ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Mike Setzer shared one thought with the Greece Athena boys’ basketball team as they wrapped up their Saturday afternoon shoot-around and prepared to head downtown to face Canandaigua for the Section V Class AA2 championship.
“The only moment that I want tonight is to sit down and watch you guys celebrate,” Setzer, the Trojans’ ninth-year coach told his squad.
Setzer, whose team had placed second five times in his first eight seasons, had his wish granted as top-seeded Athena overcame a slow start to pull away and defeat the No. 2 Gray Wolves, 73-54, at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial.
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Tournament MVP I’zick Reaves scored 23 points and All-Tournament selection Dominic LaMar added 18 as the Trojans captured their first title since 2015.
“It feels amazing,” Reaves said, who felt the sting of defeat in a final the past two seasons. “We’ve got a lot of young guys on the team, but we’ve also got a lot of my brothers that felt the feeling of losing last year. So for us to finally get it done and give Coach a break, is amazing.”
Athena advances to play Penfield, a 71-44 winner over Webster Thomas in the Class AA final, in the state qualifier Tuesday at Gates Chili.
Early on it looked like Canandaigua, which was seeking its first Section V boys basketball title since 1977, might be the team that moved on.
The Gray Wolves (18-5) jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes, prompting Setzer to take an early timeout.
Reaves drilled a three-pointer to get Athena on the board and his steal and dunk with 3:58 remaining in the half capped a game-changing 30-8 run in just over a 10-minute span.
High-low action: Ne’Sean Fowlks feeds Travis Mack. @GAHSBoysHoops 42 @CABOYSHOOPS 28. pic.twitter.com/svnDCCii4b
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 8, 2025
“I’zick got the first three and I think that kind of broke the lid that was on the hoop for us,” Setzer said. “Then, our defense sparked our offense.
“It wasn’t anything that I said in the timeout, it was just a matter of time. We just needed to collect ourselves and realize, ‘Hey, it’s time to stop playing around.’ The kids did a great job with the scouting report and they executed.”
LaMar, who scored 12 points in the first half, credited Setzer with calmly helping the Trojans refocus.
“He reminded us who we were,” said LaMar, whose late layup gave Athena a 14-12 advantage after the first quarter. “We’ve had starts like this all season long. We knew where we were, what kind of position we were in. We knew what we had to do, and that’s what we did.”
Athena continued to find its footing while outscoring Canandaigua 24-13 in the second quarter. Highlights of the run included a three-pointer by Russell Ellis and a steal and dunk by Ne’Sean Fowlks.
Ellis finished with 10 points and Fowlks contributed eight points, five assists and five steals. Ellis and Fowlks were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
“I’m just really, really, really proud of the boys because we got down 10 and they didn’t blink,” Setzer said. “They didn’t waiver. I think if they were a lesser team that would have been a problem, but these boys are resilient. They know how to deal with adversity, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Senior guard Connor Chapman led Canandaigua with 19 points while freshman forward Finn Damann added 14. Both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team, along with Joey Vigerzi of Gates Chili.
Senior Nate Brinza added 11 for the Gray Wolves, who were making their first finals appearance since 2002.
In the end, Athena, which defeated Canandaigua by six points on Jan. 15 and 13 points on Feb. 19, was able to complete the season sweep.
“A lot went into this championship,” Reaves said. “I mean a lot of blood and tears. The last two years I cried on that court. … We finally put it all together and came together and got a brick. It means a lot.”
To the Trojan players, coaches and supporters.
“100 percent,” LaMar said when asked if winning one for Setzer was a priority. “I was here the last two years, and I didn’t want to see coach go through that emotion. I never wanted to see that again, so we had to come out and execute as well as possible to get that brick.
“We knew that we had one job to do today and that was to get a win, and that’s what we came out with.”
Setzer was both glad and relieved that they did.
“I had to watch somebody else celebrate five times, but if you knock on the door enough times …,” he said, voice tailing off as his players took photos with family and friends and engaged in postgame interviews.
“Look at those guys and look how happy they are. That’s all that I wanted.”
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