By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Andrew Eschner scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half when No. 5 Northstar Christian held off a late rally to defeat second-seeded Avon, 60-52 in the finals of the 2023 Section V Class C1 championship played at Blue Cross Arena, Sunday afternoon.
Eschner connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter when the Knights built a 48-30 lead. His traditional 3-point play gave Northstar an eight-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the contest.
“He’s good enough to be an individual player, to be focused on his individual accomplishments,” first-year head coach Roger Leo said. “But he could really care less about that stuff. He’s more about the team, more about the younger players coming along. He does a great job quietly leading us. I think that’s a big part of why we ended up here today.”
VIEW MORE CAROLE VOLPE PHOTOS HERE.
The senior forward scored 24 points earlier in the week when the Knights knocked off top-seeded Rochester Academy Charter School. He was held scoreless during the first quarter and managed just one field goal through the first 12 minutes of play on Sunday.
David Eschner connects from behind the 3-point arc. pic.twitter.com/TdM1W4FhJN
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
“They were paying a lot of individual attention to Andrew early,” Leo said. “They had a guy all over him. They weren’t giving him much space.”
Justin Robinson scored 12 of his 17 points during the opening stanza. The ninth-guard connected twice from behind the 3-point arc. Backcourt mate Gavin Jones added five points to help pace Northstar’s offense early.
“To Justin’s credit, he got us going early making some shots, and then Andrew found his way,” Leo said. “Once other guys start contributing, then they’re forced to open up. They have to play us straight up. Once that happened, Gavin gets to the basket with ease. Andrew is finding space to work in, and everything starts to flow.”
With the shot clock expiring, Justin Robinson hits from in the lane. Northstar 29 Avon 22 (halftime C1). pic.twitter.com/gPdIUWM2T0
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
The championship was the fourth in the past seven seasons for Northstar. The previous three titles coming under former head coach, JJ Garwood, the school’s current athletic director. Northstar (16-8) extended its season-best win streak to six games after opening the season with six wins in its first 12 games. Sunday’s win was the third straight over a higher-seeded team.
“Even though we started this season rough, we found our way through it. They didn’t let it demoralize them. They didn’t get in their feelings with one another. They just stayed the course. They kept believing in the message: family first, togetherness first and the results will come.”
Avon was looking to win its fourth straight sectional title.
“Their guards out front gave us trouble,” said Avon head coach Rob Fries whose team won the B2 title in 2020 and the past two C1 crowns. “Staying in front of them and then staying on front of us. We had trouble penetrating with them all over us, and we didn’t do a good enough job keeping them away from the basket.”
Josh Harter scored five of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. The sophomore guard connected from distance early in the stanza and then found teammate Lee Hartke open for a triple as the Braves pulled within five at 55-50 with 1:39 left in the game.
Lee Hartke hits on the break. 1:39 on the clock Northstar 55 Avon 50 pic.twitter.com/VHklJiBaYe
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
“We’ve had some other games where we’ve been down,” Fries said. “We always talk about any one possession can turn it around. We waited a little long. We were on our heels a little early.
“We talked a lot about how quick their guards are. We talked about how we were going to try to make them shoot it. We were hopeful we could stay in front of them in man (man-to-man defense). We got in foul trouble early, so we played some zone. We couldn’t score on the offensive end. We were stagnant on the offensive end. Which is unlike us. I think everybody tried to fix the game with one shot.”
Avon (18-5) came into the game winners of seven of eight and averaging nearly 64 points per game.
“You can’t let them get going,” Leo said. “Their guards have the ability to shoot sometimes five feet outside the arc. If you allow them to gain confidence early, it’s going to be a long game. But if you can stymie them early and cause them some trouble, now they get a little bit sporadic with their shooting. Justin, Gavin and Lorenzo (Danesi) did a great job on their guards, really limited them.”
Robinson and Jones (13 points) joined Eschner on the All-Tournament team. Danesi (7) and David Eschner (6) rounded out the scoring for the Knights.
Northstar advances to the Class C Sub-Regional game where it will face Class C3 champion, Lyons. A 7 p.m tip-off is scheduled Tuesday at Marcus Whitman High School.
Hudson Volpe finishes in the lane. pic.twitter.com/SdTmYhbQ9c
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
Hudson Volpe led Avon with 15 points. Michael Rowland had 11 and Trevor Stroud 10. Hartke had five points for Avon.
Harter, Rowland and Volpe were named to the All-Tournament Team along with Christian Coleman (Rochester Academy).
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