By PAUL CIFONELLI
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Honeoye boys’ basketball had to keep battling back against a tough Berne-Knox-Westerlo (Section II) team, but never managed to get over the hump in a 63-47 loss in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class C title game Saturday at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.
Honeoye cut its deficit to 35-32 midway through the third quarter, then B-K-W ripped off a 20-5 run that extended into the fourth quarter to put the state title game on ice.
“That was the undefeated team getting hot again,” Honeoye head coach Robb Delisanti said. “We had to pick our poison with them with two 6-foot-7 guys. They shot 30% from three on the season, but I bet they shot better than that (Saturday night).”
“They hit a bunch of threes and banked in two, that could’ve been a different story,” Delisanti added.
Jayden Buie led the run with a trio of triples, including a shot that banked in from the corner.
The 26-0 Section II champs leaned on star junior Shane Kirker the rest of the way.
Kirker passed 1,000 career points with his pair of made free throws in the closing seconds. The 6-foot-7 guard finished with a game-high 22 points.
B-K-W’s George Wright opened each half with a pair of 3-pointers that set Honeoye back. B-K-W, also the Bulldogs, opened up a 20-11 lead through a quarter.
Honeoye was fighting an uphill battle the rest of the way, climbing back to within a bucket or two before B-K-W pulled ahead again.
“That’s just who they are,” Delisanti said. “Our seniors, Owen Reynolds, Owen Cuba and Johnny Blair, they’re winners. They’re just extremely hard workers. I told them they have nothing to hang their heads at and they got the absolute most out of what God gave them as far as athletic ability. They just flat out work hard.”
Honeoye’s Landon Washburn was forced to do almost everything, scoring 19 points while being the primary ball handler and a key defender on Kirker. The Bulldogs were physical with him and shut off Reynolds, Cuba, Dylan Washburn and Braiden Schneider most of the night.
“It’s tough when you only have 24 to 28 hours to prep,” Delisanti said. “I probably could’ve done a better job and could’ve put my kids in a better position to succeed. That’s on me, not on them.”
Schneider contributed 11 points for Honeoye, Dylan Washburn had 10, Cuba scored four in the second half and Reynolds buried a first-half three.
Delisanti brought his alma mater to the state championship game for the first time ever in his seventh season at the helm. He knew he had a special group, but never quite saw this kind of run in their future.
“I thought we could compete for a sectional title, but this was a fairytale. It was Hoosier-esque,” Delisanti said. “I did not think in a million years we would get this far. But I will say that these kids compete every day in practice. When you have kids that compete and give it their all, good things happen.”
Honeoye finishes its season with a 25-2 record and a 25-game winning streak. With the Washburns and Schneider being just sophomores, Delisanti is already looking to prepare for next season. That starts with spring ball starting in the next few weeks.
“They’ve got a taste in their mouth,” Delisanti said. “There’s a lot of wet eyes in there right now, but once they give it a day or two they’ll look back at what they accomplished this season. No team at our school has ever made it to the state finals. No team has ever won 25 games in a season. No team has won 25 games in a row.”
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