By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Gavin Williams didn’t shy away when given the opportunity to assess his first-half performance, Tuesday night.
On a scale of 1 to 10 ,with one being less than satisfactory and 10 being the best performance of his career.
“That was a zero,” he said. “I was like O-for-something.”
Like any good shooter, though, Williams didn’t allow early struggles to affect his play later in the game.
Williams scored 21 of his 22 points in the second half, and No. 6 Greece Odyssey rallied to beat No. 11 Eastridge, 78-71 in Section V Class A first-round action.
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“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said.
Williams gave Odyssey its first lead of the game with a 3-pointer as part of a personal 8-0 run. His triple midway through the fourth made it a 55-52 game and proved to be the go-ahead bucket.
“My guys trusted me,” he said. “We just keep persevering. We just got through it. It was a rough first half and we locked in on defense.”
With the win, Odyssey advances to play at No. 3 Geneva in the quarterfinals.
“We’re ready to put our foot on the gas win another game,” Williams said.
Brailon Johnson and Jordan McNeil scored five apiece in the first quarter to help Eastridge grab a 17-6 lead after eight minutes of play. Larry Wigent’s runner on the break gave the Lancers their first double-digit advantage at 19-9.
Eastridge had a double-digit lead in the third quarter when Xzavier Hughey hit a corner 3 for a 46-36 lead.
Odyssey responded with a 15-2 run.
“It started with our defense,” Williams said. “That’s where it always starts at Odyssey. Defense wins games.”
Teammate Mike Cathey set up Williams for his first bucket midway through the third quarter.
“If he struggles in the first half, he always good in the second half,” Cathey said.
Cathey found Williams with a pass from the free throw line for a layup.
“He’s got that IQ,” Cathey said. “He’s great. It’s fun to play with him.”
High-low action: Mike Cathey sets up Gavin Williams. @Ody_Athletics pic.twitter.com/SPMEP95bh2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 25, 2025
BIG sequence: Mike Cathey block at one end leads to a Gavin Williams triple from the corner to give @Ody_Athletics its first lead of the night at 46-45. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/29VbAdWAZW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2025
Mike Cathey puts an exclamation point on it. FINAL: @Ody_Athletics 78 Eastridge 71 pic.twitter.com/6AnFhtYx3o
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2025
Cathey matched Williams with a game-high 22 points. The senior forward grabbed 18 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season.
Williams ran his career point total to 1,032.
Odyssey (12-9) will play at Geneva on Friday.
Brailon Johnson hits a runner in the lane to pull @EastridgeHoops within two. @Ody_Athletics 52-50. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/NyN1DJwYXp
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2025
Larry Wigent gets in the lane for 2. @ERidgeLancers pic.twitter.com/QpnpB4UNLu
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2025
EASTRIDGE (8-13)
Myron Stamps 3 4-5 10, Brailon Johnson 4 0-0 9, Jeremiah Morales-Diaz 3 1-2 9, Xzavier Hughey 1 0-0 3, Isaiah Nelson 1 0-0 3, Larry Wigent 4 8-10 18, Jordan McNeil 8 1-2 18 TOTALS 24 14-19 — 71
GREECE ODYSSEY (12-9)
Jakari Canady 1 0-0 3, Lee Sanchez 2 0-0 6, Kingston Santiago 5 0-2 14, Mike Cathey 7 7-15 22, Jeremiah Lopez 0 2-2 2, Phoenix Decker 2 0-0 5, Julian Carter 2 1-2 5, Gavin Williams 6 8-14 22, Jahvez Jones 0 0-2 0, Anthony Johnson 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 25 18-37 — 78
EASTRIDGE 17 16 15 23 — 71
GREECE ODYSSEY 6 21 24 27 — 78
3-point goals: EASTRIDGE 7 (Johnson 1, Morales-Diaz 2, Hughey 1, Nelson 1, Wigent 2, McNeil 1); GREECE ODYSSEY 11 (Canady 1, Sanchez 2, Santiago 4, Cathey 1, Decker 1, Williams 2).
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