The Black Knights knew it was going to be a battle to get past a team for the third time, so they came ready to play. Silver Creek played its best quarter of the game in the first, as it took advantage of a tired Maple Grove squad that played the night before.

“It’s definitely tough to play a team three times in one year,” stated Silver Creek head coach Ralph Jackson. “I kind of expected tonight to be a closer game, regardless of what the scores were in the regular season. They’ve improved a lot and Maple Grove plays hard. There’s no quit and they did that tonight.”

Silver Creek built its lead in the opening quarter, outscoring the visiting Red Dragons 24-15. Silver Creek played aggressive on the ball and took advantage of poor shooting by Maple Grove. The Black Knights’ offense was driven in the opening quarter by Ray Cortes and Matt Woleben, combining for 22 points.

“They get good shots,” Jackson said about Cortes and Woleben. “They get to the rim, they take quality shots. It’s tough to stop both of them. They have been pretty consistent throughout the year.”

Maple Grove’s Tucker Fenton closely guards Silver Creek’s Ray Cortes during Wednesday’s Section VI Class C playoff basketball game. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Cortes and Woleben combined for 50 points on the night with Cortes scoring 26 and Woleben scoring 24. Cortes also collected 14 rebounds and delivered four blocks, while Woleben had 10 boards and Aidan Jamison pitched in three steals for the Black Knights.

Despite playing in its second game in as many nights, Maple Grove settled in more as the game progressed. The Red Dragons were able to cut the deficit to 36-30 at halftime, but that’s as close as they would get.

“They were off a week and we played just yesterday,” Maple Grove head coach Al Roller stated after Wednesday’s game. “They had a lot of energy coming out and we had to match up to it. We just kind of stuck around being that little pest, and at halftime we were down by six, which was huge for how bad we were playing shooting-wise.”

Coming out in the second half, Maple Grove’s opportunity to get back in the game was squandered by poor shooting. The Red Dragons shot 4-for-21 from the field in the third quarter and didn’t hit a single 3-pointer in the second half.

“Last night I think we used up everything we had,” Roller said about Tuesday’s playoff game against Gowanda where the Red Dragons scored 91 points. “I looked at the numbers last night and we shot over 55% and that is huge. We haven’t been there all year. We just couldn’t get a bucket to fall. We missed a lot of easy buckets, but that’s what happens when you’re tired.”

Silver Creek’s Ray Cortes leans back to put up a shot over Maple Grove’s Tucker Fenton during Wednesday’s Section VI Class C quarterfinal playoff game in Silver Creek. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Maple Grove controlled possession in the fourth quarter, partly due to better luck on the offensive glass. However, the shooting woes continued for everyone, but Jake Vaillancourt, who led the Red Dragons’ offense with 18 points and Matthew Welsh scored 11.

Silver Creek will get another crack at Frewsburg, which won both regular-season meetings.

“We just need to play hard for 32 minutes,” Jackson said. “We’ve played Frewsburg twice now in two close games. We need to go over there on Friday night and play a solid game.”

MAPLE GROVE (52)

Vaillancourt 9 0 18, Welsh 4 3 11, Bower 2 1 5, Reagle 0 0 0, Foley 4 2 10, Fenton 3 0 7, Mansfield 0 0 0, Cresanti 0 1 1. Totals 22 7 52.

SILVER CREEK (64)

Woleben 11 0 24, White 1 0 2, Jamison 0 0 0, Fiegl 3 0 6, Kelly 2 0 6, Cortes 10 5 26. Totals 27 5 64.

Maple Grove 15 15 9 13 — 52

Silver Creek 24 12 17 11 — 64