By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jackson Birch scored a team-high 16 points including the go-ahead basket in the final minute as Pittsford Sutherland rallied to defeat host Greece Athena, 47-46 in Monroe County Division III action, Wednesday.
Trailing 46-45 coming out of a timeout with 39.2 seconds remaining, Birch took an inbound pass from teammate Roman Goldstein and finished in the lane between a pair of defenders.
“We finally executed that one inbound play that we’ve been working on forever,” said first-year Sutherland head coach Derrick Kemp. “We finally hit guys in screens and guys were flying to the right spots, so it ended up working out. Thank God. At the right time, too.”
Jackson Birch 47-46. pic.twitter.com/T3QM2nxMb8
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 13, 2025
Sutherland followed with a defensive stand at the other end of the floor to finish the game.
“The message has always been we have to stay consistent on defense,” Kemp said. “We did a little bit of that down the stretch there. A lot of things to clean up, but the guys really bought in and fought hard and made some good, solid defensive stands.”
The sequence ended a battle that saw Sutherland erase a six-point deficit before exchanging leads five times with the host Trojans.
“It was a heckuva game, a tremendous effort from our guys,” Kemp said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but when we play consistent on both ends of the floor, I think we can compete with anybody. It’s just a matter of mentally preparing ourselves and knowing that we can compete with anybody.”
Ne’Sean Fowlks hit one of his four 3-pointers to stake Athena to a 40-34 lead late in the third quarter.
Sam Byrne gave the Knights their first lead of the second half when he took an inside-out feed from Birch and buried a corner triple for a 43-42 edge with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
Athena’s I’zick Reaves finished in traffic for a 46-45 edge – Athena’s last lead of the game.
Athena (16-2) came into the game winners of four straight including a 63-59 victory over previously unbeaten Rush-Henrietta on Monday. The Trojans hit 13-of-28 3-pointers in that win over the Royal Comets. On Wednesday, Athena connected just six times in 31 attempts from long range.
I’zick Reaves, steal and slam. @GAHSBoysHoops 42-40. pic.twitter.com/OSB9ijmWMw
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 13, 2025
Dominick LaMar rebound and putback gives @GAHSBoysHoops a 44-43 lead with 1:49 remaining. pic.twitter.com/UeDFq1jums
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 13, 2025
“That’s a really good team,” Kemp said of Athena. “They do a good job of pressuring which got us out of our rhythm a little bit. You got to come in here accept the challenge and fight. We knew it was going to be a hostile environment. Like I said, when we play consistent on both ends of the floor, we can compete with anybody.”
Athena took an 84-45 decision when the two teams met in late December and a 72-57 victory over Sutherland in early January.
Athena (16-2) travels to play at Greece Olympia on Friday. A 7:00 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.
Sutherland (11-7) will play at Eastridge on Friday. A 7:15 p.m. start time is scheduled.
PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND (11-7)
Jackson Birch 6 4-5 16, Sam Byrne 4 0-0 9, Roman Goldstein 2 5-5 10, Hayden Birch 4 0-0 8, Tyler 1 0-0 3, Luke Phillips 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 17 10-12 — 47
GREECE ATHENA (16-2)
Ne’Sean Fowlks 6 0-0 16, I’zick Reaves 5 0-0 11, I’zayah Reaves 1 0-0 3, Dominic LaMar 3 3-6 9, Travis Mack 1 0-0 2, Russell Ellis 0 0-0 0, Caleb Brown 1 3-3 5 TOTALS 17 6-9 — 46
PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND 10 13 13 11 — 47
GREECE ATHENA 10 17 13 6 — 46
3-point goals: PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND 3 (Byrne 1, Goldstein 1, Allen 1); GREECE ATHENA 6 (Fowlks 4, I’zick Reaves 1, I’zayah Reaves 1).
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