Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Arcadia holds off late rally to beat Olympia

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By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Xavier Smith scored eight of his team-high 25 points during a 16-4 run to close the second quarter, and host Greece Arcadia eventually held off a late rally to beat crosstown rival Greece Olympia, 65-55 Monday night.

Tied at 16, Lincoln Fling hit a jumper, and then Smith followed with the next six points.

“We want to play through Xavier,” said Arcadia head coach Al Nash. “He’s not tall, but he’s big, athletic and tough to guard.”

The junior forward slipped ahead of the defense for a layup then followed with a pair of free throws on the next possession. He took a pass from teammate Jakson Schweigert and used a drop step to get to the basket for two more.

“The plan is to get him the ball,” Nash said. “We want to play inside-out. When Xavier has success inside it opens up the floor for everybody else.”

Smith converted a rebound and putback then took a feed from Drake Sapp and used a front pivot to finish in the lane. He grabbed another offensive rebound and finished for a 34-20 Arcadia lead at halftime.

Arcadia still held a double-digit lead at 43-30 with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter.

Olympia used an 8-3 run to pull within eight heading to the fourth, and the Spartans scored the first five points of the final stanza. A Caiden Evans corner three off an inbound play made it a one-possession game at 46-43 with less than seven minutes remaining in the game.

Smith, again, had the answer with a pair of buckets that sandwiched a Fling jumper for a 52-46 lead with just under four minutes remaining. Arcadia did not allow Olympia to make it a one-possession for the remainder of the contest.

“We showed poise late in the game,” Nash said. “It’s been a while since this program has been in a close game. Any time we get in one, it’s learning on the fly. Tonight we did well with that.”

Smith finished with 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and hit 7-of-9 from the free throw line to lead Arcadia (3-13). He grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Fling had nine points and six assists in the win. Schweigert had eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. Sapp accounted for 15 points.

Nash is in his first year as head coach of Arcadia and 21st overall on the sidelines.

Olympia’s Evans led all scorers with 29 points. The junior guard connected 10 times from the floor including twice from behind the 3-point arc. William Brown-Nelson and Noah Tackley scored six apiece for Olympia (5-12).

Olympia hosts Pittsford Sutherland for 7:00 PM tip-off, Wednesday night.

Arcadia travels to Batavia for 7:15 start on Tuesday.

GREECE OLYMPIA
Caiden Evans 10 7-11 29, Ezequiel O’Farril 0 0-0 0, William Brown-Nelson 1 4-6 6, Amare Edwards 2 0-2 4, Kahleil Pritchett 0 0-0 0, Noah Tackley 2 1-2 6, Curtis Welker 2 0-1 4, Terry Griffin, Jr. 1 2-6 4, Connor Welker 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 19 14-28 — 55

GREECE ARCADIA
Bryan Gariel 0 4-4 4, Jordan Roberson 1 2-4 4, Lincoln Fling 3 3-4 9, Amir Brown 0 0-0 0, Kamere Robinson 0 0-0 0, Jakson Schweigert 1 6-6 8, Drake Sapp 4 6-6 15, Xavier Smith 9 7-9 25 TOTALS 18 28-33 — 65

GREECE OLYMPIA 14 6 18 17 — 55
GREECE ARCADIA 16 18 12 19 — 65

3-point goals GREECE OLYMPIA 3 (Evans 2, Tackley 1); GREECE ARCADIA 1 (Sapp 1).

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