By STEVE BRADLEY
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Many high school basketball teams have talented offensive players, some are even fortunate enough to have two. Few, especially in Class B, have three.
Count Avon among the few.
Trevor Stroud, Michael Rowland and Josh Harter combined to score 65 points on Friday night as top-seeded Avon pulled away for a 69-47 victory over third-seeded Marcus Whitman in the Section V Class B2 championship game at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial.
Stroud, a junior guard, led the way with 29 to earn Tournament MVP honors while All-Tournament selections Rowland and Harter added 20 and 16, respectively, as Avon (22-1) earned its fourth sectional title in five seasons.
“They just play so well off of each other,” Avon coach Rob Fries said. “Sometimes we settle for some shots because any one of them can make them at any time, but when we all work together, they are really tough.”
Tough is also a word that applies to the Avon defense. Avon, which led 37-32 at halftime, switched from man-to-man to zone in the third quarter and limited the Wildcats (16-7) to 15 points in the second half.
“We just tried to keep them on the perimeter a little better, rather than going through us,” Fries said.
It worked.
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“Over at Avon, we preach defense, for sure,” said Rowland, who has won four Section V titles in his five seasons of varsity basketball. “Defense wins championships, and that goes for all sports, but we really wanted to pack it in today because they have some great guards, Brody Royston is really good, so we had to pack it in and try to contain him.”
Junior Myles Prendergast led Marcus Whitman with 14 points and Royston, a junior guard who entered the game averaging 17 points per game, finished with 11 after scoring nine in the first half. Junior Brayden Amadeo also scored 11.
Avon used two big runs to take control of the game. Stroud scored seven points in a 13-2 second-quarter run that gave Avon a 35-27 lead and scored nine more in the third quarter as his team opened up a 52-39 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
“Momentum is a big thing and we caught fire for a little bit,” said Stroud, who scored 10 points in overtime during Avon’s 68-64 win over LeRoy in the semifinals.
The victory extended Avon’s current win streak to 10 and secured the school’s 10th Section V boys basketball title.
Rowland (four), Stroud (three) and Harter (three) also have been a part of 10 title teams in basketball.
“We’ve got great chemistry, we have been playing with each other since third grade, so it really starts with that,” Harter said.
When you add in a strong work ethic and a group that genuinely cares for one another, special things happen.
“We’re like a big family,” Stroud said. “We all work as hard as we can for each other and we all love each other.”
“These guys are my brothers,” Rowland added. “We started very young, we’ve got great chemistry together and we are unselfish. It doesn’t matter who scores as long as we get the win.”
Avon will play Class B1 champion Mynderse, a 68-59 winner over Hornell, in the state Class B qualifier on Tuesday.
No. 1 AVON 69, (22-1) No. 3 MARCUS WHITMAN 47 (16-7)
Marcus Whitman: Logan Storms 0-1-1, Melkamu Blueye 1-0-2, Myles Prendergast 6-0-14, Brody Royston 5-0-11, Brayden Amadeo 4-0-11, Tariku Blueye 4-0-8. Totals 14-6-1-47.
Avon: Jordan Murray 1-0-2, Josh Harter 6-4-16, Michael Rowland 6-5-20, Trevor Stroud 12-2-29, Ryan Hillman 1-0-2. Totals 20-6-11-69
Three-point goals: Prendergast 2, Royston, Amadeo 3, Rowland 3, Stroud 3.
All-Tournament Team: JJ Howard (Wellsville), Merritt Holly Jr. (LeRoy), Michael Rowland (Avon), Myles Prendergast (Marcus Whitman), Josh Harter (Avon), Brody Royston (Marcus Whitman). MVP: Trevor Stroud (Avon).
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