By BILLY HEYEN
PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Pittsford Mendon’s Jackson Green ran back in transition and waited beneath the basket. Leadership’s Rayshawn Boyd gathered a loose ball and rose up into Green, who stretched his right hand in the air to deny the initial attempt.
It fell right back to Boyd, who tried once more. This time, Green swung his right arm and swatted the ball out of bounds.
“Insane hops,” Mendon’s Luke Hoyser said. “Just great defense, and that gets us going, pushes us on offense. Those blocks are huge.”
How about two blocks in two seconds for @Jacksongreen236 ? @mendonbball @PickinSplinters @PCSDAthletics pic.twitter.com/ca8JFCnZLb
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) March 12, 2021
Top-seeded Pittsford Mendon rode a strong team defensive effort coupled with occasional individual brilliance to beat fourth-seeded Leadership Academy on Thursday night, 81-63. Four Vikings scored in double figures — Luke Hoyser with 19, Jacob Shadders with 18, Green with 17 and Caleb Lewis with 15. Put good defense and balanced offense together and Mendon had its recipe for a spot in Saturday’s Class A1 sectional final.
“If we’re all gonna spread the love, that’s how it’s gonna work and we’re gonna come out on top,” Hoyser said.
MORE: Reflecting on Section V’s view of March 11, 2020
Mendon has preached defense-first all year, and the Vikings have frequently stifled opposing offenses. Leadership presented a stiffer test, though, with Mo McKinney and Sean Smith, one of Section V’s top guard duos.
The Vikings wouldn’t let each other go it alone on McKinney and Smith. Shadders and Green normally got the initial man-to-man assignments, but if a screen came, so did a hard Mendon hedge. If the Lions began to penetrate, a help defender arrived.
McKinney and Smith combined for 32, but only nine of those points came in the first half before Mendon had pulled away.
“Felt like another level,” Hoyser said. “Our gameplan coming in was to lock up their two guards, and that’s exactly what we did… That’s the best team we’ve played so far, and we got it done.”
A wedgie! pic.twitter.com/FEVfMHLvnV
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) March 12, 2021
Because of how the Vikings’ defense played, almost any offensive approach would’ve done the trick. But Mendon was in sync at that end of the floor, too.
A year ago, Shadders was often heavily relied upon to score, but this year, there are four or five Mendon options who can get buckets on a given night. On Thursday, it was almost all of them putting up points.
Lewis made a major impact on his 16th birthday, scoring in the paint and outside the arc, on the offensive glass and in transition. To the disappointment of Shadders postgame, Lewis finished with only 15 points on his sweet 16.
“Caleb’s a player,” Shadders said. “He’s a rising player in this program. Him and Jackson are gonna be a scary duo coming, only sophomores. I think you saw a little bit of that player tonight.”
5 points for @calebllewis, too, @mendonbball up 14-8. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/XRqTHtwTM4
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) March 12, 2021
Hoyser continued his senior year breakout in leading Mendon with 19. He, too, scored all over the floor, including six free throws and a couple especially strong takes to the basket.
Tough finish for @lukehoyser, who has 5. @PickinSplinters @mendonbball pic.twitter.com/R1EMuUeeJ0
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) March 12, 2021
Green and Shadders both did what they’ve done all season, too. Mendon knew it could count on them to attack the basket, finish inside and nail outside jumpers when defenses overplayed the drive.
https://twitter.com/BillyHeyen/status/1370171551522390021?s=20
But this time of year, the more the merrier for the Vikings. They know that an opposing defense can’t just key on one guy, because it simply won’t work with so many Mendon offensive weapons — including wing Kidder Lindley, who had 8 on Thursday.
“I took this away from Last Dance with Michael Jordan,” Shadders said. “He didn’t win one until he got Scottie (Pippen) and Dennis (Rodman)… Just having the trust in guys to make plays and hit shots, that’s what you need to win championships.”
On Feb. 20, Shadders thought back to the 2018-19 Mendon team that made it to the state final. That squad, like this one, had an offense that could beat other teams from a variety of spots, and it also instilled defense-first as part of its culture.
Thursday night, Mendon head coach Bob Nally brought that team up, too, in a comparison to this year’s group. Because of COVID-19, there’s no state tournament, though, which means the Vikings can’t exactly match two seasons ago.
Instead, all that’s left is one game, win or lose, a sectional final against an Irondequoit team that ended Mendon’s season a year ago. That night, Shadders was asked to do a bit too much late and it ended the Vikings’ season.
He won’t have to worry about that Saturday. Mendon’s got a multitude of threats at both ends of the floor, and the Vikings wouldn’t mind a bit of retribution, too.
“We’re gonna come out and get our revenge,” Hoyser said. “We’re not gonna leave anything out on the court, and it’s gonna be a great game.”
Scoring totals
Pittsford Mendon: Luke Hoyser (19), Jacob Shadders (18), Jackson Green (17), Caleb Lewis (15), Kidder Lindley (8), Brady Miller (4)
Leadership: Mo McKinney (18), Sean Smith (14), Rayshawn Boyd (12), Khalid Ortiz-Price (12), Jared St. Louis (7)
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