By STEPHEN BRICKLER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Kanaz Linder scored 18 points to lead No. 1 World of Inquiry past No. 2 Waterloo, 62-53 to capture the Section V Class B1 title at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial on Saturday morning. The Griffins earned their first boys’ basketball championship in school history.
“Being the first is always good”, said World of Inquiry Coach Willie Mason postgame. “Now this is something I can say for the rest of my life; I was part of the first championship here.”
The Griffins gained separation at the beginning of the fourth quarter, going on a 14-3 run in the first five minutes of the final frame, stretching a one point lead to twelve, its largest margin of the game. That proved to be an insurmountable deficit for Waterloo to overcome.
“It took a lot of stops, kept attacking the basket and not settling for a lot of threes”, said Linder describing the winning formula for World of Inquiry.
The first three quarters were mostly highlighted by scoring runs from both teams, preventing either team from gaining a commanding lead. The Tigers opened the scoring on back-to-back three pointers by Cameron Jacobs and Carter Peterson. World of Inquiry responded by ratcheting up the pressure defensively, trapping out of their zone defense. The turnovers created were cashed in on the offensive end with the Griffins scoring the next 11 points, Linder scoring the first five in the sequence.
“We just switched our defense to a 1-3-1 and kept closing out and getting stops, pushing the ball as soon as we get it”, said Linder of the Griffins defensive effort. “We trap every time.”
After a Waterloo timeout, the Tigers kept the trap at bay with quick passing around the perimeter until they found an open look. The result was another Waterloo six-point run to retake the lead, however Curtis Bell laid in a basket at the buzzer to end the first quarter giving World of Inquiry a 13-12 edge.
The teams traded baskets for the first half of the second stanza. For the Tigers, guard Dylan Caraballo was starting to find his way to the basket off the dribble while Linder, Jaedon Adams-Griffin and Bell shared the scoring load for the Griffins. Maintaining a 22-21 lead midway through the second quarter, World of Inquiry took off on a 10-0 run that put the Griffins up by eleven, threatening to blow the game open. Caraballo and Peterson combined for the last five points of the half to keep the Tigers within striking distance at 32-25.
The second half started as did the first half for Waterloo. Justin Knowlton and Jacobs hit back-to-back triples to open the scoring for the Tigers. Linder responded with a free throw for World of Inquiry but Peterson hit another triple to put Waterloo up by one, their first lead since the opening eight minutes.
In turn, the Griffins put up the next six points to gain a five-point advantage. But every time it seemed that World of Inquiry was capturing momentum, Waterloo responded twice tying the score late in the third quarter. The end of the third quarter found the Griffins up by a single point at 43-42.
The turning point began in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as Adams-Griffin hit back-to-back triples. With the trap ramped up to a higher level, the Griffins starting getting transition points off of their defense opening up a 57-45 lead with just over three minutes to play.
“We watched Waterloo play and we know they have great shooters and we were prepared to give up a few threes, but they wouldn’t be able to do the whole game with threes”, said Coach Mason. “Once we went to our zone, it made them think a little quicker and I believe that’s what helped us.”
As they had done all game, the Tigers willed their way back into contention by scoring seven straight points , to pull within five with just over a minute to play. Adams-Griffin, Linder and Bell closed the door with late free throws to clinch the title for World of Inquiry.
For the Tigers who finish at 16-7, Jacobs led the way with a game-high 21 points, followed by 16 from Caraballo, 12 from Peterson and 4 from Knowlton.
The Griffins (20-3) move on to play East Rochester in the Class B Far West Regional Qualifier on Tuesday at a site to be determined. Bell led the Griffins in scoring with 20, followed by Linder’s 18 and Adams-Griffin’s 16. Devin Dillon chipped in 6 points while Junayde Dunn-Richardson netted a pair of points.
With only three seniors on the roster, World of Inquiry hopes to add more hardware to its trophy case in the ensuing season.
Said Mason, “I expect to make a run next season.” But first, there are still matters at hand pertaining to this season.
“Tonight, I will be watching a lot of film because Tuesday will come around very quickly.”
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