By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Damani Barley scored six points while Shamir Caruthers and Kai McCullough connected on a 3-pointer apiece to fuel a decisive 18-3 run as the East High boys’ basketball rallied to win its third straight game.
Trailing 56-48 late in the third quarter, McCullough sparked the comeback with his third triple of the contest. Barley converted one of two free throws before connecting on a trey of his own and East trailed 58-55 heading into the final quarter of play.
Damani Barley 3 cuts the deficit to 1. Edison 56 East 55. pic.twitter.com/EAc43txM0g
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2022
Barley’s floater in the lane made it a one-point game and Caruthers buried a corner three to give the Eagles a lead they did not surrender at 60-58.
“Big time,” East head coach Darrell Barley said after East’s 76-74 win over Edison Tech. “Kai and Caruthers hit some big-time threes. At halftime, I told them ‘be confident, keep shooting. They’re going to go in.’ We persevered which is great.”
Kai McCullough follows his own miss to give East 62-59 lead. pic.twitter.com/iYaDO68Byv
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2022
The Caruthers three started at the opposite end of the floor where Marcus Robertson saved a ball from going out-of-bounds. Barley pushed the play in transition and set up Caruthers for one of his six triples on the night.
Two possessions later, Caruthers forced a turnover and led Barley into the open floor for a slam.
“That was a key steal,” the elder Barley said. “He could have gone and laid it up. It was a heads up play to drop off for the dunk.”
McCullough finished with 17 points including free throws on back-to-back possessions to ice the game in the final minute.
“Kai stepped up and nailed them like he’s supposed,” Barley said. “He’s a veteran, been on varsity since eighth grade. He was even-keeled the entire game. He stepped up and pulled that out for us.”
The win was the second this season over an Edison team that came into the game winners of seven straight and jockeying among the top four seeds in Class AA.
“We’ve played some tough games; all year we played some tough games,” Barley said. “We play the best teams in the area. We play the best teams from Buffalo. We play the best teams from Syracuse. That’s what we’ve been doing my entire career to prepare for the sectionals.”
The teams battled through eight lead changes and six ties before Edison used an 11-1 run midway through the third quarter to take its largest lead of the game.
Tyler Bethea found Edmari Binion underneath for a bucket. Marcqell Freeman scored in transition. Bethea finished on back-to-back possessions and Freeman hit a 3-pointer for a 54-45 Inventors’ lead.
“They were doing a great job of not leaving Damani,” Barley said of Edison’s defense.
Binion scored six points and handed out an assist over a five-possession sequence when the Inventors pulled to within one at 68-67 late in the fourth quarter.
Edmari Binion cuts the deficit to one. 2:22 remaining East 68 Edison Tech 67 pic.twitter.com/oTAhDnZCyB
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2022
Bethea finished with a team-high 20 points for Edison (13-5). Binion had 17. Freeman scored 15. Jabric Larkins accounted for nine points. Davijon Lipscomb and Mike Morgan added six apiece while Brandon Latson scored two.
Tyler Bethea finds Edmari Binion for 2. pic.twitter.com/q4CSnwXg3g
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2022
Caruthers led all scorers with 22. Barley and McCullough had 17 apiece. Jeremiah Handy added nine and Micah Johnson Breedlove scored five. Robertson, Jah’rel Darden and Zion Parsons each scored two points for East (11-3).
Shamir Caruthers slices through traffic to give East a 70-67 lead. pic.twitter.com/F8XPRvWAsu
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2022
East played without senior forward Kenny Edwards.
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