Kenmore West’s Martin Bailey is fouled while going up for a basket on Friday night against Lew-Port. Bailey had 13 points in support of Quinton Campbell’s game-high 33 points, as the Blue Devils ran away with a 62-49 victory. Photo by John RusacPurchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com There was no letdown for the Kenmore West Blue Devils last week after knocking off top-seeded Niagara Falls during the last weekend of January.

Kenmore West continued to carry the momentum it’s built up in the New Year by beating Grand Island and Lew-Port on Tuesday and Friday. It wasn’t easy, though, especially on Friday night as the Blue Devils found themselves behind early against the Lancers. It turned out to be just a temporary concern, though, as the Blue Devils put everything together on their way to their 11th straight victory.

The Blue Devils remain tied for first place in both the Niagara Frontier League and Section VI Class AA standings with Niagara Falls. They have just three league games and four regular season games total remaining before they will begin the sectional playoffs. Kenmore West’s goal is to get a top-three seed for the postseason tournament. To do that, they will have to continue their winning ways through a challenging finish to the NFL schedule.

Kenmore West faces a tricky week with a game at Niagara-Wheatfield on Wednesday and at home against North Tonawanda on Friday. The Falcons led the Blue Devils at halftime of their previous meeting, while North Tonawanda currently owns a 10-5 overall record and 8-3 league record and gave Kenmore West a tough game back on Jan. 13 in the first matchup between the two teams at North Tonawanda. Kenmore West head coach Mike Meetze believes this is the kind of week that can keep his team sharp heading into the postseason.

“This is a good week for us,” Meetze said. “These teams have coaches that can change defenses in the middle of games. That will show us some things that we’ll see down the road. We have to play smart.”

The Blue Devils were able to weather some challenges last week, starting with their 78-54 victory over Grand Island last Tuesday. The Blue Devils opened up a sizeable lead and were never really threatened, led by 20 points from Quinton Campbell and 15 from Marcus Lobdell. However, star guard Martin Bailey left the game after he rolled an ankle. That injury kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday and limited him when Kenmore West hosted Lew-Port on Friday. Stepping up to fill his production was Campbell, who posted his second-straight big performance with 33 points in a 62-49 victory.

It was another confidence booster for Campbell, who has put up big numbers this season for the Blue Devils but has had one Achilles heel: an inability to stay on the court because of foul trouble. That wasn’t a problem, though, on Friday.

“He’s usually in foul trouble, but that wasn’t the case and he wasn’t tired at all,” Meetze said. “He played all 32 minutes and was a factor. He was double and triple-teamed, but he still scored.”

Kenmore West is hoping to keep the momentum rolling and close the regular season out on top. They hope to avoid being tripped up in the final few games. Though Kenmore West won in their first matchup with Niagara-Wheatfield earlier in the year, the Blue Devils trailed in the game by one at halftime.

“Niagara-Wheatfield executed well in the first game,” Meetze said. “They did a lot of things we didn’t see before. It’ll be tough to play them in their gym.”

The more difficult game will occur on Friday night when the Blue Devils host a tough North Tonawanda team. The Lumberjacks have had a winning season and feature a tough zone defense. Meetze said it will be another good test for his team as they continue towards an NFL title and the top seed for the postseason.

“Friday will be a war,” Meetze said. “They play a variation of a 2-3, 3-2 zone. It may be the best in the area, at least the best I’ve seen in the area. They’re going to look to be the spoiler. Basically, if we win out, we’re going to be champions. We need to take it game by game. We want a top-three seed for sectionals and it’s basically in our hands.”

The outlook isn’t quite as great for Kenmore East as the Bulldogs have lost five straight games dating back to Jan. 17. They were staring straight into the face of a sixth-straight loss on Tuesday when they hosted first-place Niagara Falls. The game began after The Bee went to press.

All four of Kenmore East’s losses in the streak have come at home, losing to Niagara-Wheatfield, North Tonawanda, Lew-Port and Lockport. They had a chance to break the streak on Friday as they held a 33-28 lead at halftime. They continued to lead by one heading into the fourth quarter, but were outscored, 21-11, in the final frame.

The loss ruined the great efforts of Kenmore East’s P.J. Blanch, who led both teams with 28 points in the game.

The Bulldogs, who now own a 4-11 overall record, have just two regular season games remaining as they visit Grand Island at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and host rival Kenmore West at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday.

email: mmigliore@beenews.com