Jack Leasure Shooting and Skills Camp Championship Preview: Hornell and Mynderse squaring off for Boys’ B1 title

Two teams that have combined for 14 sectional titles but none since 2017 will battle for the 2024 Class B1 championship on Friday night.  Top-seeded Hornell is looking for its sixth title in program history while Mynderse seeks its tenth championship. Here’s the breakdown:

No. 1 seed HORNELL RED RAIDERS (19-3/Livingston County Division I)
vs.
No. 2 seed MYNDERSE BLUE DEVILS (14-8/Finger Lakes East)

Scoring offense: Hornell (68.5 PPG), Mynderse (61.9 PPG)

Scoring defense: Hornell (52.6 PPG), Mynderse (55.7 PPG)

Current streak: Hornell enters having won eight straight games and nine of its last 10 including wins over Class B2 semifinalist Wellsville and Class C2 semifinalist York. Mynderse enters on a three-game winning streak.

How they arrived here: After a first-round bye Hornell blitzed No. 9 Waterloo, 81-54 and knocked off No. 4 Livonia in the semifinals, 69-51. Mynderse also enjoyed a first-round bye before opening sectionals with a 78-37 win over No. 10 Midlakes and following with a 61-49 win over No. 3 World of Inquiry to reach the title game.

Players to Watch

Hornell: Gennaro Picco Sr. G 23.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.4 SPG; PJ Picco Jr. G/F 14.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.3 SPG; Aaron McInerney Jr. F 8.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG; Wyatt Evingham So. G 8.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.0 SPG; Xzaiver Patrick Sr. F 6.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG

Mynderse: Anthony Luffman Jr. G 13 PPG, 4 RPG, 3 APG; Jake Prayne Sr. G 12 PPG, 3 APG; Alan Plummer Jr. C 11 PPG, 7 RPG; Griffin Hilimire Jr. G 10 PPG, 7 RPG, 4 APG

Coaches: Kirk Scholes (Hornell), Pat Prayne (Mynderse)

History 101: Hornell has claimed five sectional titles in program history but just one since 1989. That came in 2013 when the Red Raiders won the Class B2 crown. Mynderse last captured a sectional title in 2017. That title capped off a run where the Blue Devils won four titles in eight years. Overall, Mynderse has won nine sectional titles as a program.

What’s next: The winner will face the Class B2 champion (either Avon or Marcus Whitman) in the NYS Class B Far West Regional qualifier.

A 7 p.m. tip-off is scheduled at Blue Cross Arena on Friday night.