Jason Hawkes highlighted a furious rally with a 3-pointer, and the Aquinas Li’l closed the game on a 7-0 run to defeat the Williamsville-South Billies (VI), 54-51 in non-league action Thursday night.
Hawkes took a drop pass from teammate Jalen Pickett and connected on his second triple of the night as the Li’l Irish rebounded from its first home loss in more than three years.
View the video of Hawkes’s winning three here.
Hawkes led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and two of two from the free throw line.
Aquinas trailed by three at the half before outscoring Will-South, ranked No. 7 Class A in the most recent NYS poll, 18-12 in the third quarter.
Pickett added 13 points to go with game-highs of eight assists and 14 rebounds. The senior led an effort on the boards which saw AQ outrebound its counterparts 40-32 including 16 offensive caroms which they converted into a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points. Aquinas outscored the Billies in the paint, 28-14.
All-State performer and 1,000-point scorer, Greg Dolan led the Billies with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Aquinas fell on Saturday to Fairport, ranked No. 5 NYS Class AA, 55-29. It was the first home setback for the Li’l Irish since December of 2013.
Will-South defeated UPrep, 70-64 over the weekend. UPrep knocked off Aquinas, 62-48 earlier in the season.
AQ sophomore Luke Putnam connected twice behind the arc and chipped in eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Anthony Flegler scored six points and grabbed three rebounds.
Hawkes handed out four assists while collecting two steals and a block.
Will-South’s Devin Degree scored nine points, and Adam Braniecki added eight.
Aquinas improved to 10-4 with the win. The Li’l Irish play St. Paul’s-Ontario at Niagara Falls High School on Saturday.
AQUINAS 54, WILLIAMSVILLE SOUTH 51
AQUINAS (10-4)
Jason Hawkes 8-15 2-2 20; Jalen Pickett 5-19 3-3 13; Luke Putnam 3-10 0-2 8;
Anthony Flegler 2-8 0-0 6; Sincere Alston 1-4 1-3 3; Graycen Carter 1-1 0-0
2; Eric Carter 1-2 0-0 2; Danny Speed 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 6-10 54.
WILLIAMSVILLE SOUTH (12-3)
Greg Dolan 7-15 1-2 18; Devin Degree 3-7 0-0 9; Adam Braniecki 3-7 2-3 8;
Christopher Nelson 1-1 2-2 5; Mark Worthy 1-3 2-2 4; Cody Sanford 1-4 2-2 4;
Dakota Wiley 1-8 0-1 3; John Goetzmann 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Foster 0-1 0-0 0;
Anthony Lombardo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 9-12 51.
Aquinas………………….. 12 10 18 14 – 54
Williamsville South……….. 13 12 12 14 – 51
3-point goals–Aquinas 6-19 (Anthony Flegler 2-4; Luke Putnam 2-7; Jason
Hawkes 2-4; Jalen Pickett 0-4), Williamsville South 8-24 (Devin Degree 3-6;
Greg Dolan 3-4; Dakota Wiley 1-7; Christopher Nelson 1-1; Josh Foster 0-1;
Cody Sanford 0-2; Mark Worthy 0-2; Adam Braniecki 0-1). Fouled
out–Aquinas-None, Williamsville South-None. Rebounds–Aquinas 40 (Jalen
Pickett 14), Williamsville South 32 (Greg Dolan 10). Assists–Aquinas 13
(Jalen Pickett 8), Williamsville South 8 (Mark Worthy 4). Total
fouls–Aquinas 10, Williamsville South 10. Technical fouls–Aquinas-None,
Williamsville South-None. A-800
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