Lancers basketball coach sets sights on Section VI seed

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, December 10, 2005

Lewiston Porter boys basketball coach Matt Bradshaw said one goal for his team this year is to win enough Niagara Frontier League games to earn a seed for the Section VI tournament high enough to host a home game.

Though non-league games do not count toward the Sectional seeding, the Lancers are already off to a 3-1 start in their non-league schedule after beating Wilson 65-48 on Dec. 6.

Lew-Port repeatedly fought for second and third shots off the offensive backboard against the shorter Lakemen to jump out to a 10-2 lead. Overall, the Lancers out-rebounded Wilson 47-27. Wilson had only one senior in their lineup, but that lone senior, Kyle Seabert, scored 17 of the Lakemen’s 25 points in the first half and 25 on the game. His three-pointer with 6:12 left in the first half tied the score at 15, prompting a Lew-Port timeout.

Bradshaw said he liked the response from the Lancers to the Wilson run, saying in years past, such a run by the opposition went unanswered by his team. This time though, the Lancers scored several transition lay-ups and made six free throws as they went on a 20-10 run to close the half ahead 35-25. By halftime, Lew-Port’s Rob Seyler, a freshman, had 15 points.

Bradshaw added that he liked the production from seniors Rick Stepien and Nick Eckert, who he inserted to give the Lancers’ lineup a different look from the four-guard starting lineup that includes Josh Flock, Jarred Flock, Dave LaChance and Seyler with center Vince Ceretto.

Lew-Port put the game away in the second half, as Ceretto had 16 of his 20 points after sitting part of the first half with early fouls. He also contributed 10 rebounds and five steals.

“Vince deserves this,” Bradshaw said afterward. “He works as hard as anybody I’ve coached.” The 6-4 senior spent much of the summer lifting weight, playing in summer leagues, and doing plyometrics to improve his game, Bradshaw said.

For the Lances to be successful, Bradshaw added, he will need scoring from throughout his lineup, rather than just LaChance, his leading scorer returning from a year ago, and Ceretto, his lone inside player. So far, a different Lancer has paced the team in scoring in each outing.

Lew-Port began the year with a 61-55 win over Newfane as Seyler had 14 points. LaChance had 12 points in the opening round of the H. James Walker Tournament as Lew-Port beat Roy-Hart 50-33. In the tournament title game against Gov. Simcoe of Ontario, Josh Flock had 17 points in a 59-40 loss.

Also seeing playing time in the Wilson victory were Dave Vanoni, Steve Stanley, Brian Basta, Joe Bartos and Jake Rougeux. Brandon Stack and Mike Fasso are also on the roster, with Fasso out until January with a knee injury.