By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Colin Gentile was one of two players to finish with a double-double as No. 8 Bishop Kearney opened sectionals with a 74-57 victory over No. 9 Rochester Prep in Section V Class A Boys’ Basketball action, Tuesday night.
Gentile, the lone senior in the Kearney starting lineup, scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Kings final time at Ed Nietopski Gymnasium this season.
“It’s kinda bittersweet,” he said. “We win the game, but it’s the last home game I’ll play. I just got to enjoy the moment and keep moving forward.”
The 6-foot-2 guard sparked a 10-0 Kearney run to start the third quarter. He grabbed a loose ball on the defensive end and went the length of the floor for a layup before stealing the ensuing inbound and finishing again at the rim.
Collin Gentile starts the third-quarter scoring with back-to-back conversions off turnovers. Kearney 34-20. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/hbjxIku3lq
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2024
“Staying focused on defense all the time,” Gentile said. “You never know when that moment is going to happen. You got to take advantage of them when you get it.”
Gentile led a Kearney offense that included two others in double digits and seven overall contributed to the scoring.
“It’s February break,” Gentile said. “You got a lot of time on your hands. We’re trying to get in the gym more and prepare a little bit more. Trying to find where we need to improve and what we can use to build off.”
Jayden Capers added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists to the winning effort. Alejandro Aguilar had 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Jah Reaves scored nine points and handed out 10 assists.
Rochester Prep’s Kyrell Shaw posted a game-high 23 points including 10 in the fourth quarter when the Tigers cut the deficit to 11 at 57-46 with 5:42 remaining in the game.
Kyrell Shaw finishes for Rochester Prep. pic.twitter.com/uK6q523qZG
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2024
“It happens,” Gentile said. “They went on a run, but the most important aspect of that is to not let the pressure get to us. We had to keep playing for ourselves and not the crowd, stay composed and keep playing basketball.”
Kyron Shaw had 10 points for Rochester Prep (12-9) while Khalil Herring accounted for eight.
Kearney (12-9) advances to play top-seeded East in the quarterfinals. East (15-2) took a 62-54 decision when the two teams met in early January.
Russell Ellis gives Kearney a 53-32 lead. pic.twitter.com/JutMU1PeFG
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2024
ROCHESTER PREP
Jahki Jackson 0 0-0 0, Kyron Shaw 4 2-3 10, Kyrell Shaw 10 3-5 23, Lament Hill 0 0-0 0, Tyler Benjamin 1 0-0 2, Jahmere Brown3 1-2 7, Jahmere Walters 0 4-4 4, Jayden Sheffield 0 0-0 0, Khalil Herring 4 0-0 8, Julien Hill 1 0-0 3 TOTALS 23 10-14 — 57
BISHOP KEARNEY
Russell Ellis 3 0-0 8, Jahan Wilson 2 0-0 4, Jah Reaves 4 0-0 9, Jayden Capers 7 1-2 15, Colin Gentile 8 2-4 20, Maddox Volpe 3 0-0 6, Alejandro Aguilar 5 1-1 12 TOTALS 27 4-7 — 74
ROCHESTER PREP 12 8 18 19 — 57
BISHOP KEARNEY 19 11 25 19 — 74
3-point goals: ROCHESTER PREP 1 (Hill 1); BISHOP KEARNEY 6 (Ellis 2, Reaves 1, Gentile 2, Aguilar 1).
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