GI disappointed at Lew-Port

Story and photos by Larry Austin
Grand Island Dispatch, February 16, 2007

Lancers fans, above, sat right next to the Grand Island bench during Friday’s game at Lewiston-Porter. Three were ejected for their behavior during the contest.

Grand Island’s inability to score cost them in a 47-36 loss at Lewiston-Porter last Friday. A little more offense early in the game would have eliminated a strong homecourt advantage for the Lancers.

“If you can’t score, you can’t win,” GI coach Chris Simpson said. “You’ve seen with the crowd. It’s tough to play, but you’ve got to fight through it. Those kids in the stands can’t come on the floor, and we can’t go on the floor and play for our kids. You’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to play smart all the time.”

L-P led 7-5 after the first quarter and 18-15 at halftime. David LaChance was a thorn in the side of the Vikings, scoring 18 points. His three-point play in the third quarter pushed the Lancers’ advantage to 33-25, and his three-point shot put the Lancers up 39-28 with 1:50 remaining in the contest.

Grand Island players were taunted in parts of the game by the green-clad student section at the Lancers’ gym. The game had to be stopped and two Lew-Port students were ejected after an incident where students were allegedly spat upon. Simpson’s ire was directed at the Lew-Port policy of placing the visiting team bench right next to the home team’s student cheering section.

“The one word I’ll use is ‘ridicuous,’ “ Simpson said. “They just set athletics back 20 years. They read the Sportsmanship Pledge before the game and then they let them sit right there, right next to the crowd. I love a good home crowd, but it’s above and beyond what should happen at a basketball game with high school kids.”

Lew-Port Athletic Director Scott Townsend said students at the school have traditionally sat in that section of the bleachers since the 1970s. Back then, though, the player benches were on the opposite side of the gym. Townsend said the benches will be switched in future games.

“Our bench will be on the side of the students, so hopefully that will be a proactive way of eliminating any further problems,” Townsend said.

“The best thing we can do is I’m going to sit down with the other athletic directors and kind of start a dialogue where we can promote sportsmanship maybe a little bit better in our league,” Townsend said.

GI’s record dropped to 8-9 overall and 5-6 in NFL. They finish with games at North Tonawanda, Niagara-Wheatfield at home, and home to Tonawanda.

“We’ve got to play smart every night. Our league, everybody’s equal, everybody’s even,” Simpson said. “If you don’t score or you don’t play well or smart, you’re going to lose. That’s what’s great about our league.”