By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Four scored in double figures, and the Leadership Academy Lions opened the Section V Class A2 playoffs with a 66-52 victory over Honeoye Falls-Lima.
Leadership snapped a mini two-game skid to close the regular season and set up a rematch with East in Saturday’s quarterfinal.
With the coaching staff encouraging “one more” from the bench, the Lions hit HF-L with a balanced attack.
“Our main focus is if we’re going to make a run, we need to spread the ball more,” Leadership head coach Reggie Simmons said. “It’s just that one extra pass, so we can make this final run.”
When their 11-point halftime lead shrunk to five, the Lions responded with points on the next five possessions.
Onajae Anderson converts the steal and layup Leadership up early over HFL 5-2. pic.twitter.com/vzUdzNpwWp
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 20, 2019
Coming out of timeout with 5:46 to go in the third quarter, Rondell Watson drove the lane for two. Maurice McKinney followed with a bucket. Onajae Anderson converted a steal and layup. Kennyh Hardeman finished inside to give the Lions 43-32 advantage.
HF-L took a timeout with 4:11 left in the stanza. It didn’t matter. Leadership stretched its advantage to 51-36 by the end of the quarter.
“We haven’t really been gelling,” Simmons said of his squad’s recent struggles. “Guys have been getting a little jealous of each other. We tried to come together this week and stress that if we want to make this final run, we have to gel and play unselfishly.”
Watson, the RCAC Upper Division’s leading scorer averaging 25.2 points per game, paced the Leadership offense with 19 points. McKinney added 14. Hardeman and Shamir McCullough scored 13 apiece.
“We wanted to get everyone involved because for most of the season we’ve been relying too much upon Rondell to keep saving us,” Simmons noted. “I think the guys really focused on that today.”
Leadership grabbed its first double-digit advantage early in the second quarter on a play that showed a squad that understands the difference between a good shot and great shot.
McCullough found Watson along the left wing early in the shot clock. Watson returned the pass and cut along the baseline. McCullough dished to Hardeman in the lane. Hardeman quickly redirected the ball to McKinney who continued the play finding Watson in the right corner for a 3-pointer.
Rondell Watson beats the horn to end the 1st. Leadership 12 @HFLCSDAthletics 4 pic.twitter.com/apIMchNiIf
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 20, 2019
Sophomore Josh Vogt connected three times from 3-point land and led HF-L with with 13 points. Senior Trevor Chamberlain added 12. Derek Childs and Patrick Lustyk scored 10 apiece for the Cougars.
Vogt hit one of his treys early in the third quarter to trigger a 9-0 run for HF-L. Chamberlain followed with a basket, and Lustyk scored on back-to-back possessions to bring HF-L within five at 35-30.
Hayden Smith finds Patrick Lustyk for 2, but @HFLCSDAthletics trails Leadership 46-34 pic.twitter.com/NItQaiPIxv
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 20, 2019
Hayden Smith chipped in four for HF-L. Jack Emerson added three.
Anderson (4) and Nate Doyle, Jr. (8) rounded out the scoring for Leadership.
The Lions fell twice to East during the regular season. Leadership eliminated East last season.
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