By Rob Potter
LIBERTY — January 11, 2011 — The S.S. Seward Spartans used the first quarter to set the tone for their game against the Livingston Manor Wildcats on Saturday evening in the opening round of the 2011 Liberty High School New Year’s Basketball Tournament.
Seward jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first three minutes of the quarter on its way to recording an 83-53 victory.
Scott Glowaczewski had six points in the Spartans’ game-opening 12-0 scoring run.
After Manor’s Lee Sharshakuv made a jump shot to put his team on the scoreboard at the 4:47 mark, Seward (8-1) responded with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 21-2. Senior center David Oliver scored six points during the run and teammate Rob Gorski swished a 3-point shot.
Faced with a 51-20 deficit at halftime, Manor (4-2) came out energized in the third quarter. The Wildcats proceeded to outscore the Spartans 24-11 in those eight minutes.
Leading the Manor offense in the third period was senior forward Brandon Smith, who scored nine points.
The Wildcats pulled to within 16 points at 60-44 when Kenny Fisk made a pair of free throws with 58 seconds to go in the quarter. But that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game.
Glowaczewski finished with a game-high 24 points to lead Seward to victory. He scored the majority of his points from long distance by swishing five 3-point shots.
Oliver netted 17 points, while Gorski and Shawn Howell added 11 points and 10 points, respectively, for the Spartans.
“We played well tonight,” Seward Coach Rob Gravelle said. “We took good shots and we played defense very well.”
Gravelle praised the Wildcats for the way they played the game.
“No matter what sport it is, the Manor teams are always competitive,” he said. “They played good defense tonight and they played hard.”
Sharshakuv paced Manor with 17 points, while Smith had 11 points and Fisk added eight points.
“We didn’t even get off the bus in the first half,” Manor Coach Charlie Hicks said of his team’s slow start.
But he was quick to credit his players for their hard work and determination, especially in the second half.
“We didn’t give up,” Hicks commented. “I told our guys at halftime that they couldn’t erase Seward’s big lead with one shot. I said that we needed to go out and focus on the little things and win the third quarter. And that’s what our guys did.”
Note: In the tourney’s other opening round game, Chapel Field defeated Liberty, 64-52. Kyle Francis scored a game-high 32 points for Chapel Field (6-1). Eddie Byrd led Liberty (1-6) with 23 points.
The tournament will continue on Saturday, Jan. 22 at Liberty High School. Liberty will meet Manor in the consolation game and Chapel Field will play Seward in the championship game.