By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. The black-and-white graphic on the Victor Boys’ Basketball Instagram page while simple showed 45 years of frustration coming to an end. The year 1978 crossed out with an extended X. Below that 2023.
On Saturday night, Tournament MVP Nick Leonard led top-seeded Victor beat No. 6 Fairport, 66-54.
It’s easy to suggest that with that win a new era of Victor basketball was born at Blue Cross Arena.
Victor head coach Tyler Roberts is quick to point out the 2023 Class AA title has been years in the making.
“This group capitalized, but other groups came before that paved the way and set the tone for the culture of our program. There’s no way we beat such a good team like Fairport without all that.
“It really comes down to the effort of the entire community. Our travel program bought in. Our modified coaches, our JV coaches. This is not a top-down thing. This is a bottom-up thing in Victor. Right now, our travel program is humming. Our entire program is humming.”
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Leonard was one of three to finish in double figures. The 6-foot-4 junior forward along with classmate Cam Ryan combined for 13 first-quarter points as Victor (21-2) jumped out to a 17-5 advantage and led wire-to-wire on the way to a season sweep (3-0) of its Monroe County Division I rival.
“We knew that we had to get out to a good start tonight,” Roberts said. “We needed to hit them first because the last two games we played from behind. This game we knew we had to keep them off-balance right away because they’re so well-coached, and they’re so disciplined that they will carve you up if you don’t keep them off-balance.”
And the sixth-year coach trusted in his squad which had won six straight and seven of eight coming into Saturday.
“We needed to come out and play more naturally aggressive and play more fundamental. Usually the answer is to get more fundamental and not more complicated. We tried tonight to get out of players’ way and let them make plays.
“Instead of trying to run stuff, we told our guys to run our motion where the guys are reading the defense and making plays. That’s something this group has done ever since they’ve been in travel. I’m really proud of the way that they came together and played basketball.”
Ryan finished with a game-high 14 points. Leonard had 13. AJ Queri connected on a trio of 3-pointers and added 12 to the cause.
AJ Queri connects for 3. 2:16 to go Victor 57 Fairport 47 pic.twitter.com/bcdp1kjbkT
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
“In our program, we focus on concepts. We play for paint touches. We play for good shots, and we play for spacing. We don’t play for running plays.”
Victor didn’t flinch when Fairport cut a 14-point halftime lead to 10 and pulled within six with 3:31 remaining in the game.
Text book press break. Cam Ryan. And-one. Victor 64-49. pic.twitter.com/sxhFDgQgYZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
The Red Raiders’ LaShard Lowry scored five points in the fourth quarter. The sophomore converted 3-of-4 free throws before slicing through the lane for a layup to make it a 51-45 game.
“I’m really proud of them,” Fairport head coach Scott Fitch said of his squad. “We could’ve given up, could’ve quit. That’s not who we are. That’s not in our DNA. Really proud of the kids for staying in there and giving us every chance to come back. I think we put it in a spot to get it back. Couple kids hit big shots. We definitely had them thinking a little bit.”
LaShard Lowry cuts the deficit to 6 with 3:31 remaining. Victor 51 Fairport 45 @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/pikMhyOJxs
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
Victor’s early surge was too much for Fairport (14-10) in the end.
“First quarter and first half was disappointing,” said Fitch whose squad also brought a six-game winning streak into the championship. This after dropping seven of its first 11 games of the year. “We just didn’t come out aggressive. That can happen in the Blue Cross. I was proud that they reconnected and put up a fight.
Aidan White paced Fairport’s offense with 17 points. Zac Ditzel had 14 while Lowery scored 12. Will Stanek (8) and Wallace Rahmaan (3) also scored for the Red Raiders.
Ditzel, Lowery and White represented Fairport on the All-Tournament team.
“They (Victor) were definitely the aggressor. They were getting offensive rebounds. They were fighting around our post. They won the physical battle in the first half. I feel like we were a little shell-shocked. They came out with more aggressiveness than we did.”
Victor junior guard Garrett Clar along with senior Ryan Dodge and sophomore Griffen Hopkins joined Leonard on the All-Tournament team.
Clar accounted for nine points in the win. Dodge had seven while Hopkins scored six. Brennan Hopkins (5) rounded out the scoring for the Blue Devils.
In 1978, Tournament MVP Mike Cotton led the then seventh-seeded Blue Devils to wins over North Rose-Wolcott, Lyons, Wheatland-Chili and Midlakes to claim the Section V Class A championship.
The current Blue Devils will face Section VI champion Niagara Falls (21-2) next Saturday in the NYS Class AA Far West Regional.
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