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Colvin reaches milestone; Avon moves on to regional qualifier

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Avon’s Zach Colvin (15) works in the post against the double-team of York’s Austin Flynn (23) and Tyler Brady (15). Colvin scored the 1,000th point of his career during the Braves’ 58-48 victory in the Class C Sub-Regional. (Photo: CAROLE VOLPE)

By PAUL GOTHAM

LETCHWORTH, N.Y. — Zach Colvin held the follow-through for an extra breath. He turned to his teammates on the nearby bench and smiled.

On a night when little came easily, Colvin’s three-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave Avon a double-digit lead and the Braves continued their post-season with a 58-48 victory over York in a Class C sub-regional game.

The senior co-captain also etched his name in the Avon record books with his second trey of the night.

“I was kinda hoping it was going to be a three,” Colvin said of the shot which ran his career total to 1,000 points. “I’m not even going to lie. I was hoping for it. My buddies were telling me to hit on a three, so I was trying. I knew it was going in.”

VIEW MORE OF CAROLE VOLPE’S PHOTOS HERE. 

Colvin’s three made it a 51-39 game, Avon’s first double-digit lead since a 10-point advantage at halftime.

Facing a York squad that they beat earlier this season 57-51, the Braves jumped out to 16-point lead late in the second quarter only to see that margin reduced to five less than two minutes into the second half.

“I was really disappointed going into half when we were only up 10 because I felt like we missed a great opportunity to put the game away,” head coach Rob Fries said. “We did the same thing at their place. We got ahead early. Then they came back in the second half. They made a ton of threes which is what they do. They shoot the ball well, so I was worried about it. We hung on. Thank God, they didn’t shoot it like they always do.”

Colvin led three in double figures with 13 points – four under his season average. York limited him to one field goal through the first 16 minutes of play.

“It was definitely a little harder to get it in the paint,” he said. “Coming into the game, I thought I was going to be able to bully them, but they had a pretty strong defense. They collapsed on me and were able to double-team me, so I was playing outside a little more.”

The 6-foot-1 forward responded with a team-high six assists.

Coming out of a timeout early in the third with that five-point lead, Colvin set up teammate Lee Hartke for a bucket. He followed with a move in the post for two more. Later, he fed Hudson Volpe for another basket. Colvin saved his best assist for last when he found Jack Browne cutting baseline for a layup.

“They did a great job of making it very difficult for him tonight,” Fries noted. “I also felt like he was trying to get to a thousand points. We haven’t had anybody do it, and that weighed on him a lot. Once he did that, he kind of relaxed him a little bit. He did a nice job of getting the double and hitting Jack on that one.”

Colvin also grabbed 11 rebounds for the double-double.

Last Friday, Michael Rowland hit six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points as the Braves clinched their third straight sectional title. Against York Monday night, the sophomore guard scored seven to go with seven rebounds.

Volpe grabbed eight boards and nearly doubled his season average with 11 points. Hartke had 12 points.

“Hudson did a great job on the glass,” Fries said of the junior forward. “When we couldn’t score there, Hudson bailed us out. That’s the way it’s been all year with this group. I have guys that I didn’t put in tonight that have been big for us all year. You just kinda ride who’s hot that night and nobody’s complained. Nobody’s said geez I wish I played more. They’re all into it.”

Browne scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in the win. Andrew Rowland accounted for six points and four assists.

Avon will face Oakfield-Alabama in Wednesday’s regional qualifier. The winner advances to the NYS Class C Far West Regional and will play Section VI champ, Salamanca.

York’s Maddox Timothy and Austin Flynn led all scorers with 16 points. Jake Pangrazio had seven points.

Timothy hit a runner in the lane to open the third quarter and Pangrazio followed with a triple to cap a 14-3 run over five minutes of game time from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third. The Knights within five at 30-25. It was as close they would get.

Connor Rodwell (4), Adam Swede (3) and Greg Jaroszek (2) also scored for York.

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