H.S. Boys Basketball: Bellomo, Eagles with one final shot By Michael J. Petro
Sean Bellomo has a very promising future in college basketball, but he doesn’t want his high school career to end just yet.
The Lake Shore senior, who recently signed to play with NAIA Division II’s Daemen College, has been close to making his first appearance at Buffalo State for a sectional semifinal over the past two years, but come up short both times. The 6-foot-8 Bellomo, now in his third season as the varsity’s starting center, doesn’t want it to be all over before he gets that special opportunity.
“I at least want to say that I’ve played there once,” said Bellomo, who was part of a team his sophomore season that almost advanced in the “Cinderella” role but was beat in the final seconds of a quarterfinal, then last year, a highly-touted Lake Shore was upset in the playoff opener by Hamburg. “We upset Williamsville South my first year and I thought we could get there but we got beat at the buzzer by Hutch Tech and last year, we should have beaten Hamburg.”
This season, Bellomo has transformed into one of the best post players in Western New York, averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, but Lake Shore hasn’t done as well as anticipated. The Eagles experienced a rough stretch during the regular season in which Bellomo was sick and second-leading scorer Erik Marx missed a few games due to a shoulder ailment.
A 7-3 start to the season, turned quickly for the worse in mid-January. Lake Shore, once thought to be the next best team to Williamsville South in ECIC II, fell in six of its last eight games and finished 5-7 in divisional play (9-9 overall). Still, Bellomo and his coach, Dan Gerken, believe there is time to change this team’s fortunes.
“I want them to walk away knowing that they did everything they could and not wish that they could have done more. Then, no matter the result, they could walk away with piece of mind,” said Gerken, whose sixth-seeded team opened the Class A-1 playoffs hosting No. 11 Kenmore East on Feb. 24 (too late for press time). A win would get the Eagles to the quarterfinal on Feb. 26 at third-seeded McKinley.
“I’ve seen pieces of games that if we could put them together, we’d be playing in Rochester (for the Far West Regional ),” he added. “I’m hoping for us to show that because I’m not ready to be done coaching Sean and these guys yet.”
Though Bellomo draws double and triple teams most games, the Lake Shore offense must continue to go through him to be successful. Gerken expects that Bellomo will be able to use his vastly improved footwork to still put points on the board, while finding his teammates as a very sound passer. Bellomo is also quite the confident outside shooter, especially for a big man, leading the team hitting 40 percent from three-point range.
“He’s had to learn to be an inside-outside guy,” said Gerken of Bellomo, who ranks third on the school’s all-time scoring list with 795 points and holds the school’s single game blocked shots record at 11. “His talent initially was shooting from the outside, but his post play has really improved. He also runs the floor very well.”
Bellomo’s big coming out at the varsity level was two years ago in a memorable regular season upset of Williamsville South, 71-69 in overtime, a sign of things to come that season. Bellomo came off the bench to score 23 points and help bring Lake Shore back from an early 22-6 deficit. He then hit what turned out to be the game-winning, three-pointer in overtime.
“I remember getting called up for that game as a sophomore,” said Bellomo, who played for three years with the Buffalo Storm and before this season participated in a national tournament in Orlando. “That’s when I really hit it off. I’ve gotten better by playing at this level and against some of the better guys in the offseason.”
His skills as a big man improved so much from his sophomore year to this season that Daemen College head coach Don Silvieri came to only a few practices and games before realizing he needed to have this player in his future lineup. Silvieri showed up at a practice to offer a full tuition waver for him to play at Daemen and shortly after on Feb. 4, Bellomo made his commitment and signed with the college.
“I saw him last year and thought he had potential but I wasn’t sure yet just how much,” said Silvieri, a Hamburg resident, who recently won his 500th game as Daemen basketball coach. “Coach Gerken sent me some of his information again and I thought I should check him out this year. Once I saw him again, I thought this is the big man I’ve been looking for. I can’t wait to get him into a Daemen uniform. I think his best days are still ahead.”
Bellomo had been honing in on Medaille since the beginning of the season and got the same tuition waver offer from Niagara County Community College but felt he couldn’t pass up on the opportunity that Daemen presented. The good-natured Bellomo had a hard time with the final decision.
“He got recruited by some great programs and classy coaches, but Daemen offered an opportunity of a lifetime,” Gerken said. “He handled the process in a very mature and responsible manner and was always up front and honest with these coaches, some of whom have been recruiting him for three years. For him, saying yes wasn’t the problem. He’s such a nice kid that the hard part was saying no to these coaches. He contacted them all afterward and they all congratulated him.”
Now, Bellomo feels as though he has gained back some focus and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He believes the Eagles will peak come the Class A-1 playoffs.
“Making the decision took some weight off my shoulders,” Bellomo said.” I feel like I’m just playing the game again and relaxing more.”
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