Brown leads Vikings to A1 title

Late in Thursday night’s Class A1 sectional final, with matters safely in hand, Grand Island head coach Chris Simpson stopped to look up into the crowd at Buffalo State and told himself, ‘Oh, so this is what it feels like.’

Simpson had waited a long time to experience that rush. He hadn’t been part of a sectional champ since his days as an assistant at LaSalle in 1995. He has been coaching for 28 years at Grand Island, which hadn’t won a sectional since 1992.

But the Vikings left no doubt in the title game, surging to an early 14-point lead and cruising to a 63-39 victory over Lew-Port, their Niagara Frontier League rival. Grand Island will face Fredonia, which beat Olean in the A2 final, 76-66, in the crossover A sectional title game at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Buff State.

Junior Dane Brown scored 30 points, 20 in the second half; sophomore Jeremiah Wilkes added 12 points; and senior point guard Jonathan Neville had 10 assists in a masterful effort for the Vikings, who improved to 21-2. Sophomore Michael Wylke scored 21 to lead Lew-Port, which finished 16-8.

Simpson said he knew his kids would come out firing against the Lancers, whom they’d beaten twice by 15 and 27 points during the regular season.

“Oh, yeah,” said Neville, who will play football at St. John Fisher next year. “It was a meaningful game. It’s tough to beat a good team three times in a year. That’s why we were so amped up. We knew we had to play our best, and we did.”

Grand Island broke out to leads of 8-0 and 16-2. Neville was in the middle of it, probing the Lew-Port defense, finding teammates inside the opposing defense with deft look-off passes. On one play, he turned and heaved a pass the length of the court to a sprinting Wilkes, who laid it in.

Simpson played point guard at LaSalle for Pat Monti. He understands the importance of the position and holds his star senior to a high standard. He got on Neville at halftime for some untimely turnovers late in the half.

“But he’s definitely a catalyst for our team to go,” Simpson said. “We can’t take him out. He’s a defensive stopper and the guy who makes the offense go.”

Grand Island led by 10 at the half, but went on a quick 8-0 run to start the third quarter and Lew-Port never got closer than 14 again. The 6-7 Brown was dominant. He hit back-to-back threes at one point. A minute later, he broke away and dunked off a turnover, adding an exclamation point to the win.

“I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life,” Brown said. “We’ve been trying to do this for three years and we’ve finally done it. It’s a special moment getting that dunk. I had to hang on the rim for a little bit.”

Jon Roth, who coached the 1992 sectional winners and worked for 50 years at the school as a coach and athletic director, was sitting behind the bench, recording it all. Jon Neville is his grandson. It was a special moment for Grand Island, for school, family and community.

“Oh, it’s everything,” Simpson said. “It’s what we bust our tails for, it’s what we get kids to come to workouts for. It’s what we get them to practice on time for, on time for school for, and going to classes. It’s all part of the package.”

There’s still work to be done, starting with the Class A crossover. After the win, Brown gave the winning trophy to Simpson in the locker room. Simpson handed it back to him. “I said, ‘That’s not the one that I want’,” Simpson said. “I love it. I appreciate it, but I don’t want that one. I want a bigger one.”

Feature Image/Damone Mayfield~WNYAthletics