By PAUL GOTHAM
BATAVIA, N.Y. — One game after netting a career-high, Caledonia-Mumford senior Vin Molisani was at it again Monday night.
The 5-foot-11 guard scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the first half to pace the top-seeded Raiders to a 67-43 victory over No. 4 Lyndonville in Section V Class C3 semi-final action from Genesee Community College.
Molisani, who scored 32 in Cal-Mum’s 85-54 win over Wheatland-Chili on Friday, connected 15 times from the floor Monday night.
“Sectionals,” he said matter-of-factly. “I just got a whole different attitude right now. The team’s really clicking. Coach has been putting us through good practices. It’s all coming together right now.”
The program’s all-time leading scored accounted for six points in the first quarter. His hesitation dribble on a wing drive gave Cal-Mum a double-digit lead at 19-9 less than two minutes into the second quarter. The Raiders did not allow Lyndonville within single digits for the remainder of the contest.
Vin Molisani takes the Adam O’Donoghue outlet and gets ahead for the and-one. @CalMumHoops in command 40-20. pic.twitter.com/tUGnobHzVh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 3, 2020
“There’s nobody I ‘d rather have on my team than Vinny,” Cal-Mum head coach Dan Dickens said. “He’s played great in big game after big game for five years.”
Vin Molisani hits the runner to close the 3rd. Senior guard has 25. @CalMumHoops 51 Lyndonville 26 pic.twitter.com/8l8bAYGt9q
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 3, 2020
Cal-Mum held Lyndonville nearly 20 points under its season average.
“We didn’t play real good defense on Friday, so we stressed it,” Dickens explained. “Our guys bought into what we were trying to do. It is difficult when you’re playing team that you’re not used to seeing. Our guys rose to the occasion.
“This is our fifth final in seven years. We’ve been on the big stage, so we didn’t look so tentative out there. They did. I’ve seen some of those guys shoot the ball a lot better for them. It’s tough. If you haven’t played in a semi, in a great atmosphere like this place; it was packed. It’s tough.”
Joe Laursen added 15 in the win, and Kyle Wade had 14. Noah Carnes, Adam O’Donoghue and Mason Nusbickel added two apiece.
First possession of the second half, Kyle Wade hits the free throw line jumper for @CalMumHoops pic.twitter.com/0JX2KcONW4
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 3, 2020
The Raiders did not hit a 3-pointer in the win.
“Our big thing was we didn’t want to settle,” Dickens explained. “We were going to take good threes. We didn’t think they could stay in front of us. We saw that we were just able to get to the rim. There have been games this year where we have settled for threes. I thought the threes we took tonight were pretty good ones.
“I was really happy on both ends of the floor tonight.”
Joe Laursen gets ahead of the defense for the finish. @CalMumHoops leads Lyndonville 21-9 early in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/eIoQs6JjZc
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2020
Nathan Dillenbeck led Lyndonville with 13. The Tigers came into the game averaging 61 points per game.
No. 1 Cal-Mum will play No. 2 York in Friday’s championship game. A 5 p.m. tip off is scheduled at the Blue Cross Arena.This will be the fourth meeting this season between the Livingston County Athletic Association rivals. Cal-Mum took the first two decisions. York won when the two teams met in early February.
Cal-Mum will look to win its third sectional title since 2015 when it takes the floor Friday night.
Molisani has scored 1,531 career points.
“A lot is at stake,” Molisani said. “Our team really wants to repeat. It hasn’t happened at Cal-Mum, and we want to be the first.”
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