Boys Basketball: Fast start peoples WC Henderson over Kennett

KENNETT SQUARE >> Coming off a very emotional victory on the road at Coatesville on Thursday, West Chester Henderson coach Rob Frattura was worried about a letdown from his team coming into Saturday afternoon’s nonleague game at Kennett.

The Warriors put their coach’s worries to rest with a big first period that effectively put the host Blue Demons out of the game as they rolled to an impressive 77-59 win.
“We came out with a lot of energy today,” Frattura said. “We talked about not coming out flat before the game. We did not want to be that type of team that is not consistent, and the kids came out really focused and did the job today. They played with a ton of energy today.”

Henderson (8-4) used a 14-0 run at the end of the first to forge its big early lead. Steve Sirchio started the run with a long 3-pointer. After a turnover, Eddie Smink scored inside to give Henderson a 16-8 lead. Kennett (3-5) came down the floor and Zach Lower missed on a three and the Warriors were out and running again as Sirchio scored on the break to make it 18-8.

Smink and another Sirchio three-ball ended the run and the period with the Warriors holding a 25-8 lead. They shot 10-for-17 from the field in the first.

Two Henderson sophomres, Nelson Lamizana and Nyle Ralph-Beyer, showed their impressive skills. Ralph-Beyer and Lamizana both led the team with 19 points each, while Lamizana added 13 rebounds and two blocked shots as the Warriors looked flawless for the first three periods, forcing 15 turnovers.

“My job is to rebound and contest shots,” Lamizana said. “We were not worried about coming out slow because we are a focused team. We all have a job to do out there and I have my job to do and we all did it well today.”

Trailing 53-29, Kennett outscored the Warriors 30-24 in the fourth period as the lead was cut to 56-41 after a Luke Good layup with 6:15 to play. Kennett made its first four shots from the field in the period.

After a timeout, Henderson scored again when Sirchio, who had 12 points on the day,  buried a long three for a 59-41 lead. But, Kennett, which was shooting just 10-for-39 from the field in the third, did not quit. Luke Augustine scored on a driving layup and Lower, who led all scorers with 22 points, buried a three from the corner and it was suddenly 60-47 with 3:43 to go.

But the day belonged to the Warriors as Smink buried a three-ball and Lamizana scored in tight the next two times down the floor and the lead climbed to 70-47 to quell the rally and ensure the ein.

“Earlier in the season we were not playing team defense,” Ralph-Beyer said. “But we have been more focused on defense and today, we came out focused and jumped on them early and we established our game early and took control of the game.”

West Chester Henderson 77, Kennett 59
WC HENDERSON: Sirchio 5 0-0 12, Feliciano 0 0-0 0, Ralph-Beyer 8 2-2 19, Porter 0 1-1 1, Fleet 1 2-2 4, Lamizana 6 7-9 19, Grim 3 1-2 7, Surowic 1 0-0 2, Smink 4 0-0 9, McFadden 0 0-0 0, Jarden 1 2-2 4. Totals 30 15-`18 77.
KENNETT: Pelliteir 1 1-2 3, Augustine 3 0-2 6, Frazier 1 1-5 3, Brunson 1 0-0 2, Good 6 2-3 15, Lower 6 6-6 22, Frebery 1 3-4 6, Langley 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 12-25 59.
WC Henderson 25 14 12 24-77
Kennett             8 9 14 30-59
3-point goals: Sirchio 2, Smink, Lower 4, Frebery, Good.