By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Brendan O’Toole had every reason to be preoccupied. With his wife due at any moment with the couple’s second child, the sixth-year coach of the Wilson-Magnet Wildcats had more important things on his mind than a basketball game.
O’Toole’s team, though, showed nothing but focus on Saturday afternoon.
Wilson-Magnet ended the first quarter on a 15-4 run and went on to knock off top-seeded Leadership Academy, 67-62 in the Class A2 quarter-finals.
Four different Wildcats put points on the board as Wilson-Magnet turned an early deficit into a lead they did not surrender.
The win came after Wilson fell twice to Leadership in RCAC regular season play.
“We knew we could play with them,” O’Toole said of Leadership which came into the game winners of seven straight and 15 of 16 games. “We lost by one here when we played them earlier in the year. Then we lost by four at our place.”
Trailing 10-8, center Patrick Phillips got ahead of the defense for a layup. Mehki Walker converted a rebound and putback. Desi Floyd scored back-to-back buckets, and Robert Davis took an inside/out feed from Phillips and nailed a three-pointer.
Walker finished in the lane at the buzzer, and Wilson had a 23-14 advantage going into the second quarter.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that we would jump out on them early like the way we did,” O’Toole added. “If anything I thought it might be tight or we might have to fight from behind.”
The Wildcats (10-12) move on to face reigning champion Batavia in a rematch of last year’s A2 final. A game the Blue Devils won 64-57.
That the Wildcats are in this position seemed unlikely when they started the season with five losses in their first six games.
“We had a lot of new kids in the lineup this year,” O’Toole explained. “We had two starters back but even the seniors who were coming back, other than Patrick, hadn’t played much last year. It just took a while to really kinda grasp what I wanted them to do. Toward the end of the year we started playing better. They’re understanding the expectations and what I want offensively and defensively. Kinda the right time to start putting it together.”
Leadership’s Rondell Watson scored eight straight late in third and early in the fourth to make it a single- possession game. The sophomore guard drilled a three and followed the next trip down the floor with a leaner in the lane. Watson’s third triple of the day pulled Leadership with three at 51-48.
Moments later, Ty-Meek Mackie connected from long range to make it a 58-56. But the Lions did not get any closer.
“They can be explosive,” O’Toole stated. “We’ve actually held them to low point totals of 59, 64 and now 62 points.”
Phillips dominated the game inside hauling in an eye-popping 28 rebounds to go with six blocks on the day. The effort was the third time this season 6-foot-7 forward amassed 20 or more rebounds in a game.
Davis and Floyd scored 21 apiece for Wilson. Walker had nine.
Watson paced Leadership with 21. Jacquane Reed scored 14. Mackie had 13.
Wilson will play Batavia on Tuesday. As for the O’Tooles and the newborn they are ready to welcome into the world.
“I thought I might have to miss that first game,” O’Toole said of Wilson’s opening round victory over SOTA. “Now it’s who knows. Hopefully she goes into labor tonight or Sunday. I’d like to be at practice, but as long as it’s not Tuesday. As long as it’s not during the game.”
OTHER A2 ACTION:
No. 4-seed Batavia 59 No. 5-seed Honeoye Falls-Lima 49
Antwan Odom scored 22, and Tee Sean Ayala added 14 as Batavia head coach Buddy Brasky won his 400th career game. Owen VanNewkirk had 15 for HF-L (10-10). David O’Connell chipped in 10. Batavia moves on to play No. 8-seed Wilson in Tuesday’s semi-final. A 6:30 pm tip time is scheduled at Rush-Henrietta High School. Batavia beat Wilson, 64-57 in last year’s A2 final.
No. 2-seed Wayne 46 No. 7-seed Pittsford-Sutherland 43
Logan Blankenberg scored 16 of his game-high 17 in the first half to pace the Eagles. Braeden Zenelovic had eight points and seven rebounds for Wayne. Billy Thomson had seven points and four steal. Nick Carmichael scored eight. Wayne (18-3) moves on to play No. 6-seed Monroe in Tuesday’s semi-final. An 8:15 start is scheduled at Rush-Henrietta High School.
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