By STEVE BRICKLER
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Host Irondequoit (5-3) played its most complete game of the season in defeating Brighton 61-46, Wednesday night. The Eagles never trailed and got a standout defensive effort from Myles Wynn and Nikki Yudin who combined to hold Brighton star forward Reggie Smith Jr. to 10 points on the night. Smith Jr. came into the game averaging 30.1 points per game.
Quinn VanKerkhove led Irondequoit with 16 points on the offensive end while Goti Bandas and Isaiah Ballard each contributed 12 points. Ballard also collected 16 rebounds on the night.
“I am really proud of their execution and attention to detail of the game plan”, said Irondequoit Coach Kyle Trevas.
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After trading 3-point baskets to start the game, the Eagles went on a 13-2 run to give them the lead they would keep for the remainder of the game. All five starters contributed to the scoring in the first quarter, led by six from Bandas. DJ Kemp and Wynn each added three pointers while VanKerkhove and Ballard contributed two points each in the opening quarter.
Defensively, the Eagles came out with Wynn defending Smith Jr and despite giving up about five inches in height, Wynn was able to prevent Smith Jr. from getting many good looks at the basket. When Wynn went to the bench, he was replaced by Yudin who also kept Smith Jr. from getting to the rim consistently. The duo held Smith Jr. to three first half points.
“We had our hands full with Reggie,” said Trevas. “ Myles and Nikki gave us everything.”
The 10 points was a season low for the Brighton forward.
Leading 16-8 heading into the second quarter, the Eagles took off on a 14-2 run that gave them a double-digit lead that they enjoyed for the remainder of the game. The run was again highlighted by points in transition and balanced scoring. VanKerkhove led the run with five points, followed by Ballard with four, Jayden Patterson’s triple and a 2-pointer by Yudin. The Eagles went to the break with a 36-18 lead.
In the second half, the Bruins made a couple of runs that looked to get them back into the game. A 9-0 third quarter run cut the Eagles lead to 12 at 41-29. Smith netted five points while Aksel Stanat had four in this run. The Eagles responded by extending their lead back up to 15 when the Bruins made another charge with a 7-2 run spanning the end of third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter with sophomore guard Abram Levy scoring all seven to get Brighton within 10 points, as close as they would get the rest of the game.
Bandas responded with back-to-back buckets for the Eagles and were never threatened down the stretch for a final margin of 15 points. The Eagles got scoring contributions from eight different players.
“The boys executed the game plan and the bench stepped up,” Trevas said. “Our bench did a lot of the little things like talking, defending and finishing.”
Stenat led the Bruins with fourteen points on the night, followed by Smith’s 10 and Levy’s eight. JT Snyder added four, Grady Hopkin added three, the trio of Yielle Enya, Reylon Day and Tom Welker each contributed two while Jayden Freeman scored one point for Brighton (5-4) who hosts Hilton Friday night in a Monroe County crossover game.
Aside from VanKerkhove, Bandas and Ballard, the Eagles got contributions from Yudin (7), Kemp (6), three each from Wynn and Patterson and two from Chase Leonardo.
The Eagles host defending New York State Class AA champion Victor on Friday night.
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