East Aurora Advertiser

Blue Devils Keep it Close in Loss to Williamsville South



The East Aurora Blue Devils boys varsity basketball team kept it close in its opening game against Williamsville South Billies in the gym on Center Street before falling 60-51.

With the masked but stentorian announcer Matt Bindig at the mic, the five Blue Devil starters—Aidan Perry, Matt Horning, Henry Hoeg, Ryan Ensminger and Cade Wittenrich took the floor to the enthusiastic cheering of the new East Aurora-Holland cheer squad accompanied by a large contingent of students. Wittenrich drew first blood, but the Billies came back strong to go up 8-4, halfway through the first quarter. Hunter Gould launched a three-pointer from Zach Parrish’s assist to narrow the lead. Four free throws, two each by Jack Larouech and Ensminger, made the score 12-11 Williamsville after one quarter.

Ryan Ensminger fires up a three-pointer in the Blue Devils’ game against Williamsville South last Friday. Ryan scored a game high 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Photo by Marty Wangelin

The Blue Devils kept it close in the second, even taking the lead briefly when Wittenrich hauled in a pass from Gould and drained a two-pointer for an 18-16 lead with 4:40 left in the half. Ensminger scored seven in the quarter, including a dramatic coast-to-coast ramble for a layup. The Billies led by a single point, 25-24 after 16 minutes.

The second half was going fine; the Blue Devils were staying within one point on baskets by Ensminger and Perry. The tide turned with a couple of minutes left in the third as the Billies found the three-point range and made several unanswered buckets. Perry took a rebound coast-to-coast in the waning moments to tighten the score at 57-51, but time ran out and the Billies won by nine.

Ensminger was the statistical leader with 27 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Gould and Wittenrich added six points each; Perry dished out six assists. 

The boys are home Saturday, Dec. 11 against Fredonia at 5:30 p.m.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.