By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Credit Dan Masino with the ability to take the memory of being on the wrong side of a buzzer beater last February and using it for motivation.
Monday night, Masino and his teammates got a chance to turn the tables. They didn’t take the opportunity for granted.
Masino led five in double figures, and the Fairport Red Raiders cruised past the Bishop Kearney Kings, 74-58 in non-league action on Jeff Fitch Court.
The victory was payback for last season’s defeat when the Red Raiders rallied from as many as 10 down, knotting the score in the final minute only to fall in the game’s final possession.
“A lot of time I’m thinking about that,” Masino said. “When I’m in the off-season and it’s tough, it’s a grind you’re finding stuff to motivate you. That’s definitely something that has motivated me. It’s in my mind.”
Masino poured in 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as the Red Raiders built a double-digit lead early and led wire to wire.
“I was feeling good in warmups,” he said. “My shot was feeling good. I think some of my teammates noticed that.”
He got started off with a jumper in the lane. Then ran a give and go with teammate Matt Muncey. His first 3-pointer came after a kick out from Cam Keeley.
Masino’s step-back three at the buzzer gave Fairport a 23-10 advantage going into the second quarter.
“I can’t say enough about my teammates,” Masino commented. “They saw that I hit a couple in a row, and they were looking for me. I can’t say enough about how much those guys really help me out.”
Masino scored Fairport’s first eight points of the second quarter. His fourth three of the game, gave the Red Raiders their largest lead of the half at 31-16.
“I’ve coached him for four years, and I don’t know what it’s like without him anymore,” Fairport’s Jeff Fitch said. “I got a lot of trust in him. I have so much confidence in him. He’s a coach on the floor. We talk together almost like peers sometimes on the floor as he tells me what he sees, and make adjustments together instead of me just telling him what to do.”
With Kearney’s defense focusing on Masino, the rest of the Red Raiders took advantage.
“Danny definitely gets it going; there’s no question,” Fitch added. “We have a lot around him, and he knows that. I think that his game has gone to another level because he is making everybody better around him. It makes us harder to guard.”
Ryan Algier finished with 14 points. Stephen Gable and Muncey scored 12 apiece. Keeley chipped in with 10.
“These kids have played together for a long time, and they’ve always had trust in each other,” Fitch said of his seniors. “They played very unselfishly. They’re very good about celebrating other people’s successes. You don’t find that every time. When you get it, you got to cherish it. I’m trying to cherish this year because I know it’s my last year with these guys.”
BK star Nahziah Carter did not start for an undisclosed reason. The senior entered the game midway through the second quarter. His first bucket of the night – a lay in off a high-low feed from Patrick Thomas – came in the middle of a 7-0 spurt as BK inched within seven at 34-27.
It’s as close as the Kings would get the rest of the night.
“A lot of times when a team sees that happen, they let down and allow a team to hang around,” Fitch said of Carter being held out of the lineup. “I was really proud of our kids. We came out with the same intensity we would have if ‘Nahz’ was there. I felt it gave us a good little spurt.”
Muncey hit a catch-and-shoot three. Algier followed with a bucket inside, and Fairport had it largest advantage of the night at 59-39 late in the third quarter.
Algier added seven rebounds and four blocks. Keeley grabbed a team-high eight boards to go with three assists. Muncey handed out four helpers.
Fairport improved to 9-1. The Red Raiders play at Spencerport on Tuesday.
Carter finished with 19 points, 17 in the second half. Patrick Thomas scored 11 points for Kearney.
Kearney fell to 7-3. The Kings play at Edison Tech on Wednesday.
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