By Mike Wertman<br><a href="mailto:mike.wertman@journal-register.com">E-mail Mike</a>
MEDINA — BATAVIA — A basket at the buzzer earned Alexander a dramatic 64-63 victory over Medina Friday in the second annual Niagara-Orleans League vs. Genesee Region League Showdown at Genesee Community College.
Zach Burke scored on a jumper at the buzzer to give Alexander the thrilling victory in the see-saw contest, which saw no less than 19 lead changes.
The narrow loss spoiled a record-setting night for the Mustangs as senior center Levi Pace became the Medina boys all-time career-scoring lead.
Pace scored a game-high
26 points to up his record career total to 1,237, surpassing the previous mark of 1,220 set by Eddie Woods in the mid 1990s. Pace now only trails girls record-holder Erin Oveis’ total of 1,267 by 30 to become the overall school career points leader.
“Levi has worked hard for four years so this is something he should be proud of,” Medina coach Tom Forrestel said. “He knows it is a team game and that he couldn’t do it without his teammates and he is a very unselfish player. And I know it frustrates him to set the record in a tough loss like that.”
Adam Hellwig added 14 and Demetrius Thompson 12 for Medina, which is now 12-5 overall on the season.
Troy Shelnut scored 17, Burke 16 and Jared Quinn 14 for Alexander.
Five lead changes in the first quarter, which finished with Alexander up 15-12, set the tone for the tight contest.
Medina built up a seven-point, 33-26, lead at the half off a 13-4 run to close the second quarter.
Two free throws by Pace, which tied and broke the career-scoring mark, started that uprising — which also included a layup off a steal and a jumper by Willie Jakes, a three-point shot and a layup off a steal by Michael Santoro and a three by Hellwig.
Alexander quickly regained a 36-33 lead to open the second quarter with a 10-0 run highlighted by a jumper off a turnover and a rare four-point play by Shelnut, and a jumper off another turnover by Quinn.
Medina cut the deficit back to one, 46-45, at the three-quarter mark on late lay-ups by Pace and Thompson.
The contest was then nip and tuck throughout the wild fourth quarter which saw seven lead changes and four ties.
Three’s by Hellwig and Thompson kept Medina even early in the period and then Pace took over scoring nine of the Mustangs final points.
Pace had back-to-back lay-ups off steals to put Medina up 60-57 with 1:51 remaining. Then, after Stephen George and Burke countered with lay-ups to put Alexander back up 62-60, Pace scored on a slam dunk off another steal to give the Mustangs what proved to be their last lead at 63-62 with just seven seconds remaining.
However, the advantage shifted one last time as Alexander, after having an initial shot miss and the ball batted away, saw Burke come up with the lose ball and hit a 15-foot jumper as the buzzer sounded to give the Trojans the wild victory.
“You just should never lose a game like that,” Forrestel said. “From a fan’s standpoint I’m sure it was a great game to watch but from a coaches’ view it was very frustrating. We played hard but we just didn’t have that edge, that intensity, that relentlessness tonight that you need to win close games like that.”
Medina now closes out the N-O season at Roy-Hart at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
