By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Less than two minutes remained in the third quarter, Wednesday night at O’Rourke Gymnasium.
Visiting Penfield had possession of the ball and was looking to reset its offense after a rebound.
Head coach Jason Ellis quickly surveyed the court and was getting ready to call out a set as the ball came to rest in the hands of Jake McCarthy at the top of the key. The 6-foot-9 junior center glanced to both sides of the floor while setting his feet. Ellis was in mid-sentence when McCarthy squared his shoulders, left the floor and let go of a shot that found the bottom of the net.
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The ninth-year head coach reacted with a shrug of the shoulders as he muttered “Okay.”
Not much more is needed when the No. 1 team in the state gets on a roll.
McCarthy’s bucket came during a stretch when the Patriots produced points on 14 of 17 possessions and turned a four-point edge into a 67-35 win over host Webster Thomas.
“It’s a nice feeling knowing that I’ve got five guys at any time that can stick it from anywhere,” Ellis said.
And it’s not just that they score, but it’s how the Patriots do it.
Earlier in the quarter, CJ Johnson hit from distance early in the shot clock. Aaron Hardaway converted a rebound and putback. Later, Hardaway worked a high-low combination with Jackson Green for a layup. All those points coming off half-court sets.
And when the defense is a step slow to retreat, the Patriots are there to take advantage. Like the possession where McCarthy blocked a shot and then found Green along the right side of the floor with an outlet pass. Green took one dribble before catching Ryan Savino in stride for a layup along the left side.
It was the three-man weave in action.
“It all starts on defense,” Green said. “Once we get our stops, our team starts flowing. Offense will always come. We got guys who can score anywhere on the court. Once we get a feel and get some fast breaks that’s when we know the teams is flowing. We feed off that energy.”
Green scored six as Penfield opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and put the game, that was probably already out of reach, to rest.
“It’s an extension from our practices,” the junior guard/forward said. “We go at each other at every practice. Everybody is a capable scorer, so we got to go out and prove it. In practice, we work hard. When it comes to games, we’re dogs. Everybody wants to look for theirs, but it all comes from each other. Everything we do is for each other.”
The win was the fifth straight for Penfield (11-1). Last time out, the Patriots edged Rush-Henrietta in overtime by six. Still with that win, their average margin of victory during this recent streak is 23-plus points.
“It doesn’t matter who the points come from,” Green said. “We’re just going to let it go.”
Wednesday’s win came against a Webster Thomas squad that came into the night with a 7-5 record and had recently handed Irondequoit (12-2) one of its two losses on the season.
“They are who they are, and they make your margin for error so small,” Titans’ head coach Chris Barrett said of Penfield. “You got to shoot it great. You got to do everything really well. You can’t turn it over. They’re good. They’re who they are for a reason.”
McCarthy finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks on the night.
Green led the scoring with 16. Johnson added 11. Hardaway had nine.
“We put a lot of work into getting these guys to jell and play together,” Ellis said. “We know what we have, and when these boys , I can take any of our 12 guys off the roster, when they’re playing seamlessly like that, it’s poetry. It’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Penfield will host Hilton on Friday for a 7:15 p.m. start.
Jaden Kyles led Thomas, which rosters two sophomores and seven juniors, with 12 points. The Titans welcome Gates Chili for a 7:15 pm tipoff on Friday.
PENFIELD (67)
Dallas Crawford 1 0-0 2, Jackson Green 6 2-7 16, Carter Scheible 1 0-0 2, CJ Johnson 5 0-0 11, Aaron Hardaway 3 2-2 9, Ryan Savino 2 0-0 4, Ethan McEntee 0 0-0 0, Liam Dunne 1 0-0 3, Malcolm Bradley-Phillips 0 0-0 0, Peter Antinelli 2 0-0 5, Jake McCarthy 6 0-0 13. TOTALS 27 4-9 — 67
WEBSTER THOMAS (35)
Jaden Sheehan 0 0-0 0, Jackson Coles 0 0-0 0, Henry Bonn 3 0-0 0, Sean Griffin 1 0-0 2, Gianni Stavalone 1 0-0 3, Jaden Kyles 4 4-5 12, Danny Check 1 0-0 2, Mateo Pietrantoni 1 4-4 6, Andrew Calabrese 0 4-4 4, Canaan Lancy 0 0-2 0, Zach Wojtas 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 12-13 — 35
PENFIELD 10 15 21 21 — 67
THOMAS 10 9 12 8 — 35
3-point goals: PENFIELD 7 (Green 2, Johnson 1, Hardaway 1, Dunne 1, Antinelli 1, McCarthy 1); WEBSTER THOMAS 1 (Stavalone 1).
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