Oatkan Knights win first sectional title since 2003.
By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — They had faced double-digit deficits during the course of the regular season. So what’s a nine-point hole in the third quarter?
Even if it’s in a sectional championship.
At the Big House.
Tournament MVP Aidan Weaver scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Le Roy Oatkan Knights (16-7) claimed the 2026 Section V Class B1 championship with a 58-50 victory over No. 7 Mynderse (10-14), Friday night.
“We don’t have a 16-minute game plan,” Le Roy head coach Mike Battaglia said matter-of-factly. “We have a 32-minute game plan.”
And Battaglia’s Oatkan Knights stuck to the script.
Trailing 40-31 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Le Roy went on a 16-5 run to take its first lead of the second half.
“At halftime, we were down eight, and I told them ‘We haven’t played anywhere near to our best basketball,’” Battaglia said. “‘If you win the second half by 10, you’re champions. I know you can do it.’”
Weaver converted a pair of free throws then grabbed an offensive rebound and finished at the rim. Brayden Chase hit a jumper in the lane, and Weaver closed the third-quarter scoring when stepped in a pass lane for a steal and finished at the other end of the floor with an and-one.
The deficit was three at 43-30.
“We have seven seniors on this team,” Battaglia said. “They want it so bad. Nothing rattles them. Four minutes left, we’re in the huddle, and Matt (Hockey) says ‘Comeback kids.’ They have so much confidence that over 32 minutes they’re going to get you.”
On Friday night, extending their defense over half court was key to the Oatkan Knights’ success.
“We just brought that press coming out of a timeout to change the pace a little bit,” Battaglia said. “Even though we weren’t turning them over, they lost all their offensive rhythm. We were so disciplined in that. We positioned so well. By the time they got into their offense, the shot clock was at 12, 13 (seconds).”
Hockey hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Le Roy its first lead of the second d half at 47-45. Two possessions later, Grady Gilligan made it a 49-47 game.
Battaglia’s squad had a lead it didn’t surrender.
The championship is the second in program history and first since 2003.
The title also came two days after the Le Roy girls claimed a championship of their own.
“We were all out there on Wednesday night, and they won in overtime. I told them ‘Guys, we can’t let them show us up.’ We got next. Let’s go!”
Hockey added 12 points in the win, and Battaglia noted that the senior guard played while under-the-weather.
“Matt Hockey was money in this tournament. Running that offense, playing defense. I told him I can’t be more proud of you.”
For the second straight game, Jagger Smith scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting.
Gilligan had eight points in the win.
Braden Cimineri led Mynderse with 20 points. The senior guard’s 3-pointer gave the Blue Devils a 33-20 advantage late in the second quarter.
“This group is unique,” Mynderse head coach Pat Prayne said. “We were young in terms of playing together. It takes that season of playing to develop chemistry. We have a group of juniors and seniors that haven’t played a lot of basketball together.
“We were the seven seed, but I feel like that was mostly on paper. We’ve gone head-to-head with some of the best teams around in Wayne, Geneva and Newark, teams in our league. We knew we could do something in this tournament.”
An Elijah Doell triple made it a 38-29 game, and Derek Mercedes Rivera converted a rebound and putback to match that nine-point advantage at 40-31.
But the Blue Devils managed just four field goals over the final 10 minutes of the game and were held to seven points in the fourth quarter.
“I think the big court, maybe fatigue, it caught up with us,” Prayne said. “Their length (Le Roy) changed the game. They use their big guys really well. We’re primarily a guard-oriented team. We knew we had to shoot it well and guard up. That’s a heckuva team. Le Roy is heckuva team. They deserve it.”
Le Roy will face either Bishop Kearney/Chesteron or Canisteo-Greenwood in the Class B qualifier.
The Oatkan Knights trailed both Alexander and Hornell by 17 during the regular season before coming back to win. Avon led Le Roy by 10 in another game that the Oatkan Knights won.
Gilligan joined Weaver on the All-Tournament team along with Cimineri, Doell and Rivera. Trent Green (Wellsville) and Chris Peterson (Waterloo) also were named to the All-Tournament squad.
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