By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After his Irondequoit Eagles took a 20-point lead only to find themselves clinging to a one-possession edge in the final moments, head coach Kyle Trevas best summed up the evening’s events with references to a 70s sitcom and an 80s pop song.
“I feel like Redd Foxx from ‘Sanford and Son’ when we play,” the third-year head coach said. “I feel like ‘Here comes the big one!’ I feel like we’re going down every time it happens. We’re ‘Still Standing’, though, like Elton John.”
On a night when high school basketball and for that matter high school athletics in general was at its best, Irondequoit had just enough to keep its season alive.
Anthony Major combined 14 rebounds with a career-high 26 points, and the No. 2 Eagles (16-5) clinched a spot in the Class AA1 semifinals with a 66-64 win over No. 10 Padilla (6-16).
“You took all they had, and you stayed on your feet,” Trevas said echoing the message he gave to his players in the locker room after the game. “It wasn’t how we wanted to finish the game, but when it came down to the end we were able to take their biggest shots and still find a way to hold on.”
The game saw three significant swings in momentum: Isaiah Caruthers connected on three 3-pointers, the third of which came on the first possession of the second quarter to cap an 11-0 outburst and give the Bulldogs a 19-11 lead.
That led directly to a 27-2 Irondequoit run capped by Major leading teammate Roman Maldonado on a leak out as the Eagles eventually took a 45-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Just when it looked like game had been decided, Caruthers buried two more triples, and Hassan Isgowe finished in traffic to make it a nine-point game at 51-42 with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“Give them a ton of credit,” Trevas said of Padilla. “They were getting on the floor. They were getting deflections. They weren’t giving up on loose balls. They were just scrappier in the second half.”
Padilla’s Ty’Shawn Martino converted a rebound and putback to open the fourth-quarter scoring. Jaquan Gaskin followed with a bucket to make it a one-possession game at 53-50 with 7:19 left on the clock.
Caruthers converted a pair of free throws to make it 59-58 with 2:48 remaining, but Padilla was unable to retake the lead.
“I’m happy to be a part of that game,” said Padilla head coach Jeff Curtis. “Obviously, I would have liked a different result, but that was a great game. Our kids gave everything they had.”
Maldonado hit 1-of-2 free throws before leading Tahmaj Pope into the open court for a layup and a 62-58 Irondequoit lead.
Caruthers, again, responded with a trifecta.
“Isaiah Caruthers is probably one of the best players around,” Trevas said. “He can really shoot. He can pull up. He can get to the basket. He’s a major problem.”
Irondequoit’s Josh Morse scored coming out of a timeout, and the Eagles did not allow Padilla to cut the deficit to one for the remainder of the contest.
Caruthers hit six threes as part of a 24-point effort. Isgowe added 16, and Gaskin had 14.
Maldonado had 16 points in the win. Pope accounted for 13.
Irondequoit will face No. 3 Victor in the semifinals. That game is scheduled for Wednesday night at Fairport High School.
*Recap has been updated with correct location for Wednesday’s semifinal.
PADILLA (6-16) 64
Isaiah Caruthers 7 4-9 24, Jaquan Gaskin 6 2-3 14, L’Trail St. Fleurant 0 0-0 0, Ty’Shawn Martino 2 0-0 4, Hassan Isgowe 8 0-2 16, Robert McCullough 0 0-0 0, Sergio Rosario 3 0-0 6 TOTALS 26 6-14 — 64
IRONDEQUOIT (16-5) 66
Maurice Clark 1 0-0 3, Roman Maldonado 4 8-11 16, Tahmaj Pope 5 0-0 13, Jayden Patterson 1 0-0 2, Yaxiel Ramirez 2 0-0 5, Josh Morse 1 0-2 2, Anthony Major 8 10-16 26 TOTALS 17 18-29 — 64
PADILLA 16 8 22 18 — 64
IRONDEQUOIT 11 34 8 13 — 66
3-point goals: PADILLA 6 (Caruthers 6); IRONDEQUOIT 5 (Clark 1, Pope 3, Ramirez 1).
Leave a Reply