By PAUL GOTHAM
MENDON, N.Y. — It was first play of the second half. Pittsford-Mendon held a 42-22 lead and there was reason to wonder if Bob Nally’s squad could continue the pace it established over the first 16 minutes.
The Vikings connected on 11 of 16 attempts from the floor to start the game and sprinted to a 25-10 lead over the Webster Thomas Titans after eight minutes of play. They added to the advantage in the second stanza.
Any chance of a letdown during the 10-minute halftime, though, was quickly dispelled.
Mendon inbounded the ball and senior forward Dan Cook received the orange globe just outside the lane. The All-County performer from a year ago pivoted, recognized the double team and without hesitation led teammate Nate Strauf with a bounce pass for an easy bucket in the lane.
More than 15 minutes remained in the contest, but one thing was clear: Mendon (No. 6 NYSSWA Class A) was taking nothing for granted.
“Things were going so well there wasn’t a lot we had to fix at halftime,” Nally said after Mendon’s 79-46 victory. “We just talked about going out and giving a really good third quarter. They came out and we took care of the ball and we were able to execute.”
There was more to it than that.
A double-double man (21 points/11 rebounds per game) a year ago, Cook had scored just four points in the first half. He had one field goal and converted the only two free throw attempts he had. Receiving the ball on the first possession of the second half might have been the perfect opportunity for the 6-foot-6 forward to assert himself.
Instead he took what the defense gave him. Strauf obliged catching the ball in the lane and without a dribble going to the rim.
The term textbook comes to mind.
Seven trips later, Connor Krapf found Cook ahead of the play in transition. Again, the senior didn’t delay. This time he threaded a pass to Charlie Bennett who finished with a hop step in the lane.
“We just never had a letdown,” Nally said. “It’s hard to play four full quarters in high school. I think we had that today. Any other game, any other day it’s probably going to be much closer because they’re a well-coached team.”
There was no script being followed. Players were reacting to the flow of the game. They had scored on six of their first eight possessions coming out of the locker room.
“They make such good choices and decisions themselves it turns out,” Nally added. “The coaching staff just looks at each other once in a while when it’s going like it was today and just sort of smile and know that they’re doing it one their own.”
Cook finished with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Jacob Shadders led three in double figures with 20 points. The sophomore guard connected six times behind the 3-point arc including three treys in the opening three minutes of the second half. Krapf scored 15, and Michael Harrington had 13 for Mendon (5-0).
“These guys play a lot even in the offseason together, that crew especially,” Nally said of his starters. “The three seniors that start (Cook, Krapf and Harrington), those guys have played a lot together over the years and do in the offseason. That’s sort of what you see in times like this.”
Saturday’s effort was just as much about the defense, though. Webster Thomas came into the game winners of three straight and five of six including an impressive 72-57 victory over two-time Section V Class A champ Irondequoit.
The Vikings held Thomas (averaging better than 66 points per game) to a season-low offensive output. Andrew Mason came in scoring 27.1 points per game. Mendon limited the junior guard to 15 points.
“It had us scared a little bit,” Nally said of the Titans’ recent success. “We know that they’re good, and they’re coached very well. We weren’t just doing normal practices the last couple days. We were prepping for all of them but especially Mason.”
Bennett finished with seven points on the day. Strauf had six. Isaiah Cotton (4), William Orzell (3) and Kyle Hennessy rounded out the scoring for Mendon.
Garrett Reeves scored eight for Thomas (5-3). Dannie Palmer added seven. Evan Mitchell scored four. Tyler Williams and Nick Linder had three apiece. Brendan Connolly, Aristo Visca and Stephen Katz each had two points.
Leave a Reply