By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — AJ Gray wanted to make good on a previous mistake. Kevin Goode, Jr. needed to salvage something positive from an otherwise lackluster personal performance.
Teammates both found redemption on the same play.
Goode’s only field goal of the night highlighted a 10-0 Kearney run in the contest’s closing moments.
“I don’t think he had that great of a game, but he’s so resilient,” Kevin Goode, Sr. said after Bishop Kearney’s 55-53 victory over the UPrep Griffins, Tuesday night. “He doesn’t let the previous plays bother him. That was a big three that we needed.”
Goode, Jr. calmly stepped into a Gray pass and connected from the left corner to knot the match at 51 with 1:19 remaining on the clock. The play was similar to an end-of-game situation in Kearney’s loss to Canisius (78-74) over the weekend.
“Last game I missed him on a three, and we ended up losing,” Gray explained. “I took a shot when he was open. I should have passed it.
“I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss him this game. I made the extra pass this time.”
With the ball at the top of the key, the junior guard/forward drew the defense before kicking it out to his teammate.
“It feels good because he learned from his mistake last time,” Goode, Jr. said. “We could have won that game (over the weekend). This time he made the great pass.”
One possession later, Shykell Brown converted two free throws to give BK its first lead of the quarter at 53-51. Gray sealed the victory with two more from the charity stripe.
“That felt great,” Gray said of the comeback. “We were just trying to get defensive stops, trying to make one play at a time. We just had to play hard. We really wanted that win, and we got it.”
A Kearney win looked unlikely when UPrep’s defense forced back-to-back turnovers and held the Kings without a field goal for the first five possessions of the stanza.
Jakhi Lucas had a steal and layup. Keyshawn Ross connected on one of his four 3-pointers on the night. Elroy Clark scored on consecutive trips down the floor, and UPrep led 51-46 with 2:35 to go.
“They are a team that likes to get up and down the floor,” Goode, Sr. said of UPrep. “They pressure you on defense to get you to speed up. They want you to make mistakes They’ll pick you apart.
“We weren’t being patient. That’s why we got down by five. Once we started being patient and moving the basketball and settled down we were ready to get what we needed.”
The Kings held the Griffins without a field goal on the next five trips down the floor.
“The only adjustment was for us to focus and play defense, keep them to one shot and get the rebound,” Goode, Sr. said. “For the better part of the game, they were getting anything they wanted. The game was at their pace.”
Brown finished with 19 points on the night. Gray had 13. Jamal Williams added 10. Goode, Jr. scored five. Jamal Fennell (6) and Jordan Love (2) rounded out the scoring for Kearney.
Kearney connected on 9 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter.
The win was third in the last four games for Kearney (7-8) which started the season 2-6.
“It feels good going into sectionals,” Goode, Jr. said. “We’ve grown as a team. We got better. We’ve learned how to work together.”
Ross paced UPrep (9-8) with 20 points. Clark added 11. Lucas had eight. Quinton Sanders scored six points. Scott had four. JJ Strother and Christian Edwards scored two apiece.
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