Wvw Uses Size To Top Wyoming
By CONNOR ENNIS Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Sunday, December 19, 1999 Page: 7C
PLYMOUTH – In this era of undersized, sharpshooting guards and slashing,
athletic forwards, many forget that size still rules the basketball court.
In Saturday night’s 81-70 victory over Wyoming Area, Wyoming Valley West
reminded the Warriors in no uncertain terms.
With Warrior junior insiders Steve Buzinski and Joe Falzone out with
injuries suffered Monday against Wyoming Seminary, the Spartans’ Brian Mattes
took over.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore dominated the paint and netted 31 points, many with
smaller Wyoming Area foes hanging on his arms.
Mattes couldn’t have picked a better time to step up his game, because
fellow Spartan big man Phil Bonczewski found himself in foul trouble early and
finished with 11 points, only four of them inside.
“I knew we had physical size over them,” Mattes said. “I was planning on
having, like most games, me and Phil inside, but he came out and got in early
foul trouble. I just had to step it up, and I think the whole team stepped it
up.”
At the end of a back-and-forth first quarter, Valley West held a mere
four-point lead. The Spartans stepped up defensive pressure in the second
period and began to pull away.
Kevin Craig hit a short jumper and Matt Hopple drained a three to start the
stanza. Bob Chipego then grabbed an offensive board, hit a layup while being
fouled and nailed the charity shot to give the Spartans a 31-19 lead.
Matt Bowen and P.J. Sciandra, who finished with 18 and 19 points
respectively for the Warriors, hit some jumpers in the second to keep Wyoming
Area within striking distance.
The Spartans kept the pressure on the Warriors and went into the locker
room with a 41-28 lead.
“We just picked up the pace a little bit on defense,” said Valley West
head coach John Rosick. “We had to get in their face shooting the ball. They
(Wyoming Area) shot the ball extremely well in the first half, especially in
the first quarter.”
Every time the Warriors would get any momentum, Mattes seemed to come up
with a big play – either a rebound or a score – on the inside to keep the
Spartans in control. And if it wasn’t Mattes, then it was Greg Pieczynski or
Hopple hitting a big outside shot.
“That’s the way it’s got to be,” Rosick said. “If they key on our inside
game, our outside game has to pick up the pace.” With the outside and inside
games clicking for the Spartans, it turned out to be too much for the
Warriors, who hung tough in the second half.
“The overall picture of what took place tonight was that we were just
outsized,” Wyoming Area head coach C.J. Bufalino said. “They were much
bigger at almost every position, and because of that their ability to score in
the paint just wore us down.” Wyoming Area 19 9 13 29 70 Wyoming Valley
West 23 18 22 18 81
