By PAUL GOTHAM
GATES, N.Y. — Terrell Cunningham will have to change his plans.
The Monroe High basketball coach, who also led the school’s football team to the NYS Class B title last fall, was due to receive Coach of the Year honors at a banquet in Oneida, New York this Friday.
After Wednesday’s Class A semifinal, Cunningham will now have a practice to run in preparation for the Section V championship on Saturday.
Four scored in double figures, and the fourth-seeded Redjackets knocked off No. 1 East (14-5), 67-61 to clinch a spot in the Class A final.
Trailing 43-39 with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Monroe rattled off 17 straight points to take a lead it never surrendered.
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“Our guys do a good job of executing the game plan,” Cunningham said. “That’s been our big thing. We had a late start to the season (due to the football schedule), so we already knew we were going to have to find our footing.”
East took both decisions when the RCAC foes met during the regular season including the second matchup on February 12th when the Eagles use a late run to pull away for the win.
“We knew East was going to come prepared, but there were some things in the second game against them that we were able to identify that were going to put us in position to be successful today.”
Jordan Reis converted 1-of-2 free throws to start the run. Tahj Holmes connected on a 3-pointer.
Navareon Patton converted a pair from the charity stripe to give the Redjackets a 45-43.
John Hardy came off the bench and buried back-to-back triples to cap the run for a 56-43 lead.
“John has so much potential. Everybody loves him. I went him before sectionals and told him he does a great job putting the ball in the basket, but with the first group he’s trying to find his way.
“I told him ‘You’re the sixth man, and you got the green light.’ When I told him that, his eyes lit up. I told him he could shoot from anywhere.”
The presence of Anthony Omebe also made an impact for the Redjackets. The senior forward missed the second game against East.
“He’s our best defender. He’s a big part of our gameplan. We found out that day and had to pivot.”
Patton finished with a team-high 21 points. Reis had 15. Holmes scored 13. Hardy added 10.
Monroe will face either No. 2 Geneva or No. 3 Wayne in Saturday’s championship at the Blue Cross Arena.
“It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish,” Cunningham said. “We didn’t get them in the regular season, but we got them when it counted the most, and we’re getting ready to play for a brick.”
East’s Zion Parson led all scorers with 29 points including 12 in the first quarter to stake the Eagles to a 21-15 lead. The RCAC Player of the Year, though, fouled out with 4:36 remaining in the contest.
East made a late rally. Talhah Ali’s bucket with 58.6 left on the clock made it a 64-61 game.
Monroe will be looking to win its first sectional title since 1982.
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