LANCASTER - The Jamestown Red Raiders played a complete game Monday night and rewarded their coach with a milestone victory in the process.
Sophomore Branden Kellam and junior Quinn Lee Yaw recorded double-doubles, and senior Tommy Campion drilled five 3-pointers to lead the Red Raiders to a 74-52 victory over Lancaster in an Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division 1 basketball game.
The win, which came 48 hours after a rare home loss to Williamsville North, raised Jamestown's record to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the division. Just as significantly, the victory was the 250th of Coach Ben Drake's career, which ties him with Roland Taft for the most in school history.
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Jamestown’s ECIC Division 1 win over Lancaster on Monday night placed Red Raiders coach Ben Drake in a tie for the most career victories at JHS.
P-J file photo by Scott Kindberg
"It makes you realize you're getting old,'' Drake said with a laugh.
Turning serious, Drake thanked those who have helped make his career at his alma mater, which began in the 1998-99 season, so successful.
"I'm blessed, because I enjoy it,'' he said. "I have a great staff and we've had some kids over the years who have really worked hard.''
Last night's game was an example of that.
Kellam scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds; Lee Yaw added 11 points and 10 rebounds; Campion had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists; and sophomore Zack Panebianco chipped in 11 points and six assists.
"We had good energy tonight,'' said Drake, whose career record now stands at 250-77. "We had a good film session last night and we talked about the things we didn't do well on Saturday night. I like the way we responded tonight. We played more like ourselves, I guess."
That statistics bear that out.
Although the Red Raiders didn't shoot especially well (28 of 71), they did connect on 10 of 22 attempts from the arc. They also dominated the boards (40-16) and were credited with 15 assists after managing only one against Williamsville North.
Jamestown led, 21-18, after the first quarter, but outscored the Redskins, 18-10, in the second quarter and 16-8 in the third to build a comfortable lead.
Kellam and Lee Yaw, the Red Raiders' post players, were particularly impressive, according to Drake.
"Both of them having a double-double is what we need,'' he said. "I thought they really played with a lot of heart tonight and were really making a good effort on the boards."
See JHS, Page B2
Jamestown returns to action on Friday when it entertains Frontier at McElrath Gymnasium. A win then would place Drake atop the school's all-time win list, breaking a record that Taft (250-119 from 1937-57) held for 55 years.
NOTES: Tyler Lis led Lancaster with 15 points and Mike Spengler added 12. In the junior varsity game, the Red Raiders suffered their first loss, falling to Lancaster, 59-47. Ben Larson led Jamestown (5-1) with 14 points.
JAMESTOWN (74)
Campion 6 0 17, Panebianco 3 3 11, Colwell 2 0 4, Kellam 8 2 18, Lee Yaw 4 3 11, Carlson 1 0 2, Frank 1 0 3, Sisson 0 0 0, McBride 1 0 2, Hoaglund 2 0 6, Park 0 0 0, Totals 28 8 74.
LANCASTER (52)
Zimpfer 2 0 4, Stotz 2 0 4, Murray 1 0 2, Jamkowski 2 1 5, Spengler 4 0 12, Torbi 2 0 4, Lis 7 0 15, Garvey 2 1 6, Totals 22 2 52.
3-point goals-Campion 5, Panebianco, Hoaglund 2, Frank, Spengler 4, Lis, Garvey.
Jamestown21 18 16 19 - 74
Lancaster18 10 8 16 - 52