2020-2021 Western New York Season Review- Week 1

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b><i>High School Basketball tipped off in Western New York in mid-February 2021. This article will touch on how the St. Mary’s Lancers have started their season.</i></b></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>St. Mary’s - 0-4 Overall</b></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first section of the 2020-2021 season came and went in a flash. The Lancers were busy in the inaugural week, playing 4 total games. They were unsuccessful in each contest, posting an 0-4 record. Despite this, there are many reasons to be optimistic as a fan of St. Mary’s.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One player making an impact is Junior Sam Knospe. Though he has played less than 14 minutes per game thus far, he ranks second on the team in offensive rebounds per game with 1.8. As one extrapolates the data, he becomes the clear offensive rebound leader on his team per-32 minutes. His motor on the offensive glass is suffocating and he must be boxed out each time he roots his two feet in the paint.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another player that has shined so far is Sophomore Marco Gallo. Gallo is off to an excellent start shooting from range, having connected on half of his attempts. His best game came 2/11 against St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, where he connected on all three of his shot attempts, finishing with 7 points on an outstanding 2.3 points per possession. St. Mary’s will continue to feed their underclassman Guard shot attempts.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Senior [player_tooltip player_id="1125664" first="Brandon" last="Thome"] is leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assist, and blocks. The do-it-all Senior is averaging 24 minutes per game (32 total); that number would be even higher if he had been on the court against St. Joseph’s Collegiate Insititute for more than 19 minutes. As teams continue to focus on his abilities, Thome and the Lancers will need to make adjustments in order for him to get to the usage rates that will be necessary for success.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A final player to mention is Junior Forward Tommy Vaccaro. Vaccaro has been perfect from the free-throw line, having connected on both of his attempts thus far. Though the sample size is low, a team that sometimes struggles to score like St. Mary’s did last season will certainly not take any points for granted. Each basket is significant for a Lancer team looking to pick up their first victory of 2020-2021.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>Next Up:</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">vs Bishop Timon-St. Jude 2/17</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b><i>All Stats Come From Maxpreps.com. All Analysis Is My Own.</i></b></p>