High School Boys Basketball: Frontier scores upset of Jamestown

Frontier extended its longest win streak of the season to seven with a victory at rival Orchard Park on Feb. 13 but it was what the Falcons accomplished last week that raised many eyebrows around Western New York high school basketball.

Frontier upset Western New York large school third-ranked Jamestown 52-51 with a furious fourth quarter come back on Feb. 9. The Falcons moved a game within the ECIC I front-runner and handed Jamestown its first loss in division play by winning its sixth game of the season by five or less points.

“We’ve won a bunch of tight games this season so we’re not world beaters,” Frontier head coach Gary Domzalski said. “We don’t dominate anybody but we’re very competitive and the kids like to compete.”

In fact, Domzalski found a way to harness his player’s competitive spirit two days earlier after Frontier had also avenged its only other division loss by beating Clarence 62-50.

Once the hooping and hollering that went on following the win over Clarence ended, Domzalski wanted his team focused on remembering one thing — the score 87-41, which is how badly Jamestown defeated Frontier on Jan. 10. So, he put that score up for them on the black board in the locker room as incentive to play even harder this time around.

In response, the Falcons, who trailed virtually the entire game, outscored Jamestown 16-9 in the final quarter for the win. Junior Kevin Marcinkowski, who has already hit a pair of final second game-winning three-pointers this year, came through again from beyond the arc, this time putting Frontier in the lead at 52-49 with under two minutes remaining. The Falcons would not score again but that didn’t matter as their defense held Jamestown in check the rest of the way.

Senior Alex Warren led Frontier with 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the fourth, while classmate Matt Taylor added 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. Other seniors contributing in the win were Remington Heil, who created a key late-game turnover, and Derek Lee, who secured a final second rebound.

“When you’re humiliated like that – not saying that Jamestown rubbed it in, but when you’re beat in front of a very loud crowd and their starters sit the last five or six minutes of the game, you want to keep reminding them about that,” Domzalski said. “I told them at the time that they were better than us so we’ve got to keep working at it. Since then, we haven’t looked back.”

In a game in which Frontier also had a little extra incentive, the Falcons landed a win over Clarence after having lost to the same team 60-52 on Jan. 6. The Falcons broke the game open in the fourth, outscoring Clarence 21-11. Taylor had seven of his game-high 23 points in the fourth and added 10 boards. Warren finished with 17 points, including knocking down a pair of fourth quarter threes, and 10 rebounds. Marcinkowski hit four straight free throws in the game’s last minute and Heil added seven assists.

Against Orchard Park, Frontier pulled away with a 17-9 fourth quarter in beating Orchard Park, 61-52. Marcinkowski hit a three-pointer late in the third quarter to put the Falcons up 44-43 and they never relinquished the lead. Taylor finished with team-highs 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Warren added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Heil, 11 points and six assists.

“Orchard Park was really hustling and it felt like a playoff game,” Domzalski noted. “This rivalry is right up there with Frontier and Hamburg. I told them let’s get ready for next week, keep playing and doing what we’re doing. We counted on them to continue playing good defense, and Warren and Taylor have been so tough for us inside. They’re really smart players and great passers.”

The Falcons finish off the regular season at Hamburg on Friday, Feb. 17. Frontier looks to be locked into the fourth seed in the upcoming sectional playoffs. The Falcons will have a bye, before more than likely hosting either North Tonawanda or Williamsville North in a Class AA quarterfinal for the right to move on to Buffalo State College.