By PAUL GOTHAM
BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. — The bracket set up just right so that if the Avon boys’ basketball team was to take home a championship, they would have to do it by avenging their three regular-season losses.
On Friday night, the Braves completed the task.
Michael Rowland poured in a game-high 25 points and tournament MVP Zach Colvin added 20 as No. 2 Avon defeated top-seeded and previously undefeated Rochester Academy Charter School (RACS) in the 2022 Section V Class C1 championship game, 68-43.
“We’ve been calling this our redemption tour,” said Rowland whose trio of 3-pointers ignited the Braves offense in the first half. “We lost to Letchworth. We lost to Geneseo, and we lost to RACS. That’s who we saw in sectionals. We had three days to prepare for this, and we did a great job executing tonight.”
In four possessions, Rowland turned a four-point edge into a 13-point advantage, and the Braves did not allow Rochester Academy within single digits for the remainder of the contest.
Michael Rowland buries a 3. We’re heading to the second quarter: Avon 13 Rochester Academy 6 pic.twitter.com/Ve9Lu09R7m
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2022
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“Once you start hitting you got to build off that momentum,” he said.
The sophomore guard closed the first quarter with a trey from the right wing. He opened the second from almost the identical spot on the floor before burying a corner three for a 19-6 lead with 7 minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
3 straight triples from Michael Rowland and Avon leads 19-6 early in the second. pic.twitter.com/aFAcsmmPc2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2022
Rochester Academy took a timeout to try and slow the Braves’ offense. The attempt proved futile.
Colvin finished a baby hook in the lane. Rowland hit again from distance, and Jack Browne also connected from long range. Avon’s lead was 15 on the way to a 30-14 lead heading into halftime.
“I didn’t think it would go this way,” Avon head coach Rob Fries said of the comfortable margin his squad built in the early going. “They’re (RACS) a really good team. I do think they came out pretty nervous. They couldn’t make shots early.”
Rochester Academy won 57-50 when the two teams met in early January on Avon’s home court.
“They’re very quick defensively,” Fries said of the Racers. “They make it hard to get into your offense. We didn’t shoot the ball well that night.”
Zach Colvin is good from inside and Avon leads Rochester Academy 30-14 heading into halftime. pic.twitter.com/OopCofXutF
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2022
The championship was the third straight overall and second in Class C1 for Avon which won Class B2 in 2020. That experience showed Friday night.
“We’ve got four guys who have played in a lot of big moments,” Fries said referring to Rowland and his older brother, Andrew along with Colvin and Browne. “They’ve been down in games and rallied. We played a lot of close games in our county this year. Nothing was a freebie. They’re not afraid of anything.”
And they certainly didn’t back down to a Rochester Academy team that came into the contest averaging better than 73 points per game and had beaten its last 12 opponents by double digits.
“We watched them play a lot of teams,” Fries said of the RACS team which was making its first championship game appearance in just the eighth year of existence. “I have a lot of respect for them. “If we played them 10 times, I think we split five and five. They’re that solid. They just couldn’t make anything. A lot of that has to do with our experience.”
Colvin, a senior, finished with eight rebounds in the game.
“It’s great to be able to finish the three-peat,” he said. “Just executing our game plan. Coach put in many different plays for us to try and break their zone. They like to play far up instead of down in a 2-3. We had to run a couple plays. We were able to break the press. We got some good ballhandlers who are able to get it up court.”
Rowland joined Colvin on the All-Tournament team. He finished with six 3-pointers part of an overall effort that saw Avon find the measure 11 times from long range. Andrew Rowland handed out 10 assists and also earned All-Tournament.
Browne finished with 11 points. Lee Hartke scored five. Trevor Stroud (3) and Josh Harter (2) rounded out the scoring for the Braves.
The championship was Avon’s fourth under Fries. The 2009 team went on to win the New York State Class C title.
“We get good athletes,” Fries said. “I’m fortunate that I get a lot of good players every year. It makes my job a lot easier. We get a lot of community help also. That means a lot.”
The win also brought Avon full circle at Bloomfield High School where the Braves lost to Geneva in the 2020 Class B regional qualifier. That was last game before COVID-19 and mandates that required masks during high school athletic contests. Avon had played 35 games (13 in the abbreviated 2021 campaign and 22 leading up to Friday’s championship) wearing masks. Friday night was the first time taking the court without the facial protection since the start of the pandemic.
“We were on our bus over that night and we heard the NBA had shut down,” Fries recalled. “I got a text saying even if we win, there’s not going to be a game that weekend.”
Avon will play York on Monday in the Class C Sub-Regional. The winner will move on to face Class C2 champ Oakfield-Alabama.
Deonte Major led Rochester Academy with 17 points. Josiah Heyward had seven points. Kam McDonald, Evariste Omebe and Ja’seir Samuels scored four apiece. Joe Aiken (3), Jaylin Duval (2) and Chris Coleman (2) also scored for Rochester Academy.
Stop and pop: Deonte Major. pic.twitter.com/QncLlOgfKI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2022
Major and Heyward were named to the All-Tournament team along with Ryan Whitney (Geneseo) and Hunter McCaffery (Canisteo-Greenwood).
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