By PAUL GOTHAM
VICTOR, N.Y. — Despite being held to a season-low in point production, the Victor boys’ basketball team continued its undefeated season on Friday night.
Three scored in double figures for the host Blue Devils who built a double-digit lead early and outlasted Penfield, 54-53 in Monroe County Division I action.
“Tonight was good for us,” Victor head coach Tyler Roberts said. “We’ll try to grow from it.”
Nick Leonard accounted for four of his team-high 13 points early in the first quarter and later set up teammate AJ Queri with an inside-out pass for a triple as part of a 19-5 run to close the first quarter. Victor’s defense forced six turnovers during the opening frame and twice Cam Ryan converted those opportunities into layups at the other end of the floor to fuel the early surge.
Garrett Clar. Splash. @victorboysbball takes a 21-9 lead into the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/OHYBNPMeIs
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 14, 2023
“Everything we do starts with our defense,” said Roberts whose squad allowed four field goals during the opening eight minutes of play. “That’s something we work on in practice every day. We want to be great at what we do most on the court and half the time we play defense. It’s something we spend a lot of time doing.”
Garrett Clar found Owen Dake under the basket for two points, and Queri connected on another 3-pointer to give Victor its largest of the game at 28-13 early in the second quarter.
Victor led 31-22 at halftime.
Turning defense into offense. Cam Ryan finishes the layup. pic.twitter.com/GSTMT7iGcs
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 14, 2023
Penfield’s Caden Harrington scored four of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter when the Patriots cut the deficit to four at 42-38. Jackson Beganny’s trey to open the fourth quarter made it a one-point game at 42-41.
“A lot of credit to them,” Roberts said of Penfield. “They made some great adjustments at halftime. [Harrington] just really took over in the second half. He was getting in the paint whenever he wanted. We didn’t have an answer for him. We’ll try to figure out how to do a better job.”
Victor, which converted eight times from the floor during the first quarter including a stretch of five makes in six possessions, was limited to one field goal and two made free throws over the final four minutes of the contest.
“It’s just really a credit to our team defense and rebounding in the second half against a physical, well-coached team,” Roberts said.
Harrington scored six points over the final 3:36 of the game. Twice the senior guard pulled Penfield within one point. The Patriots’ last-second shot from the baseline was off the mark.
Caden Harrington makes it a one-point game with a putback, but Nick Leonard answers at the other end. 46.3 remaining Victor 54 Penfield 51 pic.twitter.com/2fUqw05dgI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 14, 2023
Beganny added eight points for Penfield (6-4) which had won five of six coming into the game. Derek Torres (9), Aiden Cook (7), Patrick Emling (7), Joe Coyle (2) and Trevor Hofer (2) also scored the Patriots. Penfield committed six turnovers in the second half including two over the final eight minutes of play.
Ryan and Griffen Hopkins scored 12 apiece for Victor. Queri finished with six. Clar added five points. Brennan Hopkins rounded out the scoring with four points.
Victor came into the game with an average scoring margin of 23.3. The Blue Devils had beaten each of their previous eight opponents by double digits.
“We want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season,” Roberts said. “Tonight was good for us to learn and grow from.”
Victor hosts Webster Schroeder on Saturday.
Penfield hosts Pittsford Sutherland on Tuesday for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.
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