By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — If Scott Fitch has his way, the Fairport Red Raiders might get a slight case of amnesia. That is at least when it comes to considering the result of Saturday night’s non-league matchup.
Coming face to face with the opponent which ended their last two seasons, the Red Raiders turned in a dominant performance.
Dan Masino netted a game-high 19 points, and Fairport routed the Aquinas Li’l Irish 55-29 in the Rochester Area Players (RAP) Showcase.
“It was a good game, but we’re going to have a short-term memory on it,” Fitch said. “We still have a lot to get better. It doesn’t mean a ton except for it solidifies some of the things we’ve been working on. But we still didn’t play a perfect game tonight.”
In a game where they never trailed, Fairport set out with that idea of perfection in mind needing just eight possessions to grab a double-digit lead.
Masino jump started the Red Raiders. The senior point guard hit a pull-up jumper in the lane, then a turnaround jumper in the paint. He went end-to-end for a layup and scored under the basket for a 12-2 advantage less than six minutes into the contest.
Dan Masino gets free in the lane for two. @FCSDSports pic.twitter.com/kNXodQKwUs
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 29, 2017
Three trips later, teammate TJ Hendricks drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to make it a 15-4 game. Fairport did not allow Aquinas to get within single digits for the remainder of the contest.
“The kids have worked very hard,” Fitch noted. “We still haven’t accomplished anything…There’s still room for improvement for sure.”
Hendricks hit the first of four Fairport triples over the next eight possessions as the Red Raiders lead ballooned to 20.
Jordan Holmes took an inside-out feed from Cam Keeley for a trey, and Keeley followed with a pair of threes to make it a 24-4 margin. Fairport finished with five trifecta on the night.
TJ Hendricks connects for three. @FCSDSports pic.twitter.com/5SL4czjYFZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 29, 2017
“That five total is really low for us,” Fitch stated. “We’ve been making a lot more than that. I didn’t think we executed very well offensively. We’ll go back and look at it. Normally we have almost 20 assists. We only had 10 tonight, so that tells me that ball wasn’t moving as good as it should be. The barrage always makes it seem like there’s more than there really was.”
Aquinas beat Fairport 47-43 in last season’s Class AA final. The Li’l Irish went on to win the NYS title and advanced to the Federation Cup championship before falling. AQ beat Fairport 63-49 in the 2015 Class AA final.
“They’ve had our number the last couple years,” Fitch said. “It was nice to take this one in, and I think prove something mentally to us. That we belong.”
The win was the eighth straight for Fairport (15-1) with three games left on their schedule before the post-season begins.
“You’re trying to climb up a mountain,” Fitch explained. “This win was more important mentally than anything. We’ve been playing hard. It doesn’t surprise me the effort we put forth.”
Keeley finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Algier had eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Masino collected four steals, five rebounds and two assists. His basket at the 5:18 mark of the third quarter gave Fairport its largest lead of the night at 37-7.
Fairport outscored Aquinas 28-12 in the paint. The Red Raiders forced 15 turnovers and converted those into a 14-2 advantage in points off miscues. Fairport outrebounded Aquinas 31-25 and held a 9-1 advantage in points off turnovers.
Aquinas (9-4) suffered its first home loss since December 2013 when the Li’l Irish lost to Buffalo East.
Jason Hawkes led Aquinas with 10 points. He grabbed five rebounds. Jalen Pickett grabbed 10 rebounds and tallied seven points. Luke Putnam connected twice behind the arc and finished with seven points.
Fairport plays at Victor next Friday.
Aquinas travels to Buffalo to play Williamsville-South (VI) on Thursday.
FAIRPORT 55, AQUINAS 29
FAIRPORT (15-1)
Dan Masino 8-13 2-2 19; Cam Keeley 4-9 1-2 11; Ryan Algier 3-6 2-5 8;
Stephen Gabel 3-10 1-1 7; TJ Hendricks 1-1 0-0 3; Jordan Holmes 1-1 0-0 3;
Andrew Bartlett 1-1 0-0 2; Matt Muncey 1-4 0-1 2; Tommy Farina 0-0 0-0 0;
Thomas Arao 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0; Connor Stoutz 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 22-45 6-11 55.
AQUINAS (9-4)
Jason Hawkes 3-8 4-9 10; Luke Putnam 2-5 1-1 7; Jalen Pickett 3-10 1-2 7;
Sincere Alston 1-3 0-1 2; Hiramil Hernandez 1-1 0-0 2; Danny Speed 0-2 1-2
1; Jimar Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0; Marc DiGirolamo 0-1 0-0 0; Rodre Lewis 0-0
0-0 0; Eric Carter 0-1 0-0 0; Anthony Flegler 0-1 0-2 0; Graycen Carter 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 10-32 7-17 29.
Fairport…………………. 15 15 13 12 – 55
Aquinas………………….. 4 2 11 12 – 29
3-point goals–Fairport 5-13 (Cam Keeley 2-5; Dan Masino 1-3; Jordan Holmes
1-1; TJ Hendricks 1-1; Stephen Gabel 0-3), Aquinas 2-11 (Luke Putnam 2-4;
Jalen Pickett 0-5; Marc DiGirolamo 0-1; Jason Hawkes 0-1). Fouled
out–Fairport-None, Aquinas-None. Rebounds–Fairport 31 (Cam Keeley 7),
Aquinas 25 (Jalen Pickett 10). Assists–Fairport 10 (Stephen Gabel 3),
Aquinas 8 (Jalen Pickett 5). Total fouls–Fairport 14, Aquinas 13. Technical
fouls–Fairport-None, Aquinas-None. A-1000
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