Injury to guard Sheehan slows Trojans' offense 

Trojans overcome 20-point deficit in AA state qualifier 

After 16 minutes of basketball, it was safe to say that the Greece Athena Trojans had issues.  They struggled to score 12 points in two quarters.  Their rebounding was not much better.  And there was no hint that Gates Chili’s forwards were going to shrink or become passive during halftime.  Athena’s predicament actually grew worse during the first four minutes of the third quarter, but the Trojans got on track just in time to rally from a 20-point deficit and stun Gates Chili, 68-61, in overtime of Section V’s Class AA state tournament qualifier.  “We realized that we came a long way this season,’’ Athena senior forward R.J. Kalb said.  “We didn’t want to let go of our season.’’  Junior point guard Casey Sheehan did a lot to extend it.  Sheehan struggled like everyone else in a Greece Athena uniform during the first half, but scored all 23 of his points after halftime.  He also had seven assists, including three or four passes that hit his target in traffic and led to layups for teammates.  Gates Chili led 52-49 when Sheehan made a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.  He had connected on another 3-pointer 26 seconds earlier with Gates Chili ahead by five points.  “In this first half I said ‘this is going to be rough,’ ’’ noted Sheehan, who missed his first five field-goal attempts.  “I stepped it up inside to get my confidence up.  “Once I hit one 3-pointer, I started feeling it more.   We got the crowd into it, they helped us, and our seniors were great.  They were hyped.’’  The Trojans probably will need to be in that mode during the first quarter of their state tournament quarterfinal against Niagara Falls, the No. 1 ranked team in the state and Section VI champion.  “The last three sectional games we’ve started slow,’’ Kalb said.  “I don’t know what it is.  “We just wanted this game at the end.  Never say quit.’’  No one could blame the Trojans if the thought briefly crossed their minds.  Chad Dillard finished with 25 points and led Gates Chili’s dominance around the basket with 11 rebounds.  The Spartans outrebounded Greece Athena 42-26, but let the large lead they worked so hard to build, dwindle.  “They totally outhustled us in the first half,’’ Athena coach Jim Johnson said.  “That was my biggest disappointment.’’  After both teams struggled to score during the opening quarter, Gates Chili sat on top 27-12 at halftime. The Trojans went scoreless during 4:31 of the second quarter.  Elijah Thomas gave Gates Chili a 35-15 lead when his layup finished off a sharp-looking fast break by the Spartans.  Then the Trojans worked themselves back into the game, as all of their leading scorers began to make shots.  John Wallace made a pull-up jump shot with 2:03 remaining to cut Gates Chili’s lead to five, 46-41.  Kalb, who is 6-feet-6 and usually can be found around the basket, squared his body to the rim and made a 3-pointer to cut Gates Chili’s advantage to 50-49 with 25 seconds remaining in regulation.  “When their forward hit a ‘3’, I don’t know what you can do,’’ Gates Chili coach Troy Olin said.  “You gotta give up something, especially when Sheehan is playing that well.’’  The Spartans scored the first basket in overtime on a hook-like shot by Dillard, and went ahead again 55-54 after a free-throw by Thomas.  Kalb put the Trojans ahead to stay with 2:57 remaining, a basket that began a 7-2 spurt in favor of Greece Athena.  Gates Chili never came closer than three points during the final 40 seconds. 

JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com

As a pregame ritual, all members of the Greece Athena boys basketball team shoot 30 free throws the morning of a game.  That practice paid off when it counted most during Athena’s Class AA2 sectional title game against top-seeded Irondequoit on Saturday night.  Wallace, just a sophomore, swished a pair of 1-and-1 situations late in the fourth and finished with 19 points as the No. 2 Trojans (19-4) defeated No. 1 Irondequoit 57-54 at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.  Athena rallied from a 10-point deficit over the final 11 minutes, 47 seconds to win its third sectional title in four years and deny Irondequoit (20-3) its first sectional title since 1945.  “I knew I had to make them all, and I just knew I was going to make them with no pressure,” said Wallace, who pushed Athena’s lead to 55-51 with 25 seconds remaining and 57-54 with 15 seconds left.Wallace, the son of former Athena and Syracuse University standout John Wallace, hit on 28 of 30 during Saturday morning’s shoot-around.  “John’s been huge in the postseason for us,” said Jim Johnson, Athena’s 13-year coach, of All-Tournament selection Wallace, who scored 44 points in the semifinal and final. Willie Pantoja, Casey Sheehan and Wallace combined for 22 of Athena’s 24 fourth-quarter points.  Pantoja hit his first three 3-pointers in the second half and the Trojans hit 64.7 percent of their shots.  “I just got the ball, shot it every time and it went in,” said Pantoja, a senior who finished with nine points.  “Casey did a good job getting me the ball and I was wide-open.  ”Chris Culver scored the Eagles’ last seven points, but his tying 3-point shot missed, Jeremy Jackson’s follow-up missed and the clock ran out.  “This was crazy, the kind of game you hope for when you’re little and dreaming of playing for a championship,” said Sheehan, a junior who earned tournament MVP honors after scoring 15 points and adding 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.  “Then when you get it, it’s unreal; but we won and that’s the best feeling.”  The Trojans will face Gates Chili in the AA state qualifier. Culver finished with 20 points and five steals.  “It’s very frustrating to come so close. … these guys really wanted this badly,” Irondequoit coach Chris Cardon said.  “They wore their hearts and emotions on their sleeves and this is a real sad locker room.  But I’m real proud of these guys.”  Of the active Section V high schools, only York (1939), Belfast (1940) and North Rose-Wolcott (1943) have gone longer without winning sectionals.  

