By LIAM HOFFMANN
ROCHESTER, N.Y.– The No. 1 Penfield Patriots won their first sectional title since 1953, beating the No. 2 Webster Thomas Titans 71-44 in the Section V Class AA1 championship. Tonight marked Penfield’s first championship appearance since 1980. Tournament MVP Patrick Emling scored seven of his game-high 20 in the first quarter.
“It’s everything you dream of as a kid,” Emling said. “It feels so good to put a date on that banner and be the first to do it. To be the guy that led us to do that, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Last year, Penfield was knocked out in the Class AA semifinals by the Greece Athena Trojans, 61-57. Now, the Patriots will play the Trojans in next week’s regional qualifier.
“It’s been non-stop commitment to get back to where we were last year,” Emling said. “We put in work from May as a team and everybody just came together at the right time…we are playing our best basketball right now.”
The Patriots led the entire game. Emling recorded a free throw, a fast-break layup and a contested inside score within the match’s opening minutes. By his side, Penfield’s crowd made their presence known from the opening tip-off.
“We had a huge section, they were loud, you could hear them even through the glass,” the senior said. “It really put a chip on our shoulder, like ‘we’ve got to win for these guys, we’ve got to win for the school.’ It pushed us over the top.”
Down the stretch of the first, Penfield’s Christian Zarzycki began what would be a 20-point evening. He converted a contested one-handed layup early before closing the frame with two free throws. The Patriots led 19-10 after eight minutes.
Zarzycki paced the Patriots in the second. He hit two 3-pointers before a late left-handed layup that put the Patriots up 32-15. The 17-point advantage became the biggest of the night.
Michael Moxley drained two first-half threes for the Patriots to help establish a 32-17 halftime lead.
Penfield’s 6’8 sophomore Jake McCarthy came up big in the final 16. In the third, McCarthy managed a soft finish off the glass, a spinning layup and a dunk with a blocked shot.
“I’m not as strong as a lot of these guys,” McCarthy said. “They’re seniors, I’m a sophomore. It’s just I’ve got to use my body to the best of my ability and get my looks.”
However, Thomas showed fight.
Titans Joey Baller and AJ LaLoggia spearheaded Thomas’ effort to outscore Penfield 19-17 in the third. Baller scored the first five Titan points of the quarter with a converted and-one and a contested lay-up. Soon after, he picked up a second-chance point.
LaLoggia drilled an early right-corner three before a layup and two free throws. Thomas entered the fourth on a 5-0 scoring run, trailing 49-36. But, Penfield went to work to start the fourth.
“They beat us in the third,” Penfield head coach Jason Ellis said. “We were up 15, at the end of three we were up 13. I looked at the boys and I was like ‘no chance they beat us by 14, let’s do what we do,’ and you saw what happened. We did a great job.”
First, McCarthy dodged between two defenders and scored two. Then, Emling knocked down two free throws and Zarzycki hit his fourth 3-pointer. McCarthy then completed a one-handed finish off the glass. The 9-0 run put Penfield ahead 22 points at 58-36 and the Patriots controlled the game from there.
“It’s incredible,” McCarthy said. “I can’t even put into words how I’m feeling. I feel excited for me, the team, the parents, the coaches. It’s just awesome.”
“When we took over Penfield 10 years ago, we were winning like two or three games a year, and we said our goal is to turn this into an actual basketball school,” Ellis said. “10 years later, here we are.”
The Patriots look ahead to a chance at the state title. They’ll take on Greece Athena in the regional qualifier on Tuesday at Gates-Chili High School. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 p.m.
Class AA1 All-Tournament Team:
MVP Patrick Emling (Penfield)
CJ Johnson (Penfield)
Jake McCarthy (Penfield)
Christian Zarzycki (Penfield)
Levi Kulik (Webster Thomas)
AJ LaLoggia (Webster Thomas)
Connor Fulkerson (Webster Schroeder)
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