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Waters Hits Seven 3s As Thunderbirds Prevail

SILVER CREEK — No. 4 Silver Creek nearly erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but No. 5 Chautauqua Lake’s Luke Waters hit a late 3-pointer to put the Thunderbirds up for good in a 70-66 Section VI Class C-1 quarterfinal victory Friday.

Waters finished with 26 points, including a school-record tying seven 3-pointers, while Zach Fischer added 24 points for Chautauqua Lake, which will take on No. 1 Middle Early College at 5:15 p.m. Monday at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

Each team established their strengths in the early going, with Silver Creek finding success with Brady Woleben in the paint and the Thunderbirds scoring from long range. Fischer hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first to keep it even at 19-19. Woleben led the way with 10 points at the end of the first and Fischer had 8 points for Chautauqua Lake.

“Fischer collapsed our defense all night,” Silver Creek head coach Rob Genco said. “He is a lot more athletic than he looks when you’re watching from the stands. When you see how fast he’s moving and how under control he is at that speed, he is really a talent. He controlled that game.”

Waters hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter, with each one delivering a big blow to the home team.

“We talked about if we have that perimeter shot, we want to take it,” Chautauqua Lake coach Mike Putney said. “Tonight they were able to fall for us.”

Tucker Gates and Jeremy Wilcox added 6 points apiece in the second quarter for the Black Knights.

“I don’t think we got him enough touches in the first half,” Genco said of Woleben. “He’s too good for us not to get it in to him.”

Chautauqua Lake scored 22 points in the quarter to take a 41-35 lead into halftime.

The Thunderbirds came out to play after halftime as Fischer grabbed a huge steal early, then dished it to Waters for an early 3-pointer that injected a shot of confidence into the visitors. Chautauqua Lake got exactly what it needed, an early seven-point run to give it a 48-35 lead.

“His defense was phenomenal,” Putney said of the play of Fischer. “No matter who we put him on, he gave them fits. We’ve got guys in foul trouble, they’ve got guys in foul trouble and he’s a big part of that. He’s very composed out there and you can tell he just does the right things at the right time.”

Waters hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Thunderbirds a 57-43 lead. Down by 14 points on their home court, the Black Knights needed a huge final quarter.

“I told them that there is no reason we can’t go on a 15-point run,” Genco said.

Powered by 9 points from Dominic Jamison, the Black Knights eventually tied the game at 64 with a minute to go.

“He led the charge there a little bit,” Genco said of Jamison. “Dom plays with a chip on his shoulder and at some point he is going to come to battle. He has a big heart and cares a lot about Silver Creek basketball.”

Chautauqua Lake then eventually found an open Luke Waters for his record-tying 3-pointer to give his team the lead for good.

“Luke Waters, Luke Waters, Luke Waters,” Putney said. ” … His dad played in this gym and I was thinking wouldn’t it be nice if he lit it up. He had a phenomenal game.”

NOTES: Waters’ seven 3-pointers tied Devin Pope and Carter Davidson for the Chautauqua Lake record. … Woleben finished with 24 points and Jamison had 13 for the Black Knights.

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