By VICTOR MENENDEZ
HILTON, N.Y. – Looking to get back on track after losing eight of their last nine games, the Hilton Cadets hosted the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets on Monday night. After falling behind early, the Cadets won the second quarter 28-8, taking a 17-point lead into halftime that they never relinquished, pulling out the 62-51 victory.
“We started rebounding really well and our defense turned into offense,” Hilton head coach Jeff Esposito said. “The ball went through the hoop. So that always helps when you put the ball in the hole.”
Rush-Henrietta got off to a hot start, taking an early 10-3 lead thanks to Kaden Thwaits cashing in eight points, including two 3-pointers.
Hilton fought back, bringing the deficit to just three points at the end of the first quarter. Cooper Streb hit a 3-pointer right at the buzzer to bring the score to 17-14 in favor of the Royal Comets.
The Cadets opened the second quarter hot, going on a 19-8 run in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter, taking a 36-22 lead.
“We took our foot off the gas,” Rush-Henrietta head coach Calvin Betts said. “We stopped playing, competing, stopped working hard, just stopped executing. We didn’t play our game of basketball.”
Jayden Hibbard ended the half by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Hilton lead to 17 going into the half.
“He [Hibbard] has always been like that,” Esposito said. “He’s just a natural basketball player and when he gets going it’s fun to watch him fill it up a bit.
The Royal Comets went on a quick 7-0 run to open the third quarter, cutting the Hilton lead to 10.
The Cadets held their lead, however, taking a 14-point advantage into the fourth quarter, with Hibbard increasing his point total to 16, including four from long distance.
Hilton held strong throughout the fourth quarter, thanks to some scoring from Tyler Reger, who finished the game with 12 points.
Streb finished with nine points for Hilton, all coming on 3-pointers. Other scorers included Jackson Oliveri (5), Kallin Whelehan (8), Matthew Kosiorek (8) and Shane Thompson (4).
Thwaits led Rush-Henrietta with 15 points. Milan Griffiths also got into double figures for the Royal Comets with 10. Other scorers included Daniel James Jr. (3), Oliver Wright (2), Kylan Burke (5), Khristopher Hamilton-Much (7), Kingston Henry (6) and Aayush Bharati (3).
With the win, the Cadets improve to 4-13. Their next game will be on Wednesday as they host the Spencerport Rangers at 7:15 p.m.
Rush-Henrietta falls to 6-11. The Royal Comets will be back in action on Wednesday as well as they host Irondequoit at 7:15 p.m.
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