guys were unbelievably unselfish. We were making the extra passes. We worked the ball really well and had a lot of guys making plays.鈥�
Bulldogs coach Bill Greco, like Romanus, knew his team had a stiff challenge but nonetheless was happy to get the season going.
鈥淚 always look forward to the first game,鈥� said Greco who鈥檚 in his sixth season at B-C. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to get the kids out. They haven鈥檛 played yet so there鈥檚 a lot of rust plus we have a very young team.鈥�
Donna Sallee began her fifth year as Bentworth girls coach with a 38-26 loss to Brownsville in the third game of Falcon Fest.
鈥淚鈥檓 a little disappointed,鈥� Sallee said. 鈥淚 thought we could鈥檝e won this game with some better decision making and communication, and some harder cuts to the hoop. But, still, I鈥檓 always excited for the first game of the season. It鈥檚 good to see them out there finally playing games.鈥�
Patty Columbia, who entered her eighth season as Lady Falcons coach, was amped up to get the season started.
鈥淚 was super-excited all day,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淚 had a hard time concentrating at work.
鈥淓ven after all these year, we get excited for the first game. We were all texting each other. It was a fun.鈥�
The Falcons鈥� Damarion Brown, who scored a game-high 19 points in Brownsville鈥檚 win, was pumped up for his senior opening night.
鈥淚 get excited for every game. It鈥檚 just an instinct,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 get nervous I just get excited. But the first game is always more special. It鈥檚 a good feeling just to bring a win to the community, for everyone that came out to watch us.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a recap of the final three games of Friday鈥檚 Falcon Fest following Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 46-15 win over the Geibel Catholic Lady Gators in the opener:
Albert Gallatin boys 87, West Greene 31
The Colonials looked sharp in putting four players in double figures led by Aiden Black鈥檚 game-high 29 points.
Black hit five 3-pointers, including two in the first quarter when AG jumped out to a 24-6 lead.
Isaac Ellsworth made a pair of 3-pointers in scoring 13 points for the Colonials. Greyson Jarrett and Shymere Wilson each hit one 3-pointer in scoring 11 points.
Albert Gallatin led 47-17 at halftime and 67-29 after three quarters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly hard to single out players in a performance like that,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淭hey all did very well. Obviously Aiden Black had a great game. He shot the ball well. I thought Mykel Bell played a phenomenal game. He made so many great and right passes tonight that led to buckets.
鈥淲e got contributions from everyone. I thought Isaac Ellsworth had a good first game for a freshman. He came right out of the gate and hit a three which probably helped his confidence.鈥�
It was the way AG won that encouraged Fleenor most.
鈥淲e easily could鈥檝e played selfishly in a game like this but they chose not to,鈥� he said.
Ian Van Dyne led West Greene with eight points and Kaden Shields added seven.
Romanus saw two glaring flaws in his team鈥檚 performance.
鈥淥ne, we missed too many shots, and two, we didn鈥檛 get back on defense,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot that we would鈥檝e beaten them anyway. We cannot simulate this kind of speed in practice. That鈥檚 a major problem.
鈥淲hat happens is the shots we can normally make we miss because we鈥檙e sped up. I don鈥檛 know how many other teams we鈥檙e going to see that are going to run like this.鈥�
West Greene was a bit shorthanded also.
鈥淣athan (Reed) was injured tonight so we end up putting in Matt Wassil, he鈥檚 a 6-5 freshman, and Markus Hanson, a 6-3 freshman, but it鈥檚 not fair to them. They鈥檙e not ready for it but we do what we have to do.鈥�
Romanus said he doesn鈥檛 mind a lopsided loss if his players learn from it.
鈥淲e have to look to improve,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ast year we started off in a similar fashion but then we gradually got better. Hopefully, we can do the same thing again.鈥�
Fleenor said his team is playing a more up-tempo game out of necessity.
鈥淲e actually had to change the style that we play because we鈥檙e so small but we have a lot of team speed and we鈥檝e got to utilize it the best that we can,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think if we can keep building on putting the team first like we did tonight and not worrying about ourselves individually, we have a lot of good things in store for us.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e exciting to coach. They fight like crazy. They work extremely hard. To be able to play at the pace we want they鈥檝e got to be in shape.鈥�
Brownsville girls 38, Bentworth 26
The Lady Falcons went ahead to stay in the final seconds of the third quarter and then gradually pulled away in the fourth.
