Trojans close game with an 18-4 run to solidify their status as contenders

ANNETTE LEIN Greece Athena guard Dan Streicher is fouled by Rush-Henrietta's Ryan Allen before Athena rallies in the fourth quarter to push its Division II-leading record to 7-1, 13-3.

By Jeff DiVeronica
Democrat and Chronicle

(Monday, February 4, 2002) -- Greece Athena and Rush-Henrietta each played two solid quarters of basketball in Sunday's 13th annual Kearney Classic, but Athena was better when it counted the most -- crunch time.

The Trojans trailed by eight points with five minutes remaining, but guards Joe Tisa and Mark Schaller sparked a game-ending 18-4 run and Athena won 55-49 at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's paying attention to us, but we know we can compete with anybody," said senior forward Steve Taylor, who was named game MVP after scoring a game-high 15 points.

Athena is 13-3 overall and ranked third in the Democrat and Chronicle's large-schools poll, but it has been largely overlooked as a contender for the Section V Class AA Tourn-ament, which starts Feb. 20.

The Trojans lead Monroe County Division II with a 7-1 record, but Division I teams such as Fairport and Gates Chili seem to be getting more consideration as sectional favorites.

R-H (9-6) was in that discussion until recently, but the Comets have lost five of their last seven.

"It was maybe a microcosm of our season," R-H coach Chris Reed said of Sunday's game. "We've been up and down. We have trouble putting four quarters together."

R-H bolted to a 17-10 lead after the first quarter, but then Athena stopped settling for outside shots that weren't connecting and began to look inside.

"We're trying not to live and die by the 3-pointer this year," said Schaller, a sophomore point guard who had nine points and four steals.

Junior forward Darquinn Johnson scored eight of his 11 points in the second quarter, as Athena closed the half with a 16-4 run for a 29-26 lead.

Athena went cold again to start the third quarter, going scoreless the first 4:41. R-H outscored the Trojans 16-6. Justin Barley and Kevin Kaye made consecutive 3-pointers and James Jackson (11 points) closed the quarter with a basket for a 42-35 R-H edge.

Junior forward Alex Davis (13 points) scored five straight to help R-H build a 45-37 lead with 5:12 left, but Ryan Kerr's layup off a Schaller feed started Athena's 18-4 run. Schaller made two steals that led to fast-break layups -- first by Johnson, then by himself.

"He has amazing anticipation. It might be the best I've coached in my 20 years," Athena coach Jim Johnson said.

Tisa's steal and pass ahead to Taylor for a layup tied it at 49 with 1:40 left and R-H either fumbled away chances or missed shots. Reed said execution on key possessions has been a problem.

It wasn't for Tisa. The junior scored five of Athena's last six points, including 3-for-4 shooting from the free-throw line, to seal it.

It was his driving layup with 50 seconds left that gave Athena a 51-49 lead.

"This was a big game for us to see what we could do," Schaller said.