By PAUL GOTHAM
LE ROY, N.Y. — Little more than a month ago, Mynderse boys’ basketball found itself below .500. After losing five of six, the Blue Devils were staring at a record of 6 wins and 8 losses.
Saturday night, the denizens of Seneca Falls walked off the court having won their eighth straight and clinching a spot in the Section V Class B1 semifinals.
“It feels great,” said Griffin Hilimire who led four in double figures with 20 points as No. 6 Mynderse left no doubt with a 70-45 victory over No. 3 Le Roy. “We started the season slow. Something wasn’t clicking. Chemistry was off. Everything is starting to piece together, now.”
Hilimire scored seven and teammate Braeden Cimineri connected on a pair of 3-pointers as part of an eight-point effort in the second quarter as Mynderse built a 37-21 lead heading into halftime.
Hilimire netted the first two buckets of the third quarter to push that advantage to 20.
“We know where we’re going to be before we’re there,” the senior guard said. “Just feels great to have everything clicking. Everything is just starting to work out for us.”
The reigning Class B1 champs looked every bit the part on Saturday night.
“Our league is the best way to prepare for sectionals,” Mynderse head coach Pat Prayne said referring Class A league rivals Wayne and Geneva. “We lost four or five of those games by three points or less. In those games, we turned the ball over a lot and missed free throws. Self-inflicted wounds.
“We’re making free throws and limiting our turnovers and getting on the right side of the score. We got the talent to play with anybody in the class. We took care of ourselves and got it straightened out in time.”
Griffin Hilimire gets in the lane for two more. pic.twitter.com/D2jvyvmknO
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2025
Pick-and-roll poetry: Griffin Hilimire and Alan Plummer combine. Plummer finishes. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/HZDKe8SdiW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2025
Griffin Hilimire cuts back door. Anthony Luffman is money with the dime. Mynderse is clicking. pic.twitter.com/4Nx8QbyonL
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2025
The Mynderse defense held Le Roy 16-plus points under its season average of 61 points per game. A focus of the Blue Devils’ defense was to slow down the Oatkan Knights’ big man, Jean Agosto.
“He’s a big, strong athletic kid,” Prayne said. “He doesn’t stop. He’s got a motor. We were really trying to temper his ability to touch the ball. I thought we did well.”
Mynderse held Agosto, averaging 16.1 points per game, to four points.
“We played great defense,” Prayne said. “I’m happy with our defense.”
Jake Higgins led the Oatkan Knights (14-7) with 13 points. Brayden Chase added seven. Matthew Hockey and Grady Gilligan had six apiece. Jace Jedrewski (3), Adam Woodworth (2), Zander Staba (2) and Aidan Weave (2) also scored for Le Roy.
Cimineri and Anthony Luffman finished with 17 points apiece for Mynderse. Jack Brady scored 10 and Alan Plummer had six points.
“Players make plays,” Prayne said. “That’s what they do. I just sit back and watch sometimes. They make me look good.”
Mynderse (14-8) will face league rival Waterloo, Tuesday in the semifinals. The foes split two regular season meetings.
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