By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP JC Walker finished with a double-double including a game-high 23 points, and top-seeded Lyons boys’ basketball led wire-to-wire in a 67-45 victory over No. 6 Wheatland-Chili to claim the 2023 Section V Class C3 championship, Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena.
The title was the 21st in Lyons program history.
Walker connected three times from the floor and converted a pair of and-ones in the fourth quarter as the Lions (22-1) pulled away from a single-digit game.
JC Walker. And-one. Lyons 65-45. pic.twitter.com/toWlum52sD
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
“I love him like he’s my son,” Lyons head coach Dean Schott II said of the senior. “‘Me and him’ I said to the team at practice yesterday, ‘have lost two in a row. That’s too many in Lyons. We need to take care of business for him.’ And they did. It was a total team effort.”
Walker was a ninth-grader on the 2019-2020 Lyons team that won, at that time, a second straight C3 title. Sunday’s win added symmetry to the career of the Wayne County League Player of the Year.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
“It feels great,” he said. “I love this. It’s a blessing. I just love to be here, and I love to win it. We’re not finished at all. We still got a long way to go.”
Walker scored six points in the first quarter as the Lions grabbed a 15-10 lead after eight minutes of play. His layup early in the second quarter pushed the advantage to double digits at 23-12.
JC Walker grabs his own miss and converts for the and-one. Lyons 55-42 @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/jmN5I10jYI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
Schott pointed to his squad’s effort on the defensive end of the floor paying dividends. In particular, the Lions focused on Wheatland-Chili’s Leighton Williams and Jaden Schwenebraten.
“We wanted to wear those two guys out. By the end, they looked to me like they were pretty worn down. That was key.”
Terry Bayly-Henshaw took advantage of the attention paid to his teammates. The senior guard closed the second quarter with a 3-pointer and opened the third with a bucket from distance. He added two more baskets, and Wheatland-Chili made it a single-possession game at 31-28.
Lyons did not allow the Wildcats any closer.
“We expected to be here,” Schott said. “We expected a tough tourney. Everyone gives us something a little different, but we try to build each game, get better and better and add those things until hopefully we get to the state championship game.”
Walker grabbed 13 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season.
Michael Briggs and Jamire Johnson added eight apiece in the win. Jaiden Lopez had seven points. Steven LeBrecht (6), Devyn Williams (4), Jaheim Morris (3), Dezmen Bell (2) and Jacob Bott (2) rounded out the scoring for Lyons.
Jamire Johnson on the finishing end of a Jaiden Lopez dish. pic.twitter.com/6akU4uBUTh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
Lopez and Johnson joined Walker on the All-Tournament team.
Bayly-Henshaw scored 16 for Wheatland-Chili (16-8). Schwenebraten had 15 and Williams 10 points. Javier Ellington (2) and Anari Trotter (2) also scored for the Wildcats.
Leighton Williams connects on the pull-up jumper. pic.twitter.com/9ZnkHGe3DM
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 5, 2023
Bayly-Henshaw, Schwenebraten and Williams earned all-tourney honors along with Braedyn Chambry (Byron-Bergen).
Lyons will face Class C1 champion Northstar Christian in the Class C sub-regional game on Tuesday. A 7 p.m. tipoff is scheduled at Marcus Whitman. The winner of that game will face Class C2 champion Pembroke in the regional qualifier.
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