Two teams that have combined for 19 sectional titles between them will meet for the 2023 Class B1 championship on Saturday morning. Top-seeded Batavia is looking for its seventh title in program history. The Blue Devils will need to knock off the reigning champion in Newark. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 1 seed BATAVIA BLUE DEVILS (18-4/Monroe County Division IV)
vs.
No. 2 seed NEWARK REDS (18-4/Finger Lakes East)
Scoring offense: Batavia (65.7 PPG), Newark (60.2 PPG)
Scoring defense: Batavia (52.2 PPG), Newark (50.7 PPG)
Current streak: Batavia has won six straight games and seven of eight. The Blue Devils only loss during that stretch came to Irondequoit – the second seed that will be playing for the Class A1 title on Saturday. Batavia knocked off A1 top seed Greece Athena, 96-91 on February 8th. The Trojans will face Irondequoit in the A1 championship. Newark has won nine of 10 games with the Reds only loss coming on the road against Class A2 quarterfinalist Eastridge.
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How they arrived here: Batavia opened sectionals with a 79-42 victory over Livonia before beating No. 4 Bishop Kearney, 66-62. Newark defeated league foes Geneva, 43-36 in the quarterfinals and Waterloo, 61-35 to reach Saturday’s championship game.
Players to Watch
Batavia: Rashawd Christie Sr. G 9.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 APG; Cam McClinic Sr. G 4.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 SPG; Carter McFollins Sr. G 12.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.0 SPG; Ja’vin McFollins Sr. G 13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 APG; Mikey McKenzie Sr. F 5.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 2.0 SPG
Newark: Jaypar Allen Jr. G 4.0 PPG, 3.0 APG; Carlos Bueso Sr. F 1.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 APG; Kellen Foster Jr. F/G 14.6 PPG, 2.2 APG, 4.4 RPG; Raeshawn Howard Sr. F 16.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG; Brayden Steve Sr. F/G 18.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.0 APG; Daveon Wright Sr. F/G 3.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.3 APG
Coaches: Buddy Brasky (Batavia), Henry Kuperus (Newark)
Last time they met: Newark defeated Batavia back-to-back in the B1 quarterfinals. The Reds took a 63-58 decision in 2020 and 55-49 in 2019.
History 101: Batavia claimed the 2016 A2 championship. That was part of a stretch when the Blue Devils won three titles in seven years. Newark is looking to become the fourth program to win 14 or more titles in Section V Boys’ Basketball history. The Reds would join Franklin (14), Lyons (20) and East (27).
What’s next: Winner will face the Class B2 champion (either Le Roy or Wellsville) in the NYS Class B Far West Regional qualifier.
A 9 a.m. tip off is scheduled at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday.
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