by TYLER HATHAWAY
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y– Two of the best Class C teams that Section V has to offer met Saturday afternoon at Finger Lakes Community College.
Honeoye (No. 7 Class C NYSSWA) entered the matchup with a perfect 8-0 record, and a season removed from a 25-2 campaign that saw the Bulldogs reach the Class C state championship game. On the other end of the court, Lyons (No. 8 Class C NYSSWA) came into the game with a 7-1 record. As a program, the Lions represented Section V in the Class C state tournament in both 2023 and 2024.
After a battle that saw 11 lead changes, multiple big runs by each team, and a rally that fell short, Lyons (8-1) came out on top 65-58 to pick up its third straight win. Senior guard Contrell Parker Jr. paced the Lions’ offense with 21 points, and knocked down three three-pointers.
“It feels great,” Parker said about getting the win. “We like this type of competitiveness to prepare us for later on in the season, when we play in sectionals.”
“(These type of games) make us better because in the first part of the year, we weren’t really progressing,” said center JJ Johnson. “Now as we get to play better teams and start winning games, I feel like in late February (sectionals), we’ll peak.
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“They were a state finalist last year,” Lyons head coach Zac Young said of their opponent after the game. “One of, if not the top small school players, a good coaching staff, some good complimentary players. It’s a big win for us confidence wise. We have a couple of other tough games on our schedule to help us get ready for sectionals. I think that this game is gonna help us as well as Honeoye.”
A long stretch of good defense in the second half proved the difference. Trailing 36-34 early in the third quarter, Lyons used a 16-4 advantage over the next 10 minutes of play to build a 50-40 lead that was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.
“In the first half we were playing a little passive,” said Parker. “We needed to get a little more aggressive, but we were in foul trouble, so we also had to play smart. We couldn’t let them get comfortable, we had to speed them up.”
A key focus for the Lions on the defensive end was trying to slow down Honeoye forward Landon Washburn. The junior has had multiple games this season scoring at least 35 points, and even a couple in the high 40s. On Saturday, he ended with 27.
“We were talking about him all week,” said senior Stephen LeBrecht. “Our main goal was to stop him. When we watched film, everything revolved around him. So if we shut him down, everything else just shuts down.”
“We said we wanted to try to keep him under 30,” said Young of Washburn. “He’s such a talented player. We got a guy in his face the entire time, and a lot of times we held him to one shot. We probably shot 15-20 more times than them (Honeoye).”
Part of the reason for that was how effective Lyons was on the glass. Johnson led the way with 14 rebounds, and LeBrecht pulled down six. Seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone helped Lyons overcome a slow start.
“That helped us,” Young said about the success rebounding the ball. “Because sometimes in our half court offense, we can struggle a little bit.”
“You just gotta get someone boxed,” said Johnson of why Lyons is so effective at rebounding. “We got to box out, and we’re also more athletic than a lot of teams.”
Late in the game, the Bulldogs started to rally, and outscored Lyons 15-8 during a four minute stretch late in the game. A three from Washburn made it 58-55 with less than 90 seconds left.
“I’m extremely proud of the kids,” said Honeoye head coach Robb Delisanti. “They gave awesome effort. They didn’t quit. They could have thrown it in. They played hard, and I’m really proud of them.”
Young called a timeout to talk to his players.
“We get a little jittery sometimes, and I could kind of see that there late,” said Young.”We lost a tough game like that to Geneva earlier.”It was just, hey, I know that the pressure’s on now, but the last two minutes of the game are just the same as the first two, right? It’s just basketball.”
The Lions responded with five points in less than 30 seconds and a few defensive stops to ice the game.
“We just knew to play hard, be strong on the ball, because we know they were coming for us,” said LeBrecht. “They’re not trying to lose a game. They’re undefeated. They made the (state) final last year. We’re trying to get the same spot they were. So we just had to be strong with the ball and be ready to play.”
Johnson scored seven points in addition to his 14 rebounds. LeBrecht produced 11 points. Stavell LeBrecht put together a statline of 12 points, six steals, five assists, and three rebounds. Jah Jah Smith had five points, five assists, and five steals. Kaywon Butler (3), Benjamin Bookmiller Jr. (2), and Austin Rice (2) also scored for the Lions.
For Honeoye (8-1), Washburn pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked five shots to pair with his 27 points. Dylan Washburn added 12 points. Braiden Schneider (7), Kyle Schmitt (6), and Eli Stumbo (2) rounded out the scoring column.
“I think that’s one of the best teams in the state, so that’ll definitely get us ready for sectionals,” Delisanti said of Lyons. ”We need to play teams like that to get ready for sectionals.”
Lyons is in Class C1, while Honeoye is in Class C2. If the two squads are to meet again this season, it would be in the regional qualifier, given each team wins their respective sectional title.
“A couple of the kids when we were shaking hands said hopefully we see a rematch,” said Young. “That would be fun.”
Lyons will be on the road for its next game, which is Wednesday night at Red Creek.
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