Brayden Steve beats the buzzer, sends Newark to state final four

Dreams of clinching a spot in the state final four were either realized or shattered during Saturday's New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regionals.

For Newark's Section V Class B champion, it will be hard to forget senior Brayden Steve's buzzer beater that ultimately lifted the Reds into the NYS final four after a 66-58 overtime win over Section VI's Fredonia at Gates Chili.

Reigning Class D state champion Avoca/Prattsburgh will defend its title after a swift 67-35 win over Section VI's Panama.

Section VI's Randolph had other plans against Lyons, defeating the Section V champ 57-47. Jacob Sides led the Lions with 16 points and four 3-pointers at the same venue.

What it means

Class B

Newark will take its 21-4 record to the NYSPHSAA final four March 17 at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. The Reds have won 12 of their last 13 games, thanks to Steve's 25-point performance.

Class C

Lyons coach Dean Schott's Lions' end their season at 24-2 after clinching the program's 21st Section V championship. The Lions entered the game riding a 15-game winning streak. Randolph coach Kevin Hind's Cardinals (20-4) will advance to the NYSPHSAA Class C semifinals next weekend in Glens Falls.

Class D

Avoca/Prattsburgh is now 23-2 and they seek their second straight state title. Last year's team went undefeated on their way to the NYS Class D crown.

Player of the Game

Class B: Brayden Steve

Who else? The Newark senior scored a game-high 25 points, 17 came in the second half and overtime. His fifth 3-pointer sent the game into overtime, and he made all four free throws in the extra frame.

"He's not a good shooter, he's a great shooter," Newark coach Henry Kuperus said. "Every game he gets box-and-ones, face-guarded, double teamed, and we know that."

Class C: Carson Conley

The Randolph sophomore netted 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. He made three consecutive 3-pointers in the third to keep a double digit lead, and finished the game with four 3s. Jaiden Huntington scored 16 first half points behind four 3-pointers but was scoreless in the second half.

Class D: Sawyer Devoe

The senior forward led all scorers with a 21-point night.

Play of the game

Class B: Brayden Steve's game-tying 3-pointer as time expired almost didn't happen. The Reds appeared to have turned the inbounds pass over with 3.4 seconds left, but officials blew an inadvertent whistle and kept possession with Newark. Steve wrapped around Raeshawn Howard's pin down screen, caught Jaypar Allen's inbounds pass above the 3-point arc, pump faked a defender and drained a trey from beyond 30-feet as time expired to send the game into overtime.

"I hear Brayden say to Jaypar, 'I can hit it from that deep'. He was right," Kuperus said.

"The whole team wanted me to shoot the ball. They had my back. I had confidence when I shot the ball and it went in," Steve said.

Class C: Randolph senior Ethan Shields was the key to the Cardinals' diamond-and-one defense. He exclusively face-guarded Lyons' star JC Walker — who scored 34 points in Thursday's 59-56 Class C final win over Pembroke — limiting the high-scoring forward to 10 second half points and 11 total.

"(The diamond-and-one) shouldn't have slowed us down," Lyons coach Dean Schott said. "We were getting wide open shots, but no one except maybe (Sides) could make them. We went over at halftime how to get JC where he needs to be. ... The stage maybe was a little too big to run the sets, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. They gave me everything they had."

They said it

Coach Dean Schott II, Lyons: "They've been great all year. Nothing's changed because we didn't come out on top today. They fought. We didn't execute the way we wanted to all the time, but it wasn't for lack of effort. Randolph's a good team and they shot the crap out of it today."

Coach Henrey Kuperus, Newark: "This win is all about the kids. We had an eight point lead, then they got up four, but we never quit. I'm so proud of all the guys on our team. The way we practice, the way we come together. There was no quit in them. I love them. I can't say enough about them."

What's next

Newark and Avoca/Prattsburgh will both travel to Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls next weekend.

Newark will play Section III's Westhill in the Class B semifinals at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

Avoca/Prattsburgh is set to play Section III's Hamilton in the Class D semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Brayden Steve beats the buzzer, sends Newark to state final four