Pickin' Splinters

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Reaves scores at the buzzer; Athena beats Canandaigua

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Khorie Reaves scored at the buzzer to lift Greece Athena to a 49-47 win over Canandaigua. (Photo: JENNIFER LAEMLEIN)

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the second time in less than a week, the Greece Athena boys’ basketball team won a game at the buzzer. Both times a member of the Reaves family provided the game winner.

On Friday night, Khorie Reaves did the honors.

Coming out of a timeout with 8.1 seconds remaining, Reaves inbounded the ball to teammate Jahon Jones who went the length off the dribble before slicing to the left of the basket for a layup attempt.

Reaves was there when ball found iron.

“While Jahon was bringing it up the court, I was just thinking follow him in case it bounces off weird,” Reaves said of the winning play. “I could tell where the ball was going to go, so I just jumped and tipped it in.”

The bucket was his seventh of the night as Reaves finished with 15 points in 49-47 Athena victory.

“You got to stay confident,” he said of his approach to converting the winner. “You can’t think about it, or you’ll miss it.”

Coming into the contest averaging nearly 73 points per game, Athena was held to a season-low output.

Trojans head coach Mike Setzer credited the Canandaigua defense.

“We knew they were going to play zone,” he said. “They just play it so well. They got length, and they cover the perimeter well.”

Sophomore Connor Osier played a key role in Athena’s ability to break down Canandaigua’s defense in the fourth quarter.

“To put him on the top of our zone offense was a game-changer,” Setzer said. “He’s a heckuva passer for a big. I really think that was the difference.”

Athena managed just one field goal over its first 13 possessions of the third quarter – a frame in which the Trojans accounted for five points.

Osier scored six of his eight points over the final eight minutes of the game and matched Reaves with a team-high four assists.

“That got us going,” Setzer said of Osier’s presence on the court. “He’s kind of our zone guy. Connor is really good against zone. We had a feeling he was going to get some looks today.”

Osier’s second-chance bucket gave Athena a 47-43 lead with 4:14 remaining in the game.

“It was just moving the ball around in the zone,” Osier said. “They had to play Khorie down low. I was either going to shoot the mid-range or hit Khorie.”

Bryce Ceravolo hit a pull-up jumper just inside the lane to pull Canandaigua within two. Ceravolo tied the game with a tap-in of his own.

The teams exchanged leads on seven occasions throughout the first half with neither getting a double-digit lead.

Osier hit a jumper in the lane to snap a 20-all tie. Reaves converted an and-one. Izaiah Stewart hit a 3-pointer. James Reaves took advantage of two free throws, and Terrell Wilson finished under the basket to give the Trojans a 32-26 lead heading into halftime.

Canandaigua scored the first six points of the third quarter.

Matt Pawlicki took a Nick Ferris pass and finished in the lane. Kenyon Mahoney got ahead of the defense for a bucket, and Pawlicki tied the game at 32.

James Reaves responded for Athena off a pass from Frankie Oropeza.

“I don’t think the scoreboard shows it, but we actually can play against a zone pretty well,” Setzer said. “Especially when we share it the way we did, when we get it in the middle and share it.”

Canandaigua (14-4) had won eight straight heading into Friday’s matchup – a stretch in which the Braves held six different opponents to 50 points or less.

“We score at will usually, so when an opponent comes out and can defend us, it helps us as a team,” Reaves said of Canandaigua. “With sectionals coming up, we’re going to go against better teams who can defend us. If we do it now, we’ll be better then.”

James Reaves (cousin of Khorie) led Athena (12-6) with 16 points. James hit a shot from just inside half court to beat Pittsford Sutherland last Sunday.

Izaiah Stewart finished with five points. The senior guard took a pair of charges including one with less than 1:20 left in the contest. Oropeza added three points.

Canandaigua’s Ceravolo led all scorers with 18 points. Pawlicki added 10. Callum Outhouse hit three 3-pointers for nine points. Derek Andrews had six and Nick Ferris scored four points.

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