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Robinson’s big third quarter carries East

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East improved to 14-1 on the season with a 95-78 win over Victor on Monday, February 17, 2025. (Photo: Paul Gotham)

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Percy Robinson gave East High Boys’ Basketball a needed boost heading into halftime.

And the senior guard made good on the momentum coming out of the locker room.

Robinson poured in 18 of his season-high 36 points in the third quarter as host East pulled away from a single-digit game and went on to beat Victor, 95-78 in non-league action.

Robinson followed a Sha’vion Phillips-Jones rebound and putback with a one-handed slam in the open court. Five trips down the floor later, he hit his second consecutive 3-pointer to make it a 59-45 game.

“We had the energy,” Robinson said of the third quarter. “It just gets like that, and then you’re playing.”

East did not allow Victor within single digits for the remainder of the contest.

“He might be one of the first guys to make All-Greater Rochester coming off the bench,” East High head coach Darrell Barley said of his leading scorer on the night. “He’s been playing with more confidence. He’s accepting his role.”

Robinson connected seven times from the floor and converted 1-of-3 free throws during the third. He hit three of his five triples on the night during the eight-minute stretch.

Percy Robinson poured in 18 of his season-high 36 points in the third quarter to lead East past Victor in non-league action, 95-78. (Photo: Paul Gotham)

“He does that a lot in practice where no one can stop him,” Barley said. “He showed his athleticism. He can dunk the ball. He can shoot the ball. He can go get rebounds. He missed a couple putbacks, a couple gimmes, but he’s got the skills to play at the next level.”

With the win, East’s 10th straight, the Eagles improved to 14-1. East has not lost to a Section V squad yet this season.

“We got a deep squad and maybe some of our better scorers are coming off the bench,” Barley said.

That depth proved valuable Monday night as East needed to neutralize Victor’s attack from behind the 3-point arc. The Blue Devils connected six times from distance in the first quarter and had a 28-27 edge four possessions into the second.

“We were leaving them open for too many threes,” Barley said. “We went man-to-man. I think that slowed them down a little. Sometimes, I’m hesitant to play man-to-man especially the last couple years when I didn’t have a deep bench. But now I got guys who when we get three or four fouls, I’ll bring somebody else in.”

“They are a good shooting team, so we had to know their shooters,” Robinson said.

Robinson scored on a putback, and teammate Markell Kingston-Johnson followed with a bucket for a 38-28 East lead midway through the second quarter.

Victor rallied. Griffen Hopkins and Everett Webb both connected from distance as the Blue Devils pulled within three at 43-40.

That’s when Robinson struck. He grabbed a defensive board with the clock winding down in the second quarter and alertly scooted along the right sideline until he he created space. At that point, he released a shot from 40 feet away that found the bottom of the net.

“That was a huge shot,” Barley said.

Phillips-Jones finished with 17 points in the win. Zion Parson had 14, and Markell Kingston-Johnson accounted for 11.

Victor’s Griffen Hopkins, who reached the career 1,000-point last Friday, scored 23 points on the strength of three 3-pointers and 10-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line.

East closes the regular season at Monroe on Thursday. A 4:45 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.

Victor (7-12) hosts Webster Schroeder for 7:15 p.m. start on Wednesday.

VICTOR (7-12)
Brody Burgess 1 2-2 4, Griffen Hopkins 4 10-12 23, Brendan Shannon 0 0-0 0, Colin Barber 1 0-0 3, Everett Webb 3 0-0 9, Timmy McAuliffe 3 0-0 7, Ryan Gill 1 0-0 2, Gage Hay 2 3-4 7, RJ Johnson 3 0-0 8, Owen Dake 1 1-2 3, Ravi Chitre 4 0-0 10, Sam Loyal 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 23 16-20 — 78

EAST HIGH (14-1)
Zion Parson 5 3-6 14, Micah Johnson 2 2-4 7, Kesean Leonard 3 1-1 8, Sha’vion Phillips-Jones 8 1-3 17, Percy Robinson 14 3-5 36, Markell Kingston-Johnson 4 3-5 11, Jalen Gray 0 0-0 0, Jhayden Holmes 0 0-2 0, Timothy Reed 0 0-0 0, Xavier Hurdle 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 37 13-24 — 95

VICTOR 23 15 19 21 — 78
EAST HIGH 24 22 30 19 — 95

3-point goals: VICTOR 12 (Hopkins 3, Barber 1, Webb 3, McAuliffe 1, Johnson 2, Chitre 2); EAST HIGH 8 (Parson 1, Micah Johnson 1, Leonard 1, Robinson 5).

 

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