By JOHN LIKANJE
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – “Another Rainbow Classic.” Pittsford Mendon head coach Robert Nally breathed a sigh of relief after his squad pulled out a 49-43 victory over Pittsford Sutherland in the 19th edition of this rivalry.
“John (Nally) graduated a lot of guys last year,” said Nally, who is in his 20th year at the helm of the program. “We graduated a lot of guys last year. So for a lot of people, it’s their first Rainbow Classic and it’s tough. It’s loud. It’s a big gym. It’s exhausting just to play in it from an energy standpoint.”
Caleb Arena and Jacob Shadders combined for three free throws in the final 22.5 seconds to clinch the win. Grasping a 46-43 edge, Arena knocked down 1-of-2 foul shots and Shadders netted a pair with 14.8 ticks remaining.
“My teammate, Caleb, came up big, hitting the first one to put us up four,” Shadders said. “Kind of relieved the pressure and then I got up to the line and stood there confident and sunk them.”
Kyle Hennessey ignited a 6-0 run with a pair of layups as the Vikings extended their slim margin to a 46-37 cushion with 1:46 left. The senior guard scored six of the Vikings’ 15 fourth-quarter points.
“We did it on the defensive end all night and Kyle’s a leader on our team,” Shadders said about Hennessey. “He’s a big senior. He made big plays on the defensive end and energized our team to this win. Kudos to him.”
“Kyle’s just a senior gamer,” Nally said. “He goes in, he gives you great intensity on defense. People feed off his energy. He was able to come up with a couple of steals and get some buckets and just get some toughness plays. He’s a three-sport athlete and we know that when he’s out there, we can count on him.”
Shadders netted 15 of his game-high 17 points after the opening period in which the Vikings held an 8-5 lead. The junior guard made four layups and a pair of jumpers as part of his performance.
.@SecVBBasketball – @PCSDSutherland vs. @mendonbball: Jacob Shadders left corner pocket. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/3jhAk2klMi
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) December 21, 2019
Arena led the Vikings to a 25-14 halftime lead with nine points through the first two quarters. For the game, the senior forward had 14.
.@SecVBBasketball – @PCSDSutherland vs. @mendonbball: Caleb Arena with the quick move to the cup. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/4VlqQWB5J7
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) December 21, 2019
Green (6), Nate Strauf (4) and Tommy Birmingham (2) rounded out the scoring for the Vikings.
For the game, Pittsford Mendon forced 32 missed field goals and 13 turnovers in 56 possessions. The Vikings held the Knights to 14 first-half points and zero made field goals in the opening period as well.
“We take pride in our defense and keeping teams under 50 (points),” Nally said. “Our man-to-man defense right now has been a little back-and-forth this season, but we’re starting to figure it out and I think we had a great showing.”
“We were really hitting gaps well. We’re communicating. When our guys talk, it gives guys confidence to get up on the ball, to get a hand up on shooters.”
For Pittsford Sutherland, Owen Flisnik swished a pair of long-range shots and 5-of-6 free throws for a team-high 11 points. Ben DiGiovanni and Torin Wilcox scored eight points apiece.
.@SecVBBasketball – @PCSDSutherland vs. @mendonbball: Torin Wilcox again. This time from the left corner. End of 3: Mendon 34 Sutherland 32. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/XBWRhHlSEu
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) December 21, 2019
Jaylyn Moorehead (7), Garrett Glanton (5), Will Klenk (2) and Drew Kull (2) rounded out the scoring for the Knights.
Pittsford Mendon’s next game is January 3rd at Webster Thomas. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Pittsford Sutherland matches up with Gates-Chili December 27th at 4:30 p.m. at Rush-Henrietta High School.
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