By PAUL GOTHAM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Justice Smith sparked a 15-6 run to close the first quarter, and the Lyons Lions breezed to a 93-65 victory over the Perry Yellowjackets in Section V Class C2 semifinal action from Pittsford Sutherland High School, Tuesday night.
Smith gave Lyons an early 8-6 advantage with a drive from the wing. The 6-foot-6 senior guard split a pair of defenders in the lane with an up-and-under move for a 12-9 lead. The Lions did not trail again.
By the end of the half, Smith had poured in 20 and etched his name in the Lyons’ school record books surpassing his head coach Dean Schott II for the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“It feels great,” said Smith who has now scored 1,912 points in his high school career. “All the work I put in the offseason it just feels good to finally be the leading scorer. I was hoping to be the leading scorer this season.”
Aaron Romero’s steal and layup on the first possession of the second quarter pushed the Lyons advantage to double digits at 23-12.
The lead did not get into single digits for the remainder of the contest.
“We said that from the jump we wanted to let them know that we were here and that they didn’t belong in the game,” Smith commented. “We wanted to show them from the jump that we were the better team. We just wanted to come out and play hard and that’s what happened.”
Smith matched his brother Justin Smith, Jr. for game-high honors with 28 points apiece. Romero scored 15. The reigning Class C2 champions clinched their second straight trip to the finals.
“It feels good to be going to the Blue Cross (Arena), again,” Smith stated. “We just got to keep playing, keep focusing and keep getting better.”
The brothers combined for 22 second-quarter points when the Lions turned a nine-point lead into 22-point advantage going into the locker room.
Justin Smith scored nine straight when Lyons started to pull away. The sophomore guard connected on a free-throw line jumper. He followed with a pair of one-on-one free throws before driving baseline for a deuce and then converting one of two from the stripe.
Justice Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers including a four-point play where he found a friendly rim from the top of the key. He used a hesitation dribble to get in the lane where he broke his coach’s previous program mark of 1,900 points.
Michael Hockey paced the Yellowjackets with 26 points.
Justice Smith doing work underneath. @AthleticsLY with an early 12-9 lead over Perry pic.twitter.com/mIxIUGZKsK
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2019
Other scorers: Perry – Carson DeVinney (8), Cameron Campbell (8), Michael John Grover (7), Mitchel Hockey (6), Garrett McClurg (2) and Caleb Carr (3). Lyons – Ahmir James (9), Benji Kemp (4), Horace Betts IV (2), David Weaver (2), Nate Henry (2) and Xavier Reeves (1).
Lyons will play the winner of the Alexander-Red Jacket contest in Friday’s Class C2 final.
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