By JOHN LIKANJE
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Brandon Moore is the only underclassman on the Franklin Quakers’ roster. Not only is he a freshman, but he is in the starting lineup as well. However, Moore does not let the pressure get to him. He has his game do the talking and leaves it all out there on the court. Moore poured in 31 points on Monday night as the Quakers (2-5) downed the Vertus Warriors (0-5), 79-58.
“Being the youngest guy is tough,” Moore explained. “You got seniors and juniors that all want to get their shine. I try to give them the ball so they can get their shine and then I get my shine, too.”
Moore was dominant in the first half, scoring 24 points, including 16 straight in the first quarter, as the Quakers got out to a 43-20 halftime lead. He made three layups, knocked down two shots from beyond the arc, was 4-5 from the free throw line, and converted a three-point play during his personal run.
“I was getting my team involved and taking the right shots,” Moore said on how he was effective tonight offensively. “It helped us win the game.”
“He’s been consistent in scoring but sometimes he’s young and he makes mistakes,” Quakers head coach Eddie Lee said of the freshman’s performance this season. “He’s going to be tough if he keeps working and he’s going to be real good.”
In the beginning of the fourth quarter, Moore went down with cramps in his right leg. Despite the Quakers having a sizable lead, he asked Lee to put him back in the game with a chance to eclipse 30 on the night. His coach complied and Moore, having already scored 25, finished the job, hitting a bomb from the right wing and netting three of his four shots from the charity stripe to get to 31 points.
Junior forward Tyrone House finished all around the basket tonight, making seven layups en route to 17 points. In the third quarter, he scored eight straight for the Quakers, all on layups, to extend their edge to 53-27. House also knocked down three free throws.
“I had to get the rebounds and get past the defense to score the easy layups,” House said on how he was able to rack up his points.
“He rebounds well, he just got to learn to keep playing,” Lee said of House’s game. “He finished a lot under the basket.”
Lee was also proud of his team for putting together a complete game.
“I like how they played together,” the Quakers head coach said of his squad’s effort. “I like what I saw.”
Mike Sutton (12), Marcher Spencer (8), Kentonio Kelly (7), Devonte Goins (5), and Anthony Smith (2) rounded out the scoring for the Quakers.
For the Warriors, senior forward De’Andre Hunter scored a team-high 18 points off the bench. In the third quarter, he scored 10 straight on a made free throw and swished three shots from beyond the arc-two from the left corner and one from the right.
Sophomore guard Rashawn Williams netted 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
Jabez Thompson (8), Quanmay Early (7), Cesar Ostolaza (5), Xalen Lucas (4), Clovis Meikle (2), and Jarel Dixon (1) rounded out the scoring for the Warriors.
Franklin will play at McQuaid (No. 8 NYSSWA Class AA) on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM.
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