One squad is aiming to three-peat as sectional champions. The other team looks to break a 44-year championship drought after making the move from AA2. Wayne, NYSSWA Class A No. 19 and Monroe, No. 26 NYSSWA, are set to go head-to-head for the Section V Class A title on Saturday, March 7. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 3 WAYNE EAGLES/No. 19 NYSSWA
(19-3 / Finger Lakes East Region)
vs
No. 4 MONROE RED JACKETS/No. 26 NYSSWA
(16-5 / Rochester City Atlantic Conference)
Saturday March 7, Blue Cross Arena, 3 p.m.
How they arrived: After receiving a first round bye, Wayne tipped off its playoff run with a 64-56 quarterfinals win over No. 6 Newark. The Eagles went on to defeat No. 2 Geneva in the semifinals 52-45 to get back in the championship game. Monroe opened up postseason play with a 79-51 victory over No. 13 Rochester Prep. In the quarterfinals, Monroe notched a 58-44 win against No. 5 Batavia and knocked off top-seeded East (NYSSWA Class A No. 7) 67-61 to reach the title game.
Scoring Offense: Wayne (66.0), Monroe (69.1)
Scoring Defense: Wayne (47.1), Monroe (56.8)
Trends: Wayne rolls into the title game with on a 16-game win streak with 13 coming by 10 or more points. In that stretch, the Eagles have scored 60-plus points 11 times and are 2-0 in games decided by one possesion. To go along with that, Wayne has held opponents to under 50 points 12 times during the win streak. Monroe heads into the championship on a six-game win streak with five of those victories coming by double figures. The Red Jackets have scored at least 60 points in all wins during that stretch while holding opponents to under 61 points. Since February, Monroe has won eight of its last 10 games with its only two losses coming to East in the regular season.
Players to watch for Wayne: Aidan Twist Sr. G (21.7 PPG); MJ Marvin So. F (11.5 PPG); Richie Miles Jr. G (13.3 PPG); Jack Miles Jr. G (11.0 PPG); Malachi Kuhn Sr. G (2.3 PPG).
Monroe: Navareon Patton (15.8 PPG, 6.0 APG, 2.3 SPG); Tahj Holmes (16.7 PPG); John Hardy (13.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG); Brien Walker (9.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG); Jordan Reis (7.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG); Anthony Omebe (6.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG)
Coaches: Bill Thomson (Wayne), Terrell Cunningham (Monroe)
History 101: Wayne looks to three-peat as sectional champions for the first time ever while earning its sixth in program history. The Eagles have won two in a row before back in 2017 and 2018 and have the chance to earn its fourth title since 2021. Monroe is back in the sectional final after falling to No. 2 Canandaigua 68-46 as the three seed in the AA2 playoffs last year. The Red Jackets are aiming to earn their fourth sectional title in program history and first since 1982.
What’s at stake: A spot in the Class A Far West Regional against the Class A champions of Section VI.
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