John Wallace was not proud of his first 3-point shot attempt, as he clapped in frustration while the basketball bounded off the rim.  But that was early in the Section V Class AA2 Tournament semifinal.  When Greece Athena needed key shots to be made later, who else would the Trojans want to shoot other than someone named John Wallace?  That worked just fine for Athena back in 1992.Wallace, whose father was a star forward at Syracuse University, made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions Tuesday night at Blue Cross Arena that put Greece Athena ahead to stay during a 71-67 win over East.Wallace, a 6-foot sophomore guard, finished with a game-high 25 points to help send the Trojans into Saturday's  final against No. 1 Irondequoit.  "He's been helping us all year," Athena teammate Willie Pantoja said.  "He's been our go-to-guy and is always there for us."  The Trojans trailed by 14 points early in the second quarter, but their steady comeback moved them to within seven points of East, 46-39, during the middle stages of the third.  Pantoja dribbled into the lane and passed to Wallace on back-to-back possessions for open 3-pointers that cut East's lead to one.  A turnover by the Orientals gave Athena the ball back and Wallace delivered again from long-range to put Greece Athena ahead 48-46 with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter.  "It went great," Wallace said.  "I thank coach (Jim Johnson) for giving me the opportunity.  I never knew I was going to have a season like this."  Wallace was Greece Athena's second-leading scorer during the regular season at 11.6 points per game, behind junior point guard Casey Sheehan (15.2).  "He's had a great sophomore year," Johnson said.  "He put us on his back in our first sectional game.  We didn't play well."  Greece Athena moved past Brockport, 67-63, after Wallace scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half of the quarterfinal game. His total, just like last night against East, included the go-ahead basket and key free throws that cemented the win.  The Trojans were in no position to win early.  East never trailed during the first half.  A four-point lead went up to 11 and was large as 14 after a 3-pointer by reserve Clint Wilson early in the second quarter.  Athena stayed in striking range, as the Trojans trailed by eight points, 41-33, at halftime.  A jump shot by East's Brandon Caruthers pushed East's lead to 13 early in the third quarter. Then East shooters went cold as the Orientals tried to shoot over Athena's 2-3 matchup zone.  A 17-0 run by Athena, including Wallace's go-ahead basket, put the Trojans up 50-46.  An off-balance 3-pointer by East's Jerrold Brooks cut Greece Athena's lead to 66-64 with 17.9 seconds remaining, but two free throws by Pantoja and one by R.J. Kalb put the Trojans in a good position again.

 JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com  

John Wallace scored 26 points as second-seeded Greece Athena escaped with a 67-63 win over No. 10 Brockport in a Section V Class AA quarterfinal Friday.  Wallace, who scored 22 of his points in the second half for the Trojans (17-4), made a bank shot in the lane to put Athena up 61-59 with about two minutes remaining.  R.J. Kalb made two free throws to put Athena up 65-61.  Brockport (5-17) scored with about two seconds remaining to cut the score to 65-63.The Blue Devils then called time out, but did not have one remaining, resulting in a technical foul. Wallace made the final two free throws for the winning margin.  Isaac Floyd scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Casey Sheehan added 12 points and nine assists for Athena.  Cody Oakes led Brockport with 24 points. 

BROCKPORT: Cody Oakes 24, Cacie Jones 0, Mike Worboys 0, Matt Lester 4, Jim Lynch 0, Devon McCartney 0, O'Shea Imes 18, Isaac Fraser 17.

ATHENA: Casey Sheehan 12, Chris Dean 0, Isaac Floyd 10, Brad Corry 0, RJ Kalb 12, Blake Schirtz 3, John Wallace 26, Willie Pantoja 4.

3-point goals: Oakes 6, Sheehan, Wallace 2, Shirtz.

Fouled out: Floyd.