Rams down Purple Eagles to capture outright possession of the N-O League championship

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 17 February 2022 at 9:08 pm

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Dom Beyer battles for a rebound with Albion’s Nick Harling during the Rams key win over the visiting Purple Eagles this evening to claim the N-O title outright.

Locking up outright possession of the Niagara-Orleans League championship, Roy-Hart posted a 70-47 victory over visiting Albion this evening to close out the regular season.

Finishing the N-O campaign with a 10-2 record, Roy-Hart captures the league crown for the first time in 26 years since the Rams shared the title with Wilson during the 1995-96 season.

“It’s been a long time coming” said Rams Coach Joe Pawlak. “It’s huge! It’s awesome! They’ve put in a lot of hard work and I’m really proud of the kids. It feels great. It’s my eighth year and all of the kids on our previous teams have had a part in this. It’s great for the program which really is a community driven thing.”

Aiden Petrie scored 22, Jamel Johnson Jr. 20 an Vinny Buscarino 15 to spearhead the Roy-Hart attack at Bryan Baes and John Conley both added 4, Brandon DiNeri 3 and Brandin Masters 2.

Tyler Gibson scored 16 and Shakarion Drisdom 10 to pace Albion as Jahmeek Riley chipped in with 9, Caleb Fox 6 and Ozzie Matos, Javon Jones and Nick Harling 2 each.

Roy-Hart took a slender 14-13 lead at the end of a sea-saw first quarter which saw five lead changes. Buscarino hit two threes and DiNeri one to lead the Rams in the early going while Riley netted 6 for Albion.

The Rams extended the lead to nine, 35-26, at the half after putting together a 21-13 second period scoring edge. Johnson and Petrie both scored 9 in the quarter.

The Roy-Hart advantage jumped to 14, 55-41, at the three-quarter mark as Petrie and Johnson both scored 6 and Baes and Buscarino 4 in the third period.

Albion could get no closer than 14 in the final period as Roy-Hart closed out the N-O title campaign with a 15-6 fourth quarter scoring edge including 5 by Petrie and 4 each by Johnson and Conley.

The loss snapped a five game winning streak for Albion which finishes the N-O season at 5-7.

Roy-Hart’s Vinny Buscarino drives to the basket against Albion defender Tyler Gibson.

Wilson 40, Medina 26
Wilson handed Medina its fourth straight N-O loss by a 40-26 score as the Lakemen finish the league season at 5-7.

Jake Austin scored 14 and Mason Branca 7 to pace Wilson which held leads of 13-9 after one period, 22-14 at the half and 26-21 at the three-quarter mark.

Anthony Bowman scored 10 and David Berry 7 for Medina which finishes the N-O season at 6-6.

Final N-O Standings: Roy-Hart 10-2, Newfane 9-3, Medina 6-6, Albion 5-7, Wilson 5-7, Barker 4-8, Akron 3-9.