By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nine days had passed since the Pittsford Mendon boys’ basketball team took the court to face an opponent.
Any chance the Vikings lost their edge during the layoff was quickly dismissed.
Caleb Lewis scored 10 of his career-high 31 points in the first quarter, and London Hoyser connected on six 3-pointers for the game as Mendon defeated host Rush-Henrietta 79-44, Saturday afternoon.
Jackson Green finds Caleb Lewis open underneath. Lewis has 8 early. @mendonbball 10-4 pic.twitter.com/LSt7FYH6ux
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 8, 2022
“One of the things the staff has talked about this year is how deep we are, how competitive our practices are and how that helps prepare us for games,” said seventh-year head coach Bob Nally. “In moments like this where you’re going to be off for a week here and a week there, we don’t lose much because we’re able to keep it sharp in practice.”
Mendon (No. 3 NYSSWA Class A) opened with baskets on four of its first six possessions of the game. Lewis then finished in the lane off a Hoyser pass to give Mendon a double-digit lead at 15-4 late in the first quarter.
That Lewis scored off an assist was a theme for the day.
Mendon finished with 31 field goals (11 from behind the 3-point arc) and assists on 20 of those made baskets.
The assists came from a variety of directions: Lewis combined on a give-and-go with Jackson Green for a bucket in the lane. Green freed himself along the right side of the floor before drawing a pair of defenders to find Lewis cutting on the opposite side of the lane. Hoyser took an inside-out feed from Eric Krowl and buried one of his six 3-pointers on the day.
They had assists in transition and assists in half-court sets. They scored early in the shot clock and late in the shot clock.
Lewis had 14 points at halftime. The junior guard stepped aside early in the third quarter as Hoyser connected on four straight attempts from long range. By the time Hoyser finished his barrage, Mendon had a 42-19 lead. It was the middle of the third quarter, but the outcome was already well in hand.
London Hoyser opens the third quarter with 4 3-pointers in as many attempts. @mendonbball 42-19. pic.twitter.com/CqjBwlNOaQ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 8, 2022
“These guys have played a long time together,” said Nally who won his 100th career game earlier this season. “They’ve been playing within this offense now for a few years – all of them at the JV level and the varsity level.”
Krowl, a 6-foot-4 forward, led the way with eight assists.
The Vikings did not have a ballhandling miscue for the 10-plus minutes of the game and finished with a mere seven team turnovers.
“They let it come naturally,” Nally said. “They know where each other is going to be. They all have confidence in each other. It’s a really unselfish group.”
Lewis grabbed 13 rebounds for the double-double. Green had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Woods had six points. Conner Rook accounted for four and Krowl scored two points.
Saturday’s win was the 24th straight for Mendon (9-0) which finished 15-0 in the Covid-19 shortened 2021 season and claimed the Class A1 title.
“We don’t have a big team this year, but we have a deep team,” Nally said referring to the 11 players on the Mendon roster. “Our practices are pretty competitive believe it or not. We go five-on-five in practice. It’s pretty good.”
Jackson Green flush. pic.twitter.com/QetSyRUeAe
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 8, 2022
Mendon hosts Canandaigua next Friday.
Mason Giorgione led Rush-Henrietta (5-3) with 14 points. Nasir Hunter had 10. Tyler Simmons scored six. Myles Collins-Howard (4), Abdulfatah Bori (3), Jeremy Bumbarger (3), Isaiah Santiago-Washington (2) and Ajani Cook (2) also scored for the Royal Comets.
R-H travels to play at Irondequoit on Wednesday.
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