By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY — Matt Keenan and Adam Pries combined for 32 points as the Fairport Raiders built a 20-point lead and held on for a 61-51 victory over Edison Tech’s Inventors in the Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Classic on Monroe Community College’s George Monagan Court.
Keenan netted 11 during a 17-3 second quarter run. The sophomore came off the bench and took a lead from Ben Wahl and connected on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. He followed with a lay in on a dish from Maleek Mason and made it a 23-9 Fairport lead with a traditional three-point play when he got ahead of the defense and finished with contact.
“He came out and was very aggressive offensively,” Fairport Head Coach Scott Fitch said. “We were getting up and down a little bit which is kind of his game. He’s a good athlete. He gets to the rim very well.
Keenan nailed his second three of the quarter moments later, and the Raiders led 32-12.
Pries tallied seven first-quarter points and took a charge to pace Fairport to a 13-6 lead after the first eight minutes.
Edison grabbed some momentum going into the halftime.
Darien Thompson connected from the left corner for three, and on the next possession, Raliek Redd used a ball screen at the top of the key to get open and nail Edison’s second trey in as many possessions.
Fairport led 34-20 at half.
“The second quarter was great until the last minute,” Fitch stated. “We let them bang two threes, and that gave them some life, and I thought that was why we had to battle in the second half.”
The Inventors continued to rally and eventually cut the lead to six.
Daequon Carelock sparked a 7-0 Edison Tech early in the fourth quarter. The junior forward converted a rebound and putback. On the next trip down the floor he ran down a long offensive rebound and led Redd who went baseline for two. Quan Colbert used an upfake and dribble to create space for a pull-up jumper from the left wing, and Edison trailed by six at 53-47.
But Fairport’s balance was too much.
Keenan knocked down a jumper in the lane. Ben Wahl drove the lane and finished off the glass, and the lead was back to 10 at 57-47.
“This team shares the ball very well,” Fitch commented. “That’s one thing I love about them. They give a hard effort every night. They outwork everybody we play. They don’t care. They’re unselfish.”
Pries paced Fairport with 17. Keenan added 15. Adam Pelusion chipped in nine , and Jamie Wolmering had eight.
Redd finished with a game-high 18 on 3 three-pointers for Edison Tech.
Christian Allen and Cortez Frye Jr. had six apiece.
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