Jack Leasure Shooting and Skills Camp Championship Preview: East and Wayne to decide Boys’ Class A title

One squad is a perennial powerhouse in Section V. Another has three sectional titles in the last seven years and has not lost to a New York State opponent this season. Blue Cross Arena is the setting when East and Wayne clash for the Section V Class A Boys’ Basketball title. Here’s the breakdown:

No. 1 seed EAST EAGLES (18-2 / RCAC – Upper)
vs.
No. 2 seed WAYNE EAGLES (21-2 / Finger Lakes East)
Friday, Blue Cross Arena, 6 p.m.

How they arrived here: Top-seeded East opened the postseason with a 75-47 win over Bishop Kearney before taking down Monroe 57-37 to advance to the Class A final. Wayne defeated Wilson (83-51), Geneva (65-33) and Pittsford Sutherland (44-34) to reach the Class A title game.

Scoring offense: East (73), Wayne (60.1)

Scoring defense: East (51.3), Wayne (41.8)

Trends: East has won four straight and seven of the last eight. During the four-game win streak, East has won by at least 20 points in each game. Wayne is riding an 18-game win streak. Wayne has not lost to a team in New York State this year, with its only two losses coming against Northview (CA) and Murphysboro (IL) and have only been in two contests decided by a single possession.

Players to watch for East: Zion Parson So. G/F 15 PPG, 11 RPG; Markell Kingston-Johnson Jr. G/F 15 PPG, 12 RPG; Keysean Leonard Jr. G 12 PPG, six APG; Micah Johnson-Breedlove So. G 16 PPG, seven RPG; Zymier Jackson Sr. G/F nine PPG, four SPG

Wayne: Cam Blankenberg So. 23 PPG, 10 RPG; PJ Ostrowski Sr. 17 PPG, 10 RPG; Stephen Habecker Sr. six APG, three SPG, five RPG; Josh Warner Sr. two BPG; Aidan Twist So. five PPG; Jonah Schichtel Sr. four PPG

Coaches: Darrell Barley (East), Bill Thomson (Wayne)

History 101: East is looking for its 28th sectional title in program history and ranks first in Section V. East last won in 2022, the backend of a three-peat. Since 1975, East has appeared in 21 Section V title games, ranking third, and boasts a 16-5 record in those games. Wayne last won in 2021 and captured back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. In 2017 and 2018, Wayne fell to Irondequoit in the Far West Regional qualifier.

What’s at stake: Winner advances to face the Section VI Class A champion.