Brownsville trailed 17-15 at halftime and pulled even four times in the third quarter before finally surging to a 25-23 lead when freshman Skyler Gates scored off a rebound with three seconds left.
The Lady Falcons picked up the defense in the fourth quarter, outscoring Bentworth 13-3. An eight-point run that included a 3-pointer and a free throw by Zhariah Reed, a bank shot by Gates and a Gates rebound and pass to Ava Clark for a layup pushed Brownsville鈥檚 advantage up to 14 with 1:37 left.
Clark, another freshman, led the Lady Falcons with 11 points. The 6-foot-1 Gates, who was strong on the boards and blocked or altered numerous shots, followed with 10 points. Reed, a sophomore, also had 10 points.
Kami Franks scored the only basket in a low-scoring opening frame that ended with Brownsville ahead just 2-1.
Meghan Velosky鈥檚 steal and layup gave the Lady Falcons an 8-7 lead in the second quarter but Grace Skerbetz countered with a 3-pointer for the Lady Bearcats who wouldn鈥檛 trail again until Gates鈥� bucket late in the third.
鈥淭hey were a bundle of nerves before the game,鈥� Columbia said of her players. 鈥淭his (Falcon Fest) is a big deal. I thought we had some good shots but they just weren鈥檛 going in.
鈥淏ut they calmed downed. We regrouped at halftime and talked about taking five (Amber Sallee) and 13 (Skerbetz) out of the game and we accomplished that. All the girls came up with ideas of how to stop them. We switched to a sort of a 3-2 match-up zone.鈥�
Sallee and Skerbetz each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half but none in the second half. Sallee led the Lady Bearcats with 11 points and Skerbetz had six.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 boxing out and rebounding so then the ball was getting out fast for Brownsville and we weren鈥檛 getting back,鈥� coach Sallee said. 鈥淎lso we went dry in the second half. We had many opportunities to score and the shots just weren鈥檛 going in.鈥�
Meanwhile Brownsville finally found its shooting touch after intermission.
鈥淲hen a few shots started to fall their confidence level started to go up,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淭hey made a nice turnaround. I was proud of them.鈥�
Brownsville boys 66, Beth-Center 30
The Falcons put four players in double figures, led by Brown鈥檚 19, in rolling past the Bulldogs.
Cedric Harrison scored 13 points for Brownsville while Harlan Davis and Trent Wible followed with 12 points apiece.
Davis opened the scoring with a pair of free throws before Brody Tharp hit a 3-pointer to give Beth-Center a 3-2 lead. Harrison answered with a driving bucket and Brown followed with a steal and layup and the Falcons would never trail again.
Brownsville led 19-8, 39-14 and 55-28 at the quarter breaks.
鈥淭he guys played real hard and played pretty well except for in the third quarter when we gave up 14 points,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淏ut I think anytime you only give up 30 points in a game you鈥檙e playing pretty good defense regardless of who you鈥檙e playing.
鈥淥ffensively, we executed good at times but it could have been a little better overall. We have a lot to work on but I think as time goes on this team could be very special.鈥�
Tharp led the Bulldogs with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Jonah Sussan added eight points.
鈥淚 have one senior and two juniors so we鈥檙e relying on a lot of ninth-and-10th-graders,鈥� Greco said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a learning experience.鈥�
Beth-Center labored to keep up with the much quicker Falcons.
鈥淚 like the group of kids. They work hard,鈥� Greco said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 a different breed of cat over there. They鈥檝e got athletes. They shoot the ball well from the outside and they go to the boards. They play good enough defense to take away some of the things we were trying to do.
鈥淚 give them credit. Good luck to them.鈥�
Ramsey was pleased with the way his team shared the basketball.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best thing about these guys, they don鈥檛 care who gets the most points they just try their best to make the right play,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淓ven when they make mistakes it鈥檚 not without good intentions.
鈥淏eth-Center has tough kids and they鈥檙e very physical, so we were very happy to come out with a win.鈥