By PAUL GOTHAM
VICTOR, N.Y. — Less than seven minutes remained in Friday’s Section V Class AA quarterfinal. The Victor boys’ basketball team, which had enjoyed a two-possession lead throughout the third quarter, was clinging to a three-point edge.
In three possessions, a nine-point cushion had been reduced to three points at 35-32.
The demons from past losses crept back into the subconscious: an early exit from the postseason a year ago and a loss three weeks earlier which came at the hands of Friday’s opponent.
Not this time, though.
Not on this night.
Seven trips down the floor later, Garrett Clar capped an 11-1 Victor run, and the Blue Devils were on their way to the semifinals.
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“I was sort of like it’s closing time, now,” the junior guard said. “We finally got the double-digit lead. It had been a grind the whole game, back and forth. To stretch it double digits, it felt like we had separation and were ready to move on.”
Clar finished with a team-high 17 points, and top-seeded Victor defeated No. 8 McQuaid, 51-44.
“It feels really good you know,” he said. “Last year after the upset when we lost in the first round, in the same spot. So to win this year in such a hard-fought, physical game, I think it really showed what our team does when we come together.”
In doing so, Victor (19-2) avenged a setback from earlier in the month when McQuaid handed the Blue Devils a 67-59 loss.
“We had really hit the rough stretch in our season,” Clar said referring to second loss in three games. “Everyone was really physically and mentally ready for this game. That really helped us in preparing for this one.”
Clar started the clinching run with a steal and layup. Griffen Hopkins followed with buckets on back-to-back possessions. First the junior guard went left from the top of the key for a layup. Nick Leonard found Hopkins cutting baseline for an and-one. Then Cam Ryan added his own traditional three-point play.
Griffen Hopkins gives @victorboysbball a 39-32 lead. 2:56 to go pic.twitter.com/cYLINGCdec
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 25, 2023
Griffen Hopkins gives @victorboysbball a 39-32 lead. 2:56 to go pic.twitter.com/cYLINGCdec
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 25, 2023
At the other end of the floor, Victor’s defense held McQuaid to a season-low offensive output.
“A little bit of it was because we lost to them earlier in the season,” Hopkins said of Victor’s effort to stop the Jesuit Knights. “Part of that loss was our lack of commitment on defense. We were really focusing on defense. Our coach, G-Rob (assistant Graig Roberts), he put in a great game plan. We were game planning all week and we succeeded.”
McQuaid (8-14) had won five of six before dropping its regular season finale by one point.
Casey Montesano matched Clar with a game-high 17 points. The senior guard converted two-of-three free throws then Jaiyden Jones finished in the lane to make it 35-32 in favor of Victor.
Jaiyden Jones finishes in the lane. pic.twitter.com/ZFC0l1VOBF
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 25, 2023
“That’s a really good team,” McQuaid head coach Jack Leasure said of the Blue Devils. “They do a lot of things really well. They’re super-well coached, as well as anybody. Probably the best passing team in our section. We wish them luck. They played great.”
Isaiah Anderson, who hit the game-winner at the buzzer when McQuaid edged Hilton in the first round of sectionals, added 14 points. Patrick Tehan (6), Jones (4) and Ian Florence (3) also scored for the Jesuit Knights.
“It’s hard to beat a quality team twice,” Leasure said. “Our season, we could have given up at any point. Every game we had moments where we could have given up. These guys had a ton of resiliency game to game and throughout the whole season. To be the team we were at the end, I was so proud of their effort.”
Hopkins accounted for six points. Ryan had nine. Leonard scored eight. Brennan Hopkins (5), Ryan Dodge (3) and AJ Queri (3) rounded out the scoring for the Blue Devils.
Steal and layup Garrett Clar. @victorboysbball 7-2 early first. @SecVBBasketball Class AA pic.twitter.com/OuJZVdHxRY
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 25, 2023
Victor will face No. 4 Webster Schroeder in Tuesday’s semifinal at Rush-Henrietta.
